BSOD improved...

LoLth

Mods, feel free to move this wherever it fits best

sorry if it's been posted already.

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In a surprise announcement today, Microsoft President Steve Ballmer
revealed that the Redmond based company will allow computer resellers and
end-users to customize the appearance of the Blue Screen of Death
(abbreviated BSOD), the screen that displays when the Windows operating
system crashes.

The move comes as the result of numerous focus groups and customer surveys
done by Microsoft. Thousands of Microsoft customers were asked, "What do
you spend the most time doing on your computer?" A surprising number of
respondents said, "Staring at a Blue Screen of Death". At 54 percent, it
was the top answer, beating the second place answer "Downloading
Pornography" by an easy 12 points.

Windows User Survey

"We immediately recognized this as a great opportunity for ourselves, our
channel partners, and especially our customers." explained the excited
Ballmer to a room full of reporters.

Immense video displays were used to show images of the new customizable
BSOD screen side-by-side with the older static version. Users can select
from a collection of "BSOD Themes", allowing them to instead have a Mauve
Screen of Death or even a Paisley Screen of Death. Graphics and multimedia
content can now be incorporated into the screen, making the BSOD the
perfect conduit for delivering product information and entertainment to
Windows users.

The Blue Screen of Death is by far the most recognized feature of the
Windows (tm) operating system, and as a result, Microsoft has historically
insisted on total control over its look-and-feel. This recent departure
from that policy reflects Microsoft's recognition of the Windows desktop
itself as the "ultimate information portal." By default, the new BSOD will
be configured to show a random selection of Microsoft product information
whenever the system crashes. Microsoft channel partners can negotiate with
Microsoft for the right to customize the BSOD on systems they ship.

Major computer resellers such as Compaq, Gateway, and Dell are already
lining up for premier placement on the new and improved BSOD.

Balmer concluded by getting a dig in against the Open Source community.
"This just goes to show that Microsoft continues to innovate at a much
faster pace than open source. I have yet to see any evidence that Linux even has a BSOD, let alone a customizable one."

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Diddy Kong

random selection of Microsoft product information

oh how lucky i feel, would actually be better if it didn't crash at all, then they wouldn't have to innovate "so much" faster than the open source community to change the look of a screen which really says, oh crap, we crashed AGAIN....

fragile

Originally posted by LoLth
Mods, feel free to move this wherever it fits best

like the Humour forum maybe!

Capt'n Midnight

www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/ freeware/bluescreensaver.shtml ]BSOD screensaver - best on NT4[/URL]

There is a registry entry somewhere to change the colour of the BSOD

BSOD on demand

Windows feature allows a Memory.dmp file to be generated with the keyboard

# Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
# Locate the following key in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters
# On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:

Value Name: CrashOnCtrlScroll
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1
# Quit Registry Editor.

After you restart the computer, you can generate a BSOD file by holding down the right CTRL key and pressing the SCROLL LOCK key twice.

Mutant_Fruit

I have yet to see any evidence that Linux even has a BSOD, let alone a customizable one."

Yeah, maybe thats because linux DOESN'T CRASH! What a way to shoot himself in the foot.

And i hardly call that an inovation! Its a pimp show, with microsoft pimping their warez.

Dr. Dre

Please don't tell me people are falling for this?
I weep for the future.

hostyle

Originally posted by LoLth
" ... I have yet to see any evidence that Linux even has a BSOD, let alone a customizable one."

I always get a little embarrassed saying I did this, but yes: Linux can be blue-screened. Was installing RH6.x on an old machine years ago, but changed my mind sometime during install, physically removed the CD-Rom drive, and "eh voila" - BSOD.

ykt0di9url7bc3

This BSOD was brought to you by Snacky Snacks "The deliecious cheesy corn snack...you cant get enough of Snacky Snacks" and DeLL "WE WARNED YOU ABOUT UPGRADING"

LoLth

ah fragile.. spoilsport