In a surprise announcement today, the president of Microsoft
 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. 

 
 "We immediately recognized this as a great opportunity for
 ourselves, our channel partners, and especially our customers."
 explained the excited executive 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 are already lining up for premier
 placement on the new and improved BSOD. 
 

 The executive 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 or OpenBSD even have
 a BSOD, let alone a customizable one."

(Thanks to Dave Lyons)

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