From:  sberger #0 @prenet.com INTERNET
Title: GM vs. Microsoft
Date:  Sat Apr 18, 1998 00:06:30 -0400


IF MICROSOFT BUILT CARS



At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared
the computer industry with the auto industry and stated "If GM had
kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all
be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 mi/gal."

Recently General Motors addressed this comment by releasing the
statement "Yes, but would you want your car to crash twice a day?"

1. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to
buy a new car.

2. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and
you would just accept this, restart and drive on.

3. Occasionally, executing a maneuver would cause your car to stop and
fail and you would have to re-install the engine. For some strange
reason, you would accept this too.

4. You could only have one person in the car at a time, unless you
bought "Car95" or "CarNT". But, then you would have to buy more seats.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was
reliable, five times as fast, twice as easy to drive, but would only
run on five percent of the roads.

6. The Macintosh car owners would get expensive Microsoft upgrades to
their cars, which would make their cars run much slower.

7. The oil, gas and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a
single "general car default" warning light.

8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.

9. The airbag system would say "are you sure?" before going off.

10. If you were involved in a crash, you would have no idea what
happened.


Captain Stephen Berger
Star Base 5