Microsoft Announces Improved BSOD

**gonaads** · January 26th, 2004

Microsoft Announces Improved BSOD
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.

"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.

Ballmer 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.

cpugeniusmv · January 26th, 2004

lmao...

good one

**Erbmaster** · January 26th, 2004

Errr shouldn't they concentrate all efforts to eliminate BSOD's not glorify them?

People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD ina "action"

**gonaads** · January 27th, 2004

Originally Posted by Erbmaster

People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD in "action"

hahaha... yeah huh.

No more customized Cases, now new custom 16million colors BSOD.

champ2005 · February 5th, 2004

Originally Posted by Erbmaster

People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD ina "action"

What do you mean by "purposely" crashing their machines?

**Geffy** · February 5th, 2004

I think they could really make some money by selling advertising space on the BSODs

**perris** · February 5th, 2004

do you know how much money mcntosh will pay to put up an add on the blue screen of death?

enough to fund longhorn me thinks

**ming** · February 5th, 2004

lmao.

**ming** · February 5th, 2004

Actually, I'm guessing that the total cost of Longhorn could be just enough to pull off a hostile takeover of Apple.

**Xie** · February 5th, 2004

Originally Posted by gonaads

"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.

1st you have to have an unstable OS

**Sazar** · February 5th, 2004

people still get bsods with winxp ?

:confused:

NerdUprising · February 5th, 2004

Originally Posted by Sazar

people still get bsods with winxp ?

:confused:

good call... XP is where its at, baby

I personally have never seen one on XP, and haven't even heard of anyone who has, hmm...

**Sazar** · February 5th, 2004

you can still bsod it with an IRQ error or buffer over/under flow errors but the former is not gonna happen on my system and the latter can't happen on my system so I spose I Am safe from bsod's

/me finds some wood and touches it..

**Xie** · February 6th, 2004

Originally Posted by Sazar

/me finds some wood and touches it..

lol thats not the wording you wanted there i'm sure

also I've seen BSOD before on XP w/ drivers

cryogenic · March 21st, 2004

I very rarely have gotten a BSOD... I had XP installed for about a year before I recently formatted and I think I got maybe 3 or 4 BSOD's in that entire time... so yeah, XP is infinitely more stable than any 9x series of OS's MS ever released... I had good luck with 2000 as well.

**LeeJend** · March 21st, 2004

Hey I can get a BSOD any time I want. All you have to do is set your 333 FSB at 400.

**Xie** · March 21st, 2004

or just mess w/ your drivers

scavers · March 21st, 2004

Originally Posted by Erbmaster

Errr shouldn't they concentrate all efforts to eliminate BSOD's not glorify them?

People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD ina "action"

that's what i would do.

**Bootsy** · March 22nd, 2004

well the thing is that by default, XP is set to reboot on errors...therefore not even showing you the BSOD. If you disable the "reboot on error," then you will see the shiny great BSOD in all its glory. This is of course if you ever get errors. I usually encounter them when getting too cocky overclocking hehe.

great quote at the end by the way lol

Vetrius · March 23rd, 2004

you can see them even if reboot on error is enabled, you only see it for a few seconds, tempting you to crash your system more often so that you can love that screen many times but not saturate your taste :P god i hate that screen...

January 26th, 2004	Top \| #1
gonaads Beware the G-Man Joined: March 2002 Location: XP-erience, NTFS, OSNN, Bay Area, California Posts: 18,474 Reputation: 4070 Power: 348	Microsoft Announces Improved BSOD Microsoft Announces Improved BSOD 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. "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. Ballmer 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. *"I play violent video games, I could snap at any second."*

January 26th, 2004	Top \| #3
Erbmaster OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: March 2003 Location: Middle Of Nowhere - UK Posts: 1,195 Reputation: 270 Power: 126	Errr shouldn't they concentrate all efforts to eliminate BSOD's not glorify them? People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD ina "action" The Cake Is A Lie? - Well There'd Better Be Cookies!

January 27th, 2004	Top \| #4
gonaads Beware the G-Man Joined: March 2002 Location: XP-erience, NTFS, OSNN, Bay Area, California Posts: 18,474 Reputation: 4070 Power: 348	Originally Posted by Erbmaster People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD in "action" hahaha... yeah huh. No more customized Cases, now new custom 16million colors BSOD. *"I play violent video games, I could snap at any second."*

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #5
champ2005 \| xs \| Joined: January 2004 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 238 Reputation: 40 Power: 104	Originally Posted by Erbmaster People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD ina "action" What do you mean by "purposely" crashing their machines?

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #6
Geffy OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: March 2002 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,805 Reputation: 1490 Power: 217	I think they could really make some money by selling advertising space on the BSODs  • blog • tumblog • lastfm • flickr • #rubyonrails • @twitter "I could be replaced with a very small shell script"

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January 26th, 2004	Top \| #2
cpugeniusmv Computer Genius Joined: April 2003 Posts: 485 Reputation: 50 Power: 115	lmao... good one

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #7
perris OSNN Godlike Veteran Joined: January 2002 Location: new york Posts: 12,258 Reputation: 4333 Power: 291	do you know how much money mcntosh will pay to put up an add on the blue screen of death? enough to fund longhorn me thinks

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #8
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 162	lmao. Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #9
ming OSNN Advanced Joined: June 2003 Location: UK Posts: 4,252 Reputation: 1160 Power: 162	Actually, I'm guessing that the total cost of Longhorn could be just enough to pull off a hostile takeover of Apple. Curent system: Intel Quad Core 9450 \| 4GB RAM \| WD Raptor 36GB \| nVidia 8800GT 512mb

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #10
Xie - geek - Joined: September 2003 Location: NY, USA Posts: 5,224 Reputation: 1730 Power: 175	Originally Posted by gonaads "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. 1st you have to have an unstable OS tehgeek \| tehgeek \| geeking out to tech \| IRC \| Parted Magic \| A+ Certified Professional

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #11
Sazar F@H - Is it in you? Joined: April 2002 Location: Between Austin and Tampa Posts: 14,888 Reputation: 4110 Power: 313	people still get bsods with winxp ? :confused: Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home, is it in you?

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #12
NerdUprising [ Method ] Joined: May 2003 Location: Kamarupta Posts: 736 Reputation: 30 Power: 117	Originally Posted by Sazar people still get bsods with winxp ? :confused: good call... XP is where its at, baby I personally have never seen one on XP, and haven't even heard of anyone who has, hmm... "But what then am I? Res cogitans."

February 5th, 2004	Top \| #13
Sazar F@H - Is it in you? Joined: April 2002 Location: Between Austin and Tampa Posts: 14,888 Reputation: 4110 Power: 313	you can still bsod it with an IRQ error or buffer over/under flow errors but the former is not gonna happen on my system and the latter can't happen on my system so I spose I Am safe from bsod's /me finds some wood and touches it.. Help to find cures for Alzheimer's, Mad Cow (BSE), CJD, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease, and many Cancers. Folding@Home, is it in you?

February 6th, 2004	Top \| #14
Xie - geek - Joined: September 2003 Location: NY, USA Posts: 5,224 Reputation: 1730 Power: 175	Originally Posted by Sazar /me finds some wood and touches it.. lol thats not the wording you wanted there i'm sure also I've seen BSOD before on XP w/ drivers tehgeek \| tehgeek \| geeking out to tech \| IRC \| Parted Magic \| A+ Certified Professional

March 21st, 2004	Top \| #15
cryogenic OSNN Addict Joined: October 2003 Location: TN, blah! Posts: 241 Reputation: 40 Power: 107	I very rarely have gotten a BSOD... I had XP installed for about a year before I recently formatted and I think I got maybe 3 or 4 BSOD's in that entire time... so yeah, XP is infinitely more stable than any 9x series of OS's MS ever released... I had good luck with 2000 as well.

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March 21st, 2004	Top \| #16
LeeJend OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2003 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 5,261 Reputation: 3386 Power: 199	Hey I can get a BSOD any time I want. All you have to do is set your 333 FSB at 400. Thought for the new millenium: In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates? - Open Office - Firefox - Thunderbird - Gimp -Ubuntu - Red Hat -

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Xie - geek - Joined: September 2003 Location: NY, USA Posts: 5,224 Reputation: 1730 Power: 175	or just mess w/ your drivers tehgeek \| tehgeek \| geeking out to tech \| IRC \| Parted Magic \| A+ Certified Professional

March 21st, 2004	Top \| #18
scavers Wants OS X 10.3 Joined: March 2004 Posts: 39 Reputation: 0 Power: 100	Originally Posted by Erbmaster Errr shouldn't they concentrate all efforts to eliminate BSOD's not glorify them? People will be purposely crashing their machines just to see the latest kewl BSOD ina "action" that's what i would do.

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #19
Bootsy Huh? Joined: February 2004 Location: Miami, Fl Posts: 1,124 Reputation: 50 Power: 112	well the thing is that by default, XP is set to reboot on errors...therefore not even showing you the BSOD. If you disable the "reboot on error," then you will see the shiny great BSOD in all its glory. This is of course if you ever get errors. I usually encounter them when getting too cocky overclocking hehe. great quote at the end by the way lol

March 23rd, 2004	Top \| #20
Vetrius Coenfidentialityism Joined: February 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 521 Reputation: 50 Power: 106	you can see them even if reboot on error is enabled, you only see it for a few seconds, tempting you to crash your system more often so that you can love that screen many times but not saturate your taste :P god i hate that screen... Unlike reality, stupidity is inescapable