GM vs MS
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 $25 cars that get
1,000 to the gallon.
In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press
release (from Mr. Welch himself):
"If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be
driving
cars with the following characteristics:
For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you would have
to
buy a
new car.
Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and
you
would just accept this, restart and drive on.
Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would
causeyour
car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have
to
reinstall the engine.
Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought
"Car95" or
"CarNT." But then you would have to buy more seats.
Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun,
reliable,five
times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run on
five
percent of
the roads.
The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be
replaced by a single "general car default" warning light.
New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.
The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off.
Ocasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you
out
and
refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door
handle,
turned the key and grab hold of the radio antenna.
GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of
Ran
McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they would
immediately
cause the car's performance to diminish by 50% or more. Moreover,
GM
would become a
target for investigation by the Justice Department.
Every time GM introduced a new model, car buyers would have to
learn
how to drive all over again because none of the controls would
operate
in the same manner as the
old car.
You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine.
Submitted by Razak Jabir
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