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 exectutive 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."