Microsoft vx GM


At a 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 l000 miles pe r gallon." In response to
Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating the
following:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving
cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.
2. Everytime they repainted the lines on the road you would have to
buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you
would just accept this, restart, and drive on.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause
your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would
have to re-install the engine.
5. 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.
6. A Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,
five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only run
on five percent of the roads.
7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be
replaced by a single "general car fault" 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.
l0. Occasionally 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 grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand
McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary), even though they neither
need them nor want them. Attempting to delete this option would
immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50 percent
or more. Moreover, GM would become a target for investigation by
the Justice Department.
12. 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.
13. You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine.

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