Bill Gates vs General Motors

[podgie_bear 184]

Someone sent me this and I thought that it was true enough and funny enough to share with you all.

 

Gates vs. GM

 

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

 

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 $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.'

 

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

 

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

 

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........Twice a day.

 

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

 

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

 

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 reinstall the engine.

 

5. 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 run on only five percent of the roads.

 

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.

 

7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

 

8. 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.

 

9. Every time a new car was introduced 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.

 

10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.

 

 

Please share this with your friends who love - but sometimes hate - their computer!

 

 

 

 

Now, how true is this?

Edited May 20, 2010 by podgie_bear

[Rusto 0]

Stealth mac fanboy!

[Scrappy McSlap 6]

Funny in theory and as a joke, but completely false in terms of facts and sources. If I remember correctly, this was an old joke that was started back in the late 90's... the joke has sort of morphed over the years into the list from the OP. I believe the original response was a generalization comparing the computer industry as whole to the automotive industry as a whole... so there never was a "Microsoft vs GM". I think the closest it ever got to that was a response from Detroit along the lines of "who wants to drive a car that crashes twice a day?" I'll see if I can look up the original stuff, I'm sure it's online somewhere.

 

Still, funny comparisons! The Mac comment was pretty funny too, although not at all the "5%" bit has changed over the years.

[Schot 407]

Haha, love it Bondy. Especially #10! Reason being that my buddy has a Mini Cooper and... Go figure, the ignition is a start button. ^^

[KnightoftheRose 0]

Bill Gates vs. Michael Jordan

 

 

Michael Jordan having 'retired,' with $40 million in

endorsements, makes $178,100 a day, working or not.

 

If he sleeps 7 hours a night, he makes $52,000 every

night while visions of sugarplums dance in his head.

 

If he goes to see a movie, it'll cost him $7.00, but

he'll make $18,550 while he's there.

 

If he decides to have a 5-minute egg, he'll make

$618 while boiling it.

 

He makes $7,415/hour more than minimum wage.

 

If he wanted to save up for a new Acura NSX

($90,000) it would take him a whole 12 hours.

 

If someone were to hand him his salary and

endorsement money, they would have to do it

at the rate of $2.00 every second.

 

He'll probably pay around $200 for a nice round

of golf, but will be reimbursed $33,390 for

that round.

 

He'll make about $19.60 while watching the 100- meter dash in the

Olympics, and about

$15,600 during the Boston Marathon .

 

This year, he'll make more than twice as much

as all U.S. Past presidents for all of their

terms combined.

 

Amazing isn't it?

 

However...

If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next

500 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has

at this very moment.

 

Nerd > Jock

[Timotheus 416]

-long post is loooong-

 

I lol'd