Cars vs Computers

Bill Gates, speaking at the COMDEX computer expo in 2006, reportedly compared the computer industry with the car industry and said: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25,000 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 just like Microsoft has, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reasons 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 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, reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run only on five percent of the roads

6. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a simple warning light: "This Car has performed an illegal operation".

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 Start to turn the engine off.