Smug Ugly

Another unbelievably "right on" post - kudos!

...or, it's just a light-hearted joke, 'cuz, you know, people still like to make jokes once in a while. Even during big projects, they like a good joke. Lighten up a bit. Or, actually, lighten up a lot.

My hunch is, this was an easter egg from the beta version that slipped through to the release. Regardless, there's plenty of smugness to go around in this industry. :)

I've seen the Zune team's bin, Dan, and I think it's actually substantially different -- that's an internal promo for the team, not part of the finished, shipping product. And it's also an acknowledgement that they're facing a formidable competitor, one that their own team has bought products from. Considering that Zune has a market share roughly comparable to OS X's share of the operating system market, I think it's at least a little more tasteful to keep the lame back-and-forth hidden away on campus instead of building into the OS. But yes, nobody has a monopoly on smugness.

Thank you! I felt like I was stupid for not being able to remember which undomesticated feline my current laptop is running. And, regardless of whether or not Steve Jobs knew about the BSOD, attitude always starts at the top. That's just the way it works.

As I said, I honestly don't think this was meant to be part of the shipping version of Leopard. I agree that it's inappropriate, but I still think it's kind of funny. Childish, but funny.

Two thumbs up!

Dan, I doubt that Apple would let something like this “slip” by them into a production release - the image was definitely put there intentionally, and I would imagine, lightheartedl, albeit without a bit of tact.

My question is: what would be a better image to use as a replacement? I’m guessing they’re not using the windows logo for a reason, so what else is there to denote a windows box from a mac one?

From the desktop, clicking Help > Mac Help I get the following: (http://i23.tinypic.com/r76s8p.gif)

There is also teh google.

Kudos to you! Nice write up.

I think of Six Apart as one of the smuggest companies on the planet, just for the record. Smug, assured of their own cuteness and tone-deaf when it comes to public relations and customer communication.

I still wince when I think of Mena's blogging around the time SA acquired LJ, let alone the time MT stopped being free and it turned out nobody at SA had thought through the pricing.

So, pot, kettle, etc.

Sheesh. Lighten up. This is taking cranky to a new level!

Dave asks how else you could tell a windows box from a mac. I have a different question: why would I care?

Damn!

There's nothing less consistent about a blogger than a blogger who plays up their own consistency.

Better to leave judgements of you to other people, Anil.

That aside, my general experience with using Windows is that it's very crashy... not just the operating system, but the programs, and using them... I use Windows and Mac all the time... and Red Hat, too... :-) I've been using computer since I was 7, and I used to run a graphic design business on a PC. I used to reformat my drive all the time and spend half the time with my machine in pieces rather than doing work.

The blue screen of death and indeed Windows not doing what I want is generally my experience, so the blue screen of death makes sense as a Windows icon, to me.

FWIW, I thought it was funny without being arrogant.

i'd say that actually "mocking everybody else if you're absolutely flawless" is arrogant... its like laughing at the criple because you are in different leagues... you can mock others only when you are guilty as well, and so it is actually a healthy thing to do since you are laughing at yourself...
i also like this setup where there is an "Apple" who is inserting dirty icons into builds and then there is some other "Apple", who is letting them thru... i'd say, all as a part of a big plot/conspiracy to hurt microsoft's feelings... yes, apple wants to see tears in their eyes, because that is all they can do at the moment since they don 't meet the specification for those for whom it would be acceptable to comment on competitor...
But that's not all - actually Apple is aiming at You and your family, and any reasonable man with enough confidence and self-esteem should analyze and regard those little icons as personal insult to his family... when you are done with system, move on to applications folder :)
i say - much a do about nothing... in real life it is not some big bad "Apple" with agendas about everything but it is John, or Peter, or George or UmbaTumba - live real people who accidentaly get the idea, who implement it and i bet share it with their friends, ex/future colegues in microsoft... and laugh at little soap-box journalists who see a sign in everything...
and as about accuracy - icons need to be distinctive and easy to spot/recognize/understand... not accurate - who cares?! i'd say you are the only one looking for separate icon for each linux distribution...

And what of things such as about:mozilla?

"The Windows version of IE showed a blank HTML document with blue background color. Possibly a joke reference to the "Blue Screen of Death". Removed in Windows XP SP2 but it can still be shown by typing "res://mshtml.dll/about.moz" instead." -Wikipedia

Also, my Airport Extreme shared disk uses SMB (for windows clients) and shows up as a BSOD. :-)

This is one of the things that makes me hesitate to get a Mac when I get my first laptop next year. Spec-wise a Macbook would fit my needs perfectly, but I'm just not sure I want to become part of the Mac demographic. Unfortunately, said demographic tends to intersect with the irritating-smug-people demographic and I don't want anything to do with that. I like Macs, but I wish the company was secure enough in its betterness to present itself simply as creating great products, not as a creating products that are better than everything else.

"To be honest, there's really only room for mocking everybody else if you're absolutely flawless. And even then, it's pretty bad taste. I've seen exactly what it looks like firsthand to see people take cheap shots and make snide comments about their nominal competitors, and it invariably makes the complainer look worse than the ostensible target. When the company you're taking a shot at is Microsoft, that's saying a lot."

Anil, did you intentionally make a cheap shot at Microsoft at the end of a paragraph deriding the use of cheap shots?

I'm no Windows lover but I'll tell you -- Ever since Win2K, I don't relate to Windows OS as being crash-prone at all. Win98 and earlier were god awful.

In my 6-month ownership of this particular XP machine, it has crashed once that I can remember. And I work the heck out of this machine: audio production, gaming, productivity apps, Windows developing, heck I even run Adobe apps. :-P Current uptime: 16 days.

I lament the giant divide between Apple's impressive hardware design prowess and their total lack thereof when it comes to software. The BSOD is a damn arrogant statement.

I'm a recent switcher who still has a few PCs and considers them equally stable. Nonetheless I found it funny.

I have to admit I agreed with Margaret before the switch, though - the least attractive thing about the Mac platform was that I might become "one of those smug Mac people."

I think a large part of Apple's recent success were the "Mac vs. PC" commercials - while they had some smugness, the fundamental message was that Mac and PC are both nice guys and generally get along just fine.

Apple could use more of that sort of message, and things like this don't help.

Gates has tried to point out this smugness about Apple too. I suspect there will be a backlash about it soon, which will probably make both companies a little bit better.

-Rex (Microsoft badge-holder who took that iPod Photo Bin photo and MacBook user)

Well, Apple is more of a music company than a computer company as far as raw earning power goes. Maybe that will change but as of now they aren’t even underdogs in terms of market share. I’m a happy mac user but woe is me when I try to connect to a Windows network. Connecting to printers is more or less up to luck and even browsing the network was problematic.

The “Easter Egg” if it is in fact so (and I don’t think it is) is more or less there to alleviate mac user frustrations due to short-comings in Apple’s ability to connect adequately with MS computers and various printers.

The BSOD monitors on Leopard put a smile on my face not because they’re taking cheap shots but because I could finally access MS computers on my network without jumping through hoops via esoteric finder menus.

Who else but Apple could make a Blue Screen of Death on a CRT look so appealing?

It's a jab, but not below the belt. Tough love, I think they call it.

Who else but Apple could make a Blue Screen of Death on a CRT look so appealing?

It's a jab, but not below the belt. Tough love, I think they call it.

I think I can hear someone saying "Ha! Where's this bloke's sense of humor?!"

I think it's funny to use a ten year old crash screen of a competitor's product to define that product, but the BSOD screen shows up no matter what PC-based share you're connecting to. The BSOD doesn't even exist in XP or Vista, does it?

I mean, there are still those white text on blue NT failure screens, but they're few and far between.

I switched to Mac back in March, and my Macbook is no more stable than my now two-years running XP machine is. In fact, it's a little less so, although all of my crashes have been Parallels-related (hosting Ubuntu, not Windows) and while I think OS X should be stable enough to not throw a kernel panic (maybe we could dub this the "semi-transparent grey screen of death"?) it clearly isn't.

Anyway, it's funny, but the BSOD is a relic of the past. Why not use a vinyl record as the iTunes icon?

"The disdain here isn't for the unfortunate unwashed who have to suffer through Windows because they're so clueless ... the derision is likely aimed at people who care a hell of a lot more about you and your boundless Mac-enhanced creativity than, say, the OS X team does."

This is exactly where your whole complaint = FAIL. Because it's not at all about taking cheap shots at people in any way; this is a joke, made by OS designers/engineers about a competing OS; designers/engineers whose concerns are related to their product, not the users of that product.

If, as a PC user, you feel personally insulted/attacked by this simple joke, well, I'd say that's your own insecurity manifesting itself. I don't see anything in that screenshot that says "TEH PC UZERS ARE TEH STUPID IDIOTS." You're the one suggesting that.

Which is worse -- passive aggression of Apple with this icon or aggressive aggression of Microsoft? If you recall, they have a history of predatory behavior. This was predatory behavior entered into the record of court cases MS lost.

As far as the feature -- I *wish* Windows had included insulting icons for Mac in older versions of their operating system. Maybe a little black and white bomb? to represent Mac machines and Mac networks? Sadly, no they typically chose to not include Mac-friendly networking by default. Interoperability from inside Windows has been "passive aggressively" ignored.

Microsoft's history is to fear interoperability with other networks, and to not build such features in. Ever installed Mac services on NT? I have -- pain in the butt. At least with Mac, interoperability with other systems is something that is valued, perhaps with a snicker or a sneer, but the feature is there.

you need to chill fool.

Great post, fully agree.

Side note: why does Quicktime suck so much? It tries to take over my windows machine every time I decide I just have to see some mov file and forget why I uninstalled it the last time.

Would a newer monitor with a darkened grey screen displaying a Vista Cancel or Allow dialog box been more on point for you?

Lighten up folks! its a jab at windows and its funny. Have you missed all the PC vs Mac ads? They're funny too.

I use both Mac (home/freelance) and Windows (9-5)are both are very good and both have their little "issues". If Windows could display Mac clients on the network, I'm sure it might use a snarky icon as well.

Wow. Such ado about nothing. People need to lighten up.

Except Jason Scott, who was right on. Do tell us, Anil: how easy was it for you to take that cheap shot at MSFT in a paragraph decrying cheap shots? And did you feel smug?

Or did you just think you were being funny?

My dear people whoever thinks that windows crashes, this comment is for them. Run any operating system but windows as root and talk to me 7 days later if anything remains of it.
THIS IS AN ADVICE FOR ALL, USE WINDOWS WITHOUT ADMINISTRATIVE PRIVILEGES. CREATE A LIMITED ACCOUNT AND USE THAT.

Can't we just have a good old fashioned bitchfest once in a while? I often think of Apple as a fun & bitchy acquaintance. Not an actual friend, mind you, I save that status for my flawed but lovable PC.

Speaking personally, I am shocked, SHOCKED that people are making fun of Windows! Round up the usual suspects!

Yes, lighten up. This seems a pretty harmless and lighthearted dig to get so worked up about. It's also pretty funny

I think it's double funny now that Leopard has turned out to be wholly untested and rushed and produces a blue screen of it's own.

I'm a Mac user and am getting mighty tired of the "it just works" attitude, when in fact, OS X has it's own peculiar set of bugs.

http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/10/leopard-upgrade.html
lol

The reason Leopard installation produces a blue screen in some circumstances is because people have installed stuff that messes with their systems on a very deep level. I wouldn't blame Apple for not including workarounds to detect old versions of such software when it's very clearly unsupported in the first place.

Lars is right that OS X has its own bugs. You don't get to choose the OS with the fewest number of bugs, you get to choose the OS whose particular strengths mask away its particular defects best. It is entirely possible to be satisfied with your choice with any alternative today, even though none of them are anywhere near perfect.

And as for the blue screen? I might be upset if it wasn't a big fuck you aimed at Redmond, and Anil admits tacitly that Microsoft might not be such as bad target himself. That other shares running on Linux- or BSD-based OSes can't get another, nice icon is regrettable, but the point is nevertheless made, and it's nice that someone has the stones to carry this out.

And needless to say, I completely disagree that only flawless people should be able to act like asshats towards other people.

I had the same experience as Adam Brown, seeing the blue screen of death icon for my Apple Airport Extreme and I was glad to see this little joke backfire on them. I hope someone will create (warning: lazyweb request) a nice replacement icon that families well with Apple's Mac icons minus the negativity.

@Anil.

Man, who cares? I'm at an office that is very pro Mac. We all laughed when we saw that on friday (installing our OSs onto production machines the same day the OS came out). We laughed, then we went on with our business.

If you don't remember, I think the Mac vs. PC ads were way more smug. I actually disliked Mac and sort of cheered for PC (obviously, that had something to do with John Hodgman, whom I particularly like.

But in the end, I think the problem is with people. If anyone, Apple employee, Microsoft Employee, or any computer user at all, finds their personal identity and sense of value by the computer they use, they're sorry individuals.

I love my Mac, and I recommend them. But I don't think highly of myself because of it. And those that do, regardless of which camp they belong, need to go outside and get in touch with reality.

I found the icon to be funny, but I find that kind of reaction even funnier.

Wow... all I have to say is... dont you have anything better to do? The people saying "lighten up" are making some severe understatements.

GET. A. LIFE.

Jesus.

Its called a "joke" and its a pretty funny one actually. You even admit you use Macs yourself, but yet you are unable to see this humor, and feel the need to create this over inflated blog entry. What exactly is the point? Oh right, to toot your own horn and come off as a cultured, sophisticated intellectual.

Dont you have a thesis to be writing or something? Leave the funny stuff to the people who have senses of humor.

Methinks the PC user doth protest too much

they can do what they want douche

I don't think you can really call them smug. They're an underdog. You use the phrase "dominating markets" but come on. They're a market share underdog. They have to be scrappy.

There was the whole John Hodgeman TV campaign that turned every aspect of using a PC into a joke, but you think THIS is smug? What about the TV ads with the flaming Pentium guys being extinguished? Now Apple's all-Intel. THIS is what tipped it for you?

it's a snide shot at the other computers you own, or of your family's other machines around the house, or of the computers of the peers you work with

You can claim their intent to be whatever you want, but you're inferring. And taking it pretty personally, I might add! Suddenly Apple has flipped from underdog to ugly fat cat and taken their impudence out on your family, friends, and colleagues! How dare they! I'm writing this on my PC, and I think you're taking it a bit too seriously.

Haha this made me laugh - who gives a fück about arrogance? Do I give a shît about people who think they are in some way superior? Hell no - life is too short.

And if you think that anybody who criticises should be free of flaws themselves, I suggest you get a good book on logic out of the library and read it, as this idea and others like it (logical fallacies) will seriously waste your time and mental energy, to say nothing of having your ego dented a dozen times each day.

Get a thicker skin AD!

Just passing through ... as this page has become part of the comedy circuit.

"Referring to versions of OS X by cat names ... seems astoundingly user-hostile."

Oh Please, steady on there cup cake, or should that be ... Tiger !!!

Regarding the Big Puddy cats. The promotion of the various Mac OS X products by means of advertising and distinctive design, Apple have established, the Mac OS X brand with an exotic hint, suggesting - fierce and powerful with predatory instincts, while also, testifying to a lithe and graceful OS with dynamic attributes.
It's just a marketing ploy, aimed to identify and imbue concepts in the product.

Get over yourself already.

SKY LARK.

+100

Totally agreed with this statement: "Arrogance is ugly. If you claim to care about aesthetics and design, it's in your interest to keep from being completely tacky and lacking in taste."

The operating system is Mac OS 10.5. "Leopard" is an internal code name to refer to the product, just like "Longhorn", oh wait, isn't that "Vista"?
Apple uses cats, Microsoft uses ski runs at Whistler/Blackcomb. Get over it.
At least the icon is 3D. Get over it.

Big meanie Apple is making fun of poor little Microsoft? Last I heard Windows still has 90% market share and MS was making billion dollar profits. Lighten up.

I'm using Tiger right now and not planning an upgrade in a foreseeable future (Tiger is very stable for me), so when I saw this icon first hand, it really cracks me up ROFL

10.5 does refer to itself as Leopard at least during the install. But don't let that get in the way of your smug rant.

Guys, seriously, lighten up. It's a pity that this is your first article I'm reading. Respect to Apple for daring to have a sense of humour.

Karma sorted that out though didn't it. Leopard BSOD even if it was fairly short lived hopefully served as a little grounding for apple.

If apple wanted to have a dig at MS there are much more subtle ways of doing it. Maybe they should have put Samba on the screen a nod to those who know that windows use FOSS to implement their networking.

I find the icon amusing, but perhaps the thick rhino skin I'm wearing prevents tiny jokes from hurting me...

(From the transcript of the interview Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg conducted with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the D5 conference on May 30, 2007.)

Kara: And do you look at yourselves as rivals now? Today as the landscape has evolved–and we’ll talk about the Internet landscape and everything else and other companies that have [gone] forward, but how do you look at yourselves in this landscape today?

Walt: Because, I mean, you are competitors in certain ways, which is the American way, right?

Kara: We watch the commercials, right?

Walt: And you get annoyed at each other from time to time.

Kara: Although you know what? I have to confess, I like PC guy.

Walt: Yeah, he’s great.

Kara: Yeah, I like him. The young guy, I want to pop him.

Steve: The art of those commercials is not to be mean, but it’s actually for the guys to like each other. Thanks. PC guy is great. Got a big heart.

Bill: His mother loves him.

Steve: His mother loves him.

Kara: I’m telling you, I like PC guy totally much better.

Steve: Wow.

Kara: I do. I don’t know why. He’s endearing. The other guy’s a jackass.

Steve: PC guy’s what makes it all work, actually.

Walt: All right.

Steve: It’s worth thinking about.

Dude, learn to take a joke.

And its Leopard. Its one word. Don't hurt yourself trying too hard to remember it ;)

Great joke for in the beta, but this should have been changed before it went gold.

This reminds of the whole "running up the score" debate in football, especially the recent Patriots victory over the Redskins. Microsoft are a big company, they can take a joke. And if they're not, it's just business, they can be equally "funny" in the next version of Windows.

So it goes.

I think Apple is walking a fine line. Certainly this type of smugness has gained them a significant market share. But at some point stunts like this start to leave a bad taste in people's mouths and these people will avoid purchasing Apple products so that they can stay out of the lunch room food fight.

Such smugness is in fact common among many cultural revolutions. And Apple is truly a tech culture revolution. Many joined the Apple base as a protest against status quo. Such cultural revolutions often result in a better-than-thou attitude. This is best demonstrated by environmentalists that shun individuals that use compact fluorescent bulbs but drive an SUV. They fail to accept that every little bit helps.

Apple is acting in the same manner. Many of us own many different types of computers and Anil is right many of us do not share Apple's dislike for Microsoft. And thus many of us will refrain from purchasing Apple products if we feel like we are walking into a fight in the sandbox.

I recognize the humor in this image. And I admit I think it is funny. But it is a tangible example of a palpable level of arrogance on Apple's part. Viewed by itself Anil's critique of Apple over this image is a bit whiny. But viewed in the ongoing demonstration of arrogance by Apple it is dead on and completely justified.

Every time Apple makes a smug statement like this they are implicitly suggesting that non-Apple users are below them. Yet Apple fails to realize that non-Apple users are their potential customers.

Devs just having a bit of fun. Chill. Just don’t be offended when something slips through from M$.

"The operating system is Mac OS 10.5. “Leopard” is an internal code name to refer to the product, just like “Longhorn”, oh wait, isn’t that “Vista”? Apple uses cats, Microsoft uses ski runs at Whistler/Blackcomb. Get over it. At least the icon is 3D. Get over it."

Oh wait... you're an idiot. Longhorn is the code name for Windows Server 2008.

And this BSOD joke is just really getting old. Since XP has come out I have very very rarely experienced any sort of blue screen that was not entirely my fault. Overclocking way beyond what I should or other such things have been my only cause of blue screen for years. And from what I hear "Leopard" had an issue with it's own little blue screen. It's called karma. ;)

Great little rant there. I do believe I will start reading your blog a bit more.

“The disdain here isn’t for the unfortunate unwashed who have to suffer through Windows because they’re so clueless”

I don’t really care what apple does, and I agree that the icon may be in poor taste due to their recent successes. But, Anil aren’t you calling windows users (90% of the computing community) unfortunate and unwashed. I feel thats a bit of a shot below the belt, so you should feel right at home with BSOD icon. I’m a vista user and I definitely showered this morning so I don’t feel unwashed and I certainly feel fortunate to be free of the mac smugness.

So let me take a cheap shot of my own considering your nationality, I’d bet I smell better than you do.

Chris,
Longhorn was actually a bar between whistler and redmond somewhere.

Is apple developing nuclear weapons to sell on the open market or did they bury an icon as a joke in their operating system?

It's hard to tell from the post.

From a pure UI/icon design standpoint, what other image could instantly portray a PC on the network (short of the MS logo, that is). It’s funny, but the fact is that the BSOD is the only screen-filling Windows feature that would be recognizable in a dock icon. The start button or other graphical nuances would be impossible to see (except in that CoverFlow view). Ugly beige + OS crash = Windows. Instant recognition.

This was an Emo Alert. ID-10-T detected.

You need to calm down. The emotions are controlling you.

Apple won this round. I can't believe how much crying there is over an icon. Hahaha. What's it like to be controlled by your emotions?

You have a brain. Use it. Change the image if you don't like it.

@Jesper
Quote: "The reason Leopard installation produces a blue screen in some circumstances is because people have installed stuff that messes with their systems on a very deep level. I wouldn’t blame Apple for not including workarounds to detect old versions of such software when it’s very clearly unsupported in the first place."

You're going to have to start holding Apple to a higher standard. If they continue to experience the success they are currently having, soon they will be in the same position as MS. i.e. sundry applications will be written, and will have huge installed bases. Random vendors will make hardware that people will purchase, and the drivers for this hardware will not always be 100% reliable.

People love poking fun at the incumbent. Imagine what would happen if MS were to try to cover up crashing issues or defects the way Apple does, by deleting forum posts etc. The furore would be uncontrollable. When Apple gets similar market share, they too will understand what it means to be vilified for every move they make.

Dude, lighten up. I think it's friggin hilarious not to mention spot on.

Icon-related jokes: Serious Business.

Maybe Windows users, locating a Mac on the network, should display an icon of a Powerbook (or the ilk) with a rupturing Lithium battery. Nice and vivid fire, maybe some smoke.

So Apple needs to be humble? Do you mean humble like the DOJ fearing Microsoft is humble, who doesn't put cute easter egg icons in it's OS but instead uses it's OS leverage to crush competition and force Alpha build quality products onto it's users because, 'What choice do you have?'. Dear Apple flaunt it, you've earned it after 20 years of 'Apple Who?' jokes from Microtards, let them eat Vista.

Interesting background on the period during which Apple turned around into the success story they are now, from Wikipedia:

At the 1997 Macworld Expo, Steve Jobs announced that Apple would be entering into partnership with Microsoft. Settlement discussions regarding Apple's "Look and Feel" lawsuit and the QuickTime piracy lawsuit resulted in a five-year commitment from Microsoft to release Microsoft Office for Macintosh as well as a US$150 million investment in non-voting Apple stock. (This event is often inaccurately described as a "bailout" of Apple by Microsoft. At the time Apple had a little over US$1 billion in cash and cash equivalents according to their 10-Q statement.[29] Microsoft later sold its shares for a tidy profit.) Jobs also announced that Internet Explorer would be shipped as the default browser on the Macintosh. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates appeared at the expo on the large screen, explaining Microsoft's plans for the software they were developing for the Macintosh, and saying that he was very excited to be helping Apple. This was met with a less than positive response from the audience. Steve Jobs said:

"If we want to move forward and see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose. We have to embrace a notion that for Apple to win, Apple needs to do a really good job. And if others are going to help us that's great, because we need all the help we can get, and if we screw up and don't do a good job, it's not somebody else's fault, it's our fault. So I think that is a very important perspective. If we want Microsoft Office on the Mac, we should treat the company that puts it out with a little bit of gratitude; we like their software.

"So, the era of setting this thing up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I'm concerned. This is about getting Apple healthy, this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to get healthy and prosper again."

I think it's a funny joke that probably crosses over into arrogant and nasty. Fine for the devs and beta(s), but they should have taken it out when 10.5 shipped, IMHO.

Though it does beg the question, What should they have used to represent an SMB share or Windows machine? The Windows logo? Not likely since A) it might get sticky legally to have a Windows logo in Apple's OS. Do they need a license to show the logo? It's trademarked or copyrighted or whatever, right? B) Why would Apple ever want to show a competing product in their fancy pants new OS?

But it is sad that people make a direct correlation between Windows and BSODs.

This is so easy to fix, just repeat 10 times: It's just an icon, it's just an icon, it's just....

I can't believe people are actually hurt over an icon. It's a joke!

If this offends you, then you need a new life because the one that you have now is sad. You've forgotten how to laugh.

After reading most of these comments, I'm reminded of why I don't blog. I enjoyed (and agreed with) your original post, though, Anil. Thanks.

Dave (not an iSheep)

Um, it's no big deal. Lighten up.

I use Windows XP, Ubuntu and Mac OSX. I'm not a "fanboy" for any of them. But here is a simple fact: I have never had a BSOD in Windows XP. I had one on my Win2K box at work, but it was caused by faulty RAM.

By contrast, in OSX 1.4 I've had to restart a few times due to a "kernel panic" (because if you call it that you can claim that your machine doesn't crash...). And my Mac gets far less use - not because of preference but because of the types of applications I use most.

Smugness is bad. Pointing back to the reason you were "better" than your competition 8 years ago as though it still matters today...much worse!

I have to agree with AmbroseChapel; for SA to call anyone smug and arrogant is just over the top. Given the current state of LiveJournal, I'd say there is plenty of incentive for SA not to point fingers.

Anil, are your feelings hurt?

Talk about smug.

This is a matter of identification. Mac OS tends to be more visual than textual in communicating idea’s. Large amounts of animations and effects are used where most companies would use text to tell the same story. They don’t seem to have used the real windows logo anywhere through the system or they're marketing, so I guess they don’t have a license to those logo’s. They could have used a very similar logo that people may have recognized, but instead they used something many mac users instantly recognize as distinctly windows. It drove many of us to the mac platform to begin with.

It certainly was a joke shown by steve jobs at a developers conference. I don’t think it slipped through, I think the mac team just couldn't think of imagery which would represent windows to the mac user audience as well as this one in time. The windows logo has certainly been watered down in our minds by countless windows only products that work fine with mac’s too.

It is tasteless. It makes Apple look bad. But darn it, when I see that icon, I know exactly what I'm about to connect to!

I like when a company has balls. While this is only a piddling little icon, I think it illustrates Apple's spunk very well.

You're right Anil. The BSOD was gone long before I ever switched to using Mac computers, and I haven't owned a monitor like that in even longer. It's not even really funny. But, all the same, I don't really care. It's just an icon.

Oh anil, you're such a funny little man. Now go back to pushing crappy 6 apart sites.

Yes, lighten up. No one is out to get you with their mean PC monitor image.

Anil, right on! I thought it was funny the first time I saw it too, but I wouldn’t if I had PCs running alongside my Macs and had to deal with it every day. You make a compelling argument. I’m sure the icon can be changed, but, well, must I? Just so Stevie can have his joke? @Christian and similar: smug defending smug doesn’t make you sound fun or funny, y’all. Quite the opposite. =/

For all the posters commenting that it's "just an icon," consider that a technology blogger might have good reason to have more to say about this than you. And there's no indication of his being personally offended, but arrogance breeds hostility, regardless of to whom it is directed.

As a PC owner, I'm not offended by the icon, but I find it a little immature. I own a Mac, too, and I enjoy using it, but Apple's marketing department has sculpted a culture that focuses on how bad everything else is, and, like Anil says, it's smug and off-putting to everyone who's not a Mac zealot. This is even truer to me when I consider that my PC, which runs Windows XP, crashes less often than my OS X Mac, which is admittedly old, but has a fresh installation of 10.3.

I like to think I haven't got a massive superiority complex, so when my Mac tells me I'm better than the mindless masses it reminds me of the arrogance and elitism behind the machine I'm using. Thats not something I want to be a part of, and it kept me away from Macs for a long time.

Relax. Let's not carry political correctness to ridiculous extremes. It's just an OS...it's not my life. Now, if it was a caricature of my wife/kids, that's personal. This is just silliness, and you're overreacting to something amazingly trivial.

maybe its actually an image of a Linux server with SMB shares, and running the fake BSOD screensaver.

funny how people complain that Anil needs to get a life and not complain about it. wouldn't the people who spend the time to read the post and then post a comment also need to get a life?

Seems to me the biggest issue is that Samba shares are represented by this image, when a Samba share can be anything. If that is the case a stylised image of a computer as network node or a harddisk as a network node would be more appropriate.

And as to comments about running windows without crashes, i have no problems running both XP (service pack 2) and Vista for very long periods without crashes. As with all OSes the OS is as stable as the reliability of third party drivers and software that you install on top of the OS. This goes for Linux, Vista, XP and OSX.

Yeah, not a big deal and I don't think anyone is crying in their beer because of the icon, but it does make apple look like arrogant assholes.

The "it's just a joke" people need to shut up. "just a joke" can be offensive even if that wasn't the intent.

So the $250 billion corporation can't take a joke?

It's really no different than characterizing Macs a 'toys'. There's no harm is done with that good-natured poke that the Windows community likes to level at Apple.

Well written article, you are right on the money.

Great post. I agree. Just bought a Mac 2 months ago. It is a great machine. However, it crashes more often than my PC. The marble of doom Oh no the pain the pain.

SpinPapi writes: "Just so Stevie can have his joke?"

So this blog demonstrates the wide range of feelings that each camp has toward each other. I don't mind seeing iconic blue-screens-of-death which ironically actually do a productive task for a change. They're a breath of fresh air from the FUD, disrespect and ignorance that people like SpinPapi demonstrate.

Spot on; I believed the first report I read of this to be a fake. But looking back on Apple and Steve Jobs' increasingly vicious pikes at MS ("Hello, I'm a Mac" being the most ingenuous form), I cannot say that I am too surprised. Thanks for writing the first high-profile dennounciation I came across...

Hey Chuck,

IE just double-entered your response.

Little things like this is why OS X is never going to reach the majority. Anil is exactly right. To us tech-heads, har har very funny (which is why this is fine as a joke in the beta, that's your audience in a beta). To Jack Everyman and Jill Purchasing Manager, it's unprofessional, at best.

If using a BSOD image to represent non-Mac computers really were "an example of the worst thing about Apple," I'd be a lot happier.

I think that Apple's poor treatment of their extremely loyal customer base, their closed systems, and their policies toward DRM are substantive issues.

Meanwhile, you are concerned about an arrogant poke at Windows (which, last time I checked, isn't hurting too much in terms of market share).

"Worst thing about Apple" is definitely overstating your case.

It's an icon, a symbol designed to represent a hard-disk volume having an operating system other than OS X. Not a pejorative statement necessitating a wounded response with invective and spite. Not grounds for yet another fusillade of emotive labels and venomous barbs. It's just a picture.

In the same way beauty is in the eye of the beholder, based on the inclusion of one image amongst thousands within the OS, you're implying an entire company of people suffer from one of Dante's seven deadly sins, Pride.

Perhaps your post might be seen as indicative of another two; Envy and Wrath.

OMG, man. Is it really so difficult to have a sense of humor? Do you honestly believe the folks at Apple got together and decided collectively to take a shot at Windows and all other computers? If you knew anything about IT at all, you'd recognize that this was a joke which happened to make it into the final release - get over yourself!

I'm not fanboy of any particular platform; I use Windows, OS X, Linux, and Solaris. In the end, it's just funny, and a cultural representation of something we've all come to know all too well.

From this post alone, you seem like you'd be exactly the type of "IT Guy" that employees at companies are afraid of dealing with.

Have a drink, try to relax, and take it for what it's worth: Absolutely nothing but a bit of humor.

I agree this is overly smug, but I find myself wondering what image they should have used. A Windows logo? Equally inaccurate, but also a trademark problem. Samba logo? Also inaccurate, plus not recognizable. SMB? There is none. Generic Windows desktop? Too much detail for an icon, and inaccurate, and not recognizable.

(And to one of the comments above: BSOD definitely exists on XP. By default, it just restarts, though.)

@HG: You seem to miss the distinction between the community of people who use the computers and the company that make the OS.

"Toys" may very well be a common joke that the Windows COMMUNITY levels at Macs and Mac users, but this icon is built in to the OS by Apple ITSELF. How do you not see the difference there? As a successful company, I personally think that it should keep it's behavior above a certain level. Instead, its corporate culture allowed and probably even encouraged this pretty bonehead move.

When is the last MS product that had a consumer-facing marketing push or often used feature that even mentioned Apple (or in fact, any of MS's competitors) in a negative light? In-jokes are fine, but once you start facing your customers, you should carry yourself a certain way.

I'm gonna put my vote in on the side of "don't get your panties in a twist about it."

It's just an icon? I'm sure companies would boycott Microsoft if they did something like that in relation to Apple computers. It's so immature. It's like Apple is in high school. WTF...

As far as mocking goes, I always enjoyed C.S. Lewis’s advice, from the Narnia books: “Never taunt a man save when he is stronger than you: then, as you please.”

The odd thing is that other Macs on my network show up w/ the PC Icon sometimes. Rather odd.

I chuckled when I first read about it, but its a bit prominent for an easter egg, and less amusing w/ each viewing.

Yeah because putting it on TV is not smug enough! http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

Lighten up! Apple has been doing it for years!

Robert, do you remember which book that's from?

"What to use instead of Oink." Ok... I see you're being a bit tricky to get some traffic...

"To be honest, there's really only room for mocking everybody else if you're absolutely flawless. And even then, it's pretty bad taste."

Using that phrase to gain traffic is bad taste!

"I have no idea what the cat name is for the operating system I'm running, and yet when I try to evaluate shareware, the authors are often asking me if I'm a panther or a tiger or something."

My favorite on Apple's: They shortcut key that is a symbol, unless both you and the person you're communicating with know what that symbol is called, it's impossible to explain to somewhat what key you're talking about.

It's just a geek in-joke, I don't think there's much more to it than that. I do take your point though, and maybe Apple should have thought it through a bit more - I expect 10.5.1 will probably change it (thus creating the "legendary/notorious 10.5.0 PC icon joke" in the process). I think they should use a head shot of "PC-guy", since a) people like him and b) it still acknowledges the PC/Mac dichotomy.

A good few people are writing this down as a joke.

It was obviously intended as one, and fair enough. You could argue that it was a bit of fun during the beta stages and I wouldn't disagree with that in the slightest.

But does this joke belong in actual shipping code? I have to admit, I think that is when the "joke" becomes poor taste. It's childish, and reflects poorly on Apple.

Their problems with leopard blue screens might not actually be their own fault but you do have to ask if the OS team should have spent a little more time testing edge cases like APE and a little less time on bad jokes.

u are such a a dick, jezuz, ur probably from america and offended about swearwords on radio or tv too. grow up.
On one side "Whay to use instead of OINK" Ripping "stealing?" on the other morally superior. U suck.

You need to reboot your sense of humor, it appears to have crashed.

Don't know which cat you're using? Not good. Maybe for novices but not someone bright enough to write articles on tech.

Seriously.

A good few people are writing this down as a joke.

It was obviously intended as one, and fair enough. You could argue that it was a bit of fun during the beta stages and I wouldn't disagree with that in the slightest.

But does this joke belong in actual shipping code? I have to admit, I think that is when the "joke" becomes poor taste. It's childish, and reflects poorly on Apple.

Their problems with leopard blue screens might not actually be their own fault but you do have to ask if the OS team should have spent a little more time testing edge cases like APE and a little less time on bad jokes.

It's just a geek in-joke, I don't think there's much more to it than that. I do take your point though, and maybe Apple should have thought it through a bit more - I expect 10.5.1 will probably change it (thus creating the "legendary/notorious 10.5.0 PC icon joke" in the process). I think they should use a head shot of "PC-guy", since a) people like him and b) it still acknowledges the PC/Mac dichotomy.

Save "lighten up" for your college drinking buddies. Corporations need to act with flawless responsibility and respectability -- not like guffawing 22 year olds. Grow up, Steve.

u are such a a dick, jezuz, ur probably from america and offended about swearwords on radio or tv too. grow up.
On one side "Whay to use instead of OINK" Ripping "stealing?" on the other ur morally superior.
HYPOCRIT

Don't know which cat you're using? Not good. Maybe for novices but not someone bright enough to write articles on tech.

Seriously.

So, Anil Dash, PR *expert* (see the well-posed speaking pose in the picture at the top of the page and the amazing comment-everywhere-explain-nothing approach to livejournal changes) has decided what is tactful on the part of Apple!

it invariably makes the complainer look worse than the ostensible target
it invariably makes the complainer look worse than the ostensible target
it invariably makes the complainer look worse than the ostensible target

You need to reboot your sense of humor, it appears to have crashed.

This is Apple. Woz and Jobs are inveterate practical jokers, and the company has a long tradition of silly in-jokes and gags. That's one of the things that makes them different, and better, than certain rival humorless companies.

If you don't like that, if you never want to smile or experience joy again, don't use a Mac, and don't demand that the Mac become as soulless and dead inside as you are. Keep using Windows or Linux, the Soviet Gulags of operating systems.

Don't you think you're taking this all just a little too seriously there mate?

It's just a geek in-joke, I don't think there's much more to it than that. I do take your point though, and maybe Apple should have thought it through a bit more - I expect 10.5.1 will probably change it (thus creating the "legendary/notorious 10.5.0 PC icon joke" in the process). I think they should use a head shot of "PC-guy", since a) people like him and b) it still acknowledges the PC/Mac dichotomy.

It may have been funny when Macs were actually better machines than PCs. You know, back when Woz was there. But now with one quality control fiasco after another, it seems like finger-pointing for misdirection from the real problem. Apple has become a big giant incompetent asshole.

Doesn't everyone know that the "Symbol" on a mac keyboard is a swedish campground?
http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Swedish_Campground.txt

Geez, it's a joke. Get over yourself. Being offended and blowing it all out of proportion says more about you and *your* smug insecurity than it does about Apple.

It would be equally funny if MS could come up with a subtle way in the mouse preferences of poking fun at Apple hardware for only having one mouse button.

It's amazing to see WinZealots get their panties in a bunch over a supposed inferior platform. At least get some new material and a thicker skin.

Agreed on everyone who feels Anil's reaction is overboard. It's refreshing to have this kind of geeky fun-poking going on. It's been like this for years, and I don't understand why Anil and Ryan Block over at Engadget got so worked up about it.

Lighten up guys, this should be fun!

-Scott

Nah, this is downright funny. Deal with it.

You're an idiot for caring. Get a life.

911, can you please send a wambulance.

Seriously, it's a joke.

Like this is the first time Apple has made fun of windows.

Try playing Halo2, and you'll see the same thing in one of their multiplayer levels.

jesus, isn't there a war somewhere you could be out protesting?

"It's a whole 'nother post to explain why that level of meddling megalomania is kind of pathological for a multi-billion-dollar global corporation"

It seems to have worked for Apple... Steve Jobs pretty much saved Apple and made it what it is today. If Jobs dropped dead today, I guarantee AAPL stock price would take a nose dive.

I think that's REALLY funny. Glad the MacOS X team put that in there, it shows a sense of humor, not smugness! (Makes me chuckle.) It's not like they could/should use a Windows logo or green pastures wallpaper...

You're overanalyzing, Mr Dash. And for some reason, oversensitive too... (But you sure got some hits on your site from this post, so congrats!)

Again, for the 3238th time...

IT'S JUST A BLOODY JOKE, FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!!!!

Got it? If you didn't, we can make a drawing or something.

ur boring.

anil dash: this ridiculous post about apple's smugness, coupled with the slick photograph of you in a pink shirt trying to look like someone with endless insights, betrays an ironic level of self-importance

It's hilarious. But not if I have to look at it everyday. Then it becomes downright irritating-- not to mention that the icon's ugly, which betrays OS X's aesthetics and has the subtle effect of making me want to use the OS less.

Anil, if they really wanted to be cutting, they wouldn't have used a crash screen from Win95. The BSoD is part of pop culture now. Using it there is a bit disrespectful, and it would have been better if they hadn't. But the subtext of what you are saying is that Microsoft is now the underdog. Is that such a bad thing? Being on top of the world has been good for Microsoft's stock, but it's sucked for their software. Being in a position where Apple can get away with poking fun at them like this is probably healthy for them, even if it's not so healthy for Apple.

For those of you wonder what icon Apple could have used other than the BSOD icon, well they did make one. Basically, it is reminiscent of the Windows logo, but turned 90 degrees and made black and white. It is called GenericPCIcon.icns and it is in the folder of all of the other Finder icons.

In fact, you can use that icon instead of the BSOD icon and desmug Leopard, using the instructions here.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/30/mini-how-to-remove-the-windows-bsod-icon-in-leopard-make-os-x-a-little-less-smug/

Dude! It's a friggin icon. And one that most users will never see or use. Go do a bong or something.

Do you not have a life? Its humor, some find it more funny than others but there are more important things to blog about...

Interestingly until recently my employer supplied non Apple laptops only - and literally hundreds of us bought our own macs rather than run a mediocre OS. No product is perfect but at least Apple are making efforts to engineer a quality OS - there is little to no evidence that that is Microsoft's approach.

What is with the photo dude - you taking yourself too seriously again?

When you don't think a joke is funny, the person telling it can often seem rude or arrogant. When you like the joke, that same person is suddenly cool. I think it's great Apple let the Leopard engineers have a little fun.

Now, about those Linux installs being more stable than OS X...

I think the icon Apple uses to represent Windows in Boot Camp would be an appropriate replacement for the bluescreen icon. Still, I think that bluescreen icon is pretty funny...

As for using Leopard (and other big cats) as the name, I think it helps in remembering which version you have. Not everyone can remember, or even know that their OS is 10.5.

I think the icon Apple uses to represent Windows in Boot Camp would be an appropriate replacement for the bluescreen icon. Still, I think that bluescreen icon is pretty funny...

As for using Leopard (and other big cats) as the name, I think it helps in remembering which version you have. Not everyone can remember, or even know that their OS is 10.5.

"In short, the derision is likely aimed at people"

Only if they're people who identify religiously with an operating system.

I think it's great. Windows is garbage. It leads the masses, whom are usually unaware that they are being led in the wrong direction. Sometimes the truth hurts, but the truth is ultimately a necessity.

Anil, who cares.

I'm not surprised that Mac fanboys defend this, since they worship the very toilet that Steve Jobs uses each morning. These same people would be going apoplectic if Microsoft used "bomb" icons to represent Macs.

It should be noted that this "joke" isn't an isolated incident. Remember that last year a few batches of iPods shipped with a virus, and rather than take full responsibility, Apple issued a press release blaming Microsoft for not making XP immune to the virus!

That's the kind of company you're dealing with when you're dealing with Apple. BTW, I'm writing this on my PowerBook G4 (Safari keeps spinning beachballs on me for seconds at a time) and my 2002 iPod sitting right next to me. I may use some Apple products, but that doesn't mean I can't recognize Apple's "my farts don't stink" haughtiness when I see it.

People, this isn't simply and "ad", it's a shipping product. I can't think, off hand, of *any* other shipping product that so tastelessly trashed a competitor. And Jobs has the gall to say that Gates/Microsoft "has no taste". Good gravy.

LMAO - I love it when Winblows users try so desperately to find something bad about OSX. Face it Windows SUCK! Windows it the number one cause of SPAM in the world, if Windows where banned today SPAM would nearly cease to exist because all the zombie computers that are WINDOWS ONLY! would no longer be controlled by SPAMMING botnets. So instead of being a crybaby about Apple poking fun at Microcrap why not do something useful with your time like try and help those poor dolts at MS figure out how to write an OS that teenagers from Russian can't turn into SPAM spewing zombies. Or maybe you can go cry to your mommy and tell her what big baddys Apple is cause nobody else cares.

"... the truth is I'm just pretty consistent in my assessments of technology, with little regard for the perceptions of the companies or people who provide those technologies ...."

That's not arrogant? And then you go on to write 600+ more arrogant words on your own perceptions. If you think arrogance is ugly, you should inject less of it into your own writing. You even end with a footnote saying: "Hasn't anybody noticed how stupid that is over at Apple?"

Given the endless examples of poor behaviour by CEOs and corporations in general, it's interesting you chose to devote 600+ words to a joke. And that's all the blue screen icon is - a joke that takes a small dig at the competition. Funny to some. Harmful to nobody. And of course it's not accurate! It's silly to even ask. If it were accurate, it would cease to be a joke. It's funny precisely because it's completely exaggerated. It's okay if you don't get the humor, but you shouldn't take it so personally.

MasterCKO writes: "When is the last MS product that had a consumer-facing marketing push or often used feature that even mentioned Apple (or in fact, any of MS’s competitors) in a negative light?"

Interesting you should mention this. Microsoft doesn't have to say anything about it's competition. Whether by design or by accident, there's a whole system which will say it for them. The bloggers, tech journals, corporate partners, et. al. will say the denigrating things about the competition (Apple being their favorite target and like a cat with 9 lives). Microsoft remains above this low level thuggery while they exclusively benefit from it. No could argue that Microsoft doesn't mind that the attacks occur on their behalf.

So maybe Anil's objection isn't the act of assassination so much as how it is carried out. Maybe Apple needs a system to emerge to do the dirty work for them. Any takers?

Thirty years ago when I was in college my sophomore composition professor wrote something on a paper of mine that sticks with me to this day. With a red Flair pen he wrote across one of my essays, "You have taken yourself too seriously." Anil, get over yourself. It's a fart, not a hurricane.

It's a joke. Not hilarious, but worth a smirk. Making fun of Windows is what Mac people do. It's our turn, by the by. Microsofties have been dismissing Apple as irrelevant for years.

Smugness doesn't require flawlessness. It only requires undeniable superiority. In the markets Apple cares about they can claim undeniable superiority. There is no Cult of Microsoft. None.

Don't worry, Apple will get a Cease and Desist soon. Microsoft owns both the copyrights to the BSOD text, and the BSOD patents.

BSOD ended for Windows in Windows 98. Haven't seen it for years.
BSOD started for Apple in Leopard.

Now I find they don't start a firewall after install...are they creating a new Windows 98? Leopard 98?

Oh please. Get a life. Does your sensitivity and PC really apply to the competitive business world? Are you trying to protect corporate feelings? This is marketing not social prejudice.

Ofcourse Steve Jobs knew about the BSOD icons. They were there when he demo'ed Leopard in the latest WWDC keynote, (Monday, June 11, 2007) and people laughed. ;)

See it from Apple's own site here:
- http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/d7625zs/event/

hmm... I guess 'sense of humor' is not your strong suit, huh?

hmm... I guess 'sense of humor' is not your strong suit, huh?

Great post. Well written.

I'd be surprised if Apple doesn't change it.

SC

dick

Lighten up. As somebody who has Macs, Linux boxes and Windows PCs both at home and at work, I had to grin when I saw the image. I wish other companies would be less serious and allow for little jokes like this in their applications.

I actually saw the icon on the Internet, not on my Leopard Mac, because most of the time, it's so small that you won't even notice what the screen shows, or how old the screen on the icon is.

Frankly, I don't understand how anyone could be so insulted simply because Apple makes a joke about Microsoft.

The joke was definitely in bad taste. I too feared becoming part of the 'Apple community', because of the better-than-thou attitude most of them have. Its what stopping me from buying an iPhone, and what has prevented me from ever owning an iPod. I just don't want to see myself being that way I guess...

Someone is definitely fired.

Get on jihad with us my brother! Join us, you'll find plenty of us easily offended by each and every thing around us. Get your act together and burn your Apple computers on the streets! Start protests! Demand that Jobs be thrown out and the company bows and apologizes!

We need to eradicate these inferior human beings who claim to have a "sense of humor" or whatever they call it.

Anil I wasn't going to comment but now you've got Jobso here and Bill is grinding his own glasses lenses these days to save a few dollars so I had to jump in and put our perspective forward.

Seriously, this icon is an attack on the free world. It's evil. It's Jobso's calculated attempt to drive a wedge in with his little mallet, between us and our loyal users. It is propaganda gone mad. Ever since he kept Bill waiting in reception at NEXT he's been on our case. Never lets up. Even posted Monkey Boy on Youtube a million times and told all his friends. Mango smoothie or no mango smoothie, the man is a menace and just because it's funny doesn't mean it's not serious.

I am heading directly to Washington tomorrow to lobby for a law-change so that this sort of thing - satire by icon-parody - is solidly outlawed so we - I mean the law - can make examples of terrorists who start copying that irresponsible Jobso.

Much love

Steve
aka Dr. Sweaty.

Well, joke or not, bad or good taste, there's a usability problem, who cares if the remote computer is a mac, a windows or a linux box?

What's that icon for? "Warning, this computer may be unstable, you should not connect to it" ?

Funny to read some "get a life" about this article, if you care about mac/windows war (or jokes, you decide) then your life is probably not very exciting...

Wow. The endless drone of "It's a joke, lighten up" it starting to remind me of zombies moaning in films.

We all _know_ it's a joke, thank you captain obvious!

It's a joke that should not have shipped in the _final_ code. As someone else notes, it's actually a very ugly icon in terms of the monitor shape, and hence seems out of place in the finder. The joke just isn't very funny when you look at it all the time, and when Apple have their own "blue screen" problems this doesn't improve things for them.

Oh yes, I myself am a Mac user, not a "Win Zealot" or whatever.

I define my personality by the operating system I use, and so it is an attack upon the very core of my being when people insult Windows!

Before this icon came along, Windows had a reputation for great stability that is the stuff of legends.

Now thanks to Apples completely baseless and unfounded smear-campaign showing an obscure error screen (that most people have never seen because of the legendary stability of my beloved Windows) the reputation of Windows is sullied.

This is war! We the windows-faithful must gather together to fight this injustice, we must slay the infidels where they stand, the streets will run with their rainbow-coloured fruity blood! Death to them all I say! There can be no greater crime!

Anil and followers, you're all pathetic whiners. And your blog suck. You can kiss my balls, idiots.

And no, I'm not a "mac", I just happen to not be a smug arrogant prick whining about other smug arrogant pricks. I guess it takes one to know one.

Arrogant pricks.

Now, that last entry was funny!

I hate Windows and I don't own a Mac. I am jealous of Mac users because Apple is so innovative. Why can't Microsoft admit defeat and start over from scratch? OS X is a better system and I begrudge the unnecessary complexity of Windows. I also love the humor of Apple. Long live those who are witty and clever! Down with party poopers--no one likes them.

So how much did the Beastmaster pay you to complain about this?

It's not like the Borg is not paying for other web site bashing the iPod where they specifically hide the fact that they're behind them...

An interesting read. Carried it on www.winvistaclub.com :-)

I think it’s funny that people cannot take constructive criticism. (That’s you:”It just a joke” people). I think this BSOD is another in a long line of poor business decisions Apple has made. The icon is a funny ribbing, but in the release version makes them look at the very least childish and immature. Apple has the best design from a cosmetic standpoint. I cannot say how good the software is since I have not owned an Apple since the II series but it does not matter for me. I will not be buying… I will not buy the products in part because things like this show why they are not ready to sit at the big kid table. I bought three music players this past year and not one was an Ipod out of principle and distaste for dishonest Apple marketing and Apple fanboy flaming.
-Robert

a little angry you are ?

I use also linux, and of course it bothers me to see a "blue screen" to symbolize a linux server at work, but well...

it's just hilarious to see that in a commercial product as Apple. surely apple wil remove that in one or two subversions of osx 10.5 but I totally love it, dig it, fond of it

it's irrelevant, insulting, arrogant, blasphemous and a shame upon the sky of humanity and I dig it !

it's why I like apple. no shame and no false humility ! sometimes it bites me too ! you know ? but I prefer that than the plain ugliness and lies of typical Dell, HP or Microsoft.

I like being smug. It keeps a nice large wall between me and all the wannabe technoweenies (ahem...).

" it's a snide shot at the other computers you own, or of your family's other machines around the house, or of the computers of the peers you work with. "

Good lord, you'd think you were complaining that Apple had a folder in iPhoto labeled "My Kids" with an icon showing a spectacularly ugly dog.

Dilbert's peak is long past, but its success was due to it making fun of not just the computers of the peers you work with, but the peers themselves.

"Oh noes, they are making fun of the other operating system we use but often bitch about! Oh tempora! Oh mores!"

at least apple have the good sense of displaying their GSD in 4 languages (english, french, german and japanese).

but who cares, run Ubuntu or even better Debian and you are in control =)

Chill out dude, it's a joke, no need to get all cranky about it

While I thought the BSOD icon was funny, you're absolutely right about the inappropriateness of a major company using something like that. Especially if they can't even guarantee that the icon is representing a Windows PC.

Meanwhile, in the Kernel Panic Flickr image you linked to, while it might SEEM like a good idea to have an error message in multiple languages, a normal user will tend to have one language preference.

Showing an error message 4 times in what is most likely one language the user reads and 3 he/she doesn't is both smug AND bad interface design. Wouldn't they be better off using their graphic expertise IMPROVING the user experience?

This joke was fun 12 years ago. Ahhhhh, but it makes the fanbois happy, so keep on reheating it.

And there is no way, I think, to tell if it is a real Windows box or just a Linux server with Samba posing as a CIFS file server.

jwer, thats why it's in 4 different languages.

besides if you look closely on the photo you can see that it's a windows program that has caused the kernelpanic. Windows Live Messenger to be precise.

Personally I think the icon's pretty funny. I'll never get to see it though because:

1. I don't own any PCs other than work's laptop which is secured to the point of not allowing the WINS/netbios name to show up on any network.
2. My corporate masters won't allow Macs anywhere near them. And even if they did, see point 1 above.

Still makes me laugh though.
Childish? Of course. I love being a successful child rather than a bitter old man.

jwer,

I assume they do it that way because, in a panic situation, they can't rely on the CPU, disk, or RAM being in a usable state. They can't assume they'll be able to check the language of the user and select the appropriate message from a folder on the disk. Instead they just pull a small bitmap out of some non-volatile memory on the motherboard and slam it up on the screen.

Anil, payback is a mother%#$! , isn't it. Windows fans have been making jokes of the Mac OS for years. Now that the Mac OS X has surely surpassed the antiquated Windows OS, Apple can do what they want. Really. Lighten up. This goes to the pc fans also. You know who you are too.

#Anonymous : No, it's windows live mail (hotmail.com), I guess it's running in Safari or another browser (and it's not a windows browser running in parallels since the "choose file" button we can see clearly looks like an OS X button).

But, well, whatever, OS X can crash too, the 100% crash-proof OS doesn't exist.

@Jon H, the pulled bitmap could be pulled in the right language, I guess it's not pulled *during* the panic, but *before*, and it could also be smaller ;-)

Geez...seriously. You want a smug company? Blog about Halliburton next time. This is totally a waste of space.

it truly amazes me, with all the shit that goes on in this world(global warming, burma, palestine/israel, etc.) that people still reserve the bulk of their passion for this incredibly arbitrary and pointless bickering over NOTHING.

please stop breeding.

Global Warming. Ha.

Lighten up. Your self-created gravitas is crushing your giant ego, which is crushing your sense of humor.

Arrogant and casual (about security):
http://www.heise-security.co.uk/articles/98120/1
Selling a pre-SP2 firewall to customers is lame as well.

So this is what it's come to - complaining about how OS X Leopard (yes Leopard - that's what it says on the box I bought) portrays a Windows machine, and complaining about what Apple calls their OS versions?!?!?! Apple must be doing something right if that's the best you can come up with.

Speaking of versions, I recall Microsoft attempting to name their software after the year it came out. They were late on release on a few of those, and we don't see much of that any more.

Truth hurts doesn't it. I suppose since Macs don't get viruses, or blue screens of death, or..........anything bad, they can't be smug about it?

Get a life.

Come on. It was funny. I personally think that the reason so many poeople are taking this joke so hard is that it hits too close to home.

Think about it: If you are dressed up, look great, and someone says "I wish you would wear something nice once in a while," you know it's a joke. It's obvious. But if you are in ratty jeans, and your hair is a mess, you might take it as an insult.

So I think this is the same thing. I think the window-lovers are rather thin skinned about their OS's stability, and they're not taking the joke well.

Quoted from BillyK: "Lighten up. Your self-created gravitas is crushing your giant ego, which is crushing your sense of humor."

Best blog comment evar.

>there’s a usability problem, who cares if the remote
>computer is a mac, a windows or a linux box?

Makes it easy to identify which computer is which? I think for Macs, it shows the correct icon (my Mac mini shows up as a Mac mini), so I can see at once which computers in the list are which (well, I can distinguish between the mini and the other boxes).

It's not a usability problem, it actually helps with usability.

Take a pill.

If they put a picture of Windows working, I would not recognize it. You should put in a picture that portrays it as it usually is, and Apple did that.

I don't find PC crash that much actually but WE ALL KNOW what the Blue Screen of Death is....so it is a pretty good icon....if I see it...I KNOW it is a PC....

Jim

As a PC user, on the surface I do find the use of a blue screen to depict PCs to be humorous. And in fact, were this an isolated example of Apple's "humor", I doubt Anil (or me) would bother to comment at length about it.

But I think Anil is on the mark here. If as some of the Apple fanbois indicate, this is indeed a missed remnant from beta or RC testing, that doesn't speak well for Apples QA. If it's a smug dig on M$, that doesn't speak well for their judgment. In either case, Apple comes off looking like M$ of the past.

To the above-the-fray section of the blog:

Quit using Apple's BSOD icon as an excuse for not buying Apple products. The truth is you wouldn't buy a Mac no matter what. The BSOD is just giving you a justification to make a disingenuous claim which doesn't fool anyone.

Regarding Apple, you obviously don't know what you're talking about and you're coming off as Microsoft cronies.

totally agree dude, really in poor taste on their part...

and for those of you telling him to lighten up, theres a time and place for everything, and this was not it...

That's one of the funniest thing I've ever seen! I'm not a Mac fanboy... in fact I don't even own and iPod. Every computer I own is a Windows machine and I appreciate the joke. Seriously, have a sense of humor people!

ughh, arrogant Mac users?

Try tired Mac users—people who are sick of hearing Windows users just assume you must be using Microsoft crud... like sending freakin memos as .doc files.

Or MSE who pass themselves off as IT personnel tell you that Mac's can't do x or y because of Microsoft shortcomings like blocking LDAP ports.

The claimed "arrogance" of Mac users is just you excusing your ignorance.

Sneering arrogance? The only one sneering here is you. Your profound bitterness is telling.

Wow... no sense of humor here. I don't think it's smug at all, and I'm a Windows developer by trade. It makes me laugh. You remember laughing, right?

Anil, you could have saved some keyboard mileage by just typing "I have no sense of humor". Peace out.

A Mac is just another PC. I think Apple ties their OS to their hardware in part because they don't want to go groveling to hardware vendors for drivers, and in part to see how much abuse of the DMCA and similar laws you can pull before you get sued out of Europe. Hasn't happened so far, so they'll just keep on going.

And we'll see who's laughing when Linux crushes OSX /and/ Windows.

Lighten up, chump. Where would AAPL and M$FT be without each other? Take some of that money you saved in buying an 18-month-and-out PC box and spring for a sense of humour.

Have a beer. Smile. More wag, less bark.

Hey! What’s everybody talking about?

Apple?

What? They have a new computer out? A lot of people are talking about it. They’re saying it’s better than a PC. Did I get the story right?

Anil … you (and a bunch of other folks) walked right into this one.

Genius, I say. Genius.

This is pretty indicative of Apple attitude in general. If they'd been smart, they would have put John Hodgman's face in place of the BSOD. Failing that, since it's an icon for anything that isn't a Mac, it ought to be just a beige monitor.

(I really like my MacBook, but it's missing some hardware niceties from my old ThinkPads.)

This is making a mountain out of a molehill. Who really cares if they're smug? I don't think it's even that. It's called "rivalry" -mayhaps you've heard of it? This is the equivalent of one teenager whining because another made fun of him, or the defensive insecurities manifested by someone who's easily intimidated by competition.

Really. You're an adult, grow a thicker skin.

Ya hit the nail on the cherry!!!

I personally find the icon slightly amusing, rather than smug, but obviously both of our opinions are purely subjective.

That said, this whole debate misses the forest for the trees. Why does the BSOD icon exist? Because Apple includes SMB functionality so that its users can connect to Windows shares. Apple is providing a valuable service to its users, even at the expense of implicitly endorsing the proprietary standards of its competitor (Microsoft).

So why doesn’t Microsoft get in a jab of their own by including a “Sad Face Mac” icon in Windows? Oh, that’s right, because Microsoft DOES NOT BUILD IN SUPPORT FOR AFP IN WINDOWS CLIENT. Now, you can argue that there is less economic incentive for Microsoft to support AFP in Windows than vice versa, which is true. But it’s equally true that Microsoft sells many more units over which to amortize fixed development costs, so the argument cuts both ways. Ultimately, the fact remains that Apple is offering additional functionality to its users in this case, and Microsoft is not.

So which is worse? Adding functionality for your users, and bundling it with a “smug” icon? Or restricting functionality for your users, either because you are too lazy or because you want to lock everyone into your own proprietary network protocol?

I don’t think there is any contest at all.

i don't understand what the problem is. macs are just better and pc users are in denial. they are simply inferior people.

pc users, please stop breeding.

I thought it was rather humorous. Hilarious, even.

Of course, this notebook is running Feisty Fawn, and my PC is running Gutsy Gibbon, so I'm getting a kick out of the comment about cat names. (:

I find it humorous that anyone would defend some ribbing of the OS Marketshare "bully", particularly since Easter Eggs in programming is a longstanding tradition.

In one of the much older (1999 vintage) versions of MS-Word, if you typed in "I'd like to kill Bill Gates" and then run it through the (I think it was the thesaurus) you got a humorous response of "I’d drink to that". Coincidence, right?

-hh

BSOD??! I thought it was teh Vista spalsh screen..

But seriuously.. get a life. Compalining about this is so anally retentive, so MS.

BSOD??! I thought it was the Vista splash screen..

But seriuously.. get a life. Complaining about this is so anal-retentive, so MS.

The computer warz, as they are called, between IBM derived PCs and Macintosh PCs are old. Bullying people have been writing Macintosh DEATH KNELLS since before it was released in 1984.

http://www.macobserver.com/appledeathknell/index.shtml

The fact is that Mac users have been attacked relentlessly with FUD, lies, ignorance, arrogance, troll attacks, etc. on an endless basis. Then when Mac users dare attack back of course THEY get the reputation as the the smug, arrogant attackers. What a cute game, all very stoopid and trivial. Personally, I enjoy jumping into the middle of it to unmask the trolls and provide truth from both sides of the story.

However, having Apple themselves step beyond the bounds of humor into public sarcasm is not professional. If the picture presented here is real, then I am very disappointed. I suggest Apple pull it out of the next revision of Leopard. Easter eggs should be fun. Mocking thy neighbor is not fun. It is on the level of the mean spirited little trolls who have been denigrating Macs all these years. One does NOT want to become like one's enemy, else one becomes one's own enemy, or something like that. ;-)

:-Derek

About the cat names: It is normal for developers to have project names while the projects are under development. Apple always has used them. Apple users enjoy the Apple culture, including the corporate culture which is so famous. So users started adopting the project names. Apple has joined in the game, keeping the project names as references well after the project is released in finished form. It is an expression of fun and joy. Why not cat names? Why are people still referring to the upcoming Windows Vista Server as Longhorn? Mellow out dude. It is Mac OS X 10.5. It is Leopard. They are the same thing. They are interchangeable. Join the party.

i use a PC and i think that it's extremely funny....and let's face it - XP/Vista is no OSX!

while i think it would have been funny if released by an individual. This seems to be a cheap shot at a corporate level. (user of 3 linux desktops, 1 windows gaming system and a macbook)

passive-aggressive means you piss people off by not doing something. so microsoft failing to ensure interoperability is passive aggressive. including a bluescreen picture like this is not passive, it's active aggression, because something has been done rather than not done, i think.

Boo Hoo.

Get Mac.

The reality is the BSOD is an excellent iconic representation of ALL that is so sorry about the Monopolysoft PC experience; therefore, it's an entirely appropriate icon.

They could use a Vista icon instead but no one would recognize it.

If you don't like being mocked for using the worst OS available, don't use it.
Get a Mac.

What??? isnt it a windows normal screen?? I guess it it

What a puss... how little do you actually have to do with your days that you would not only take offense to this but would then go and post a lengthy blog about it.

Get over yourself already.

I mean, seriously... who really cares?

The bottom line is that image is indicative of my entire experience with Windows. I'm a life-long Mac user and I'll be the first to admit that I gave Windows a shot back in the 90s due to the stagnation that was plaguing the Mac at that time and guess what? I was wholeheartedly under-whelmed.

Why?

Because I saw that BSOD way more than any "mature and stable" OS should allow a user to see.

Then again... I'm one of the computer users who actually views a computer as a tool.. as a mean to an end... not as some game platform/glorified word processor.

So Apple actually shows disdain for M$... who gives a flying-f.

Me thinks if you weren't so blatantly anti-Apple you would have never wasted the time to blog this...

Douche...

Apple can use their BSOD icon if they choose to.

I can decide not to buy a Mac if I choose to.

And I just bought a PC.

For a guy who is obviously quite intelligent and usually spot-on in your posts Anil, your disdainful reference to (and professed ignorance of) Apple's OS X feline code names was astoundingly clueless, and showed an amazing lack marketing-savvy as well. Apple can sell a hell of a lot more OS software if it has a "cool" code name instead of a mere number. Especially when the upgrade's version designation is only going from 10.4.10 to 10.5! And honestly, all it would take was a little online research to find out that the different code names each apply to "major" upgrades (OS 10.2=Jaguar, 10.3=Panther etc). Not much different than Microsoft dubbing its OS upgrades Windows 95, Windows 2000, Windows XP is it?

If this is the biggest outrage an OS release can generate, I think Apple is doing alright.

I am getting tired of the cat-names though.

Hey, "come back to work!" ;)
Why all PC? I never seen blue screen of shame on any kind of Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, but Windows...
Jobs and Apple has good sence of humour.

If Apple wanted to be truthful, they'd designate Windows PCs by putting a 4 color flag & something like "97% MARKET SHARE" on the PC's screen. But then, all the iTards would be upset as that truth is just too painful for them.

"This is pretty indicative of Apple attitude in general. If they’d been smart, they would have put John Hodgman’s face in place of the BSOD."

---------------------------------------------

LOL
Now THAT would've been funny. Using the BSOD icon is only funny in the "I'm better than you" humor style of Dennis Miller. It may be funny, but it's also very petty and mean-spirited. Those that are telling Anil to "get a life" are too stupid to recognize that there are different kinds of humor, and there's a place and time for each kind. Using Dennis Miller "I'm better than you" humor is NOT appropriate for a shipping product, no matter how funny you may find it to be.

Now, if Apple really wanted to be funny and still use the BSOD icon of Win9x, then they should've used the "System Bomb" of Mac OS 7,8,9 to represent Macs as well. Mac users (and I was and am one) were *much* more likely to encounter System Bombs in Mac OS 7,8,9 than Windows users (and I was and am one) were to encounter BSOD in Win9x. That is a fact, ladies and gentlemen.

"One more thing" (to quote Jobs):
If Microsoft used System Bombs or Spinning Beachballs to represent Macs, most here telling Anil to get a life would be beside themselves with rage.

Whoever finds an outdated and inappropriate picture hilariously funny is surely the one who should get a life. "Father Ted" is funny. This is just dumb.

Those saying "who cares" and "what's the big fuss" are also obviously logically challenged, since they themselves cared enough to post.

My five-year-old Win XP system has never blue screened and is surely more stable than any Mac, despite the fact it has been a workhorse with thousands of apps installed. But use whatever gets the job done.

Why would Apple have to be respectful to Microsoft? I purchased a Windows PC, and a Mac. I expect them to work, even together on some things like networking. I don't expect Apple to somehow be respectful to Microsoft (who is a convicted Monopolist by the way) or the other way around. I mean, why are they such a sacred cow? I know your a former MS employee, so this explains your advocating MS so much on this site. I would understand if it was a political point but they are just saying the competitions product is crap, big deal, why is that supposed to be inappropriate? Microsoft says it all the time IN PRINT. I guess to the real important thing here is who the heck are you? You have not done shit. There thats smug now you tell me how smug I am you smug f*ck.

Its OK to demand respect, but you better be much better than Vista if you think your getting it otherwise YOU come of as the smug one.

Personally, I think it is a lack of humor that has led corporations to become massive soulless institutions. If we're going to consider corporations people, its about time they started acting like it.

I saw this and thought I'd interject my two cents here.

This may feel a little bit arrogant or inconsiderate to windows users, but in the long run it's truly not all that offensive. Nobody's going to be hurt deeply because you implied their operating system crashes frequently. I think you're blowing this entirely out of proportion.

This isn't untamed arrogance. It's a joke. Apple like establishing a repertoire with its customers - that's what they do. When you call apple tech support, they often chat about things other than the computer while helping you. When you go to an apple store, things (if they're doing their job right) aren't pushed on you - they just act -really excited- about their products and show why they're so passionate about them.

Having a company that's passionate about its products is not a bad thing, and having a company that's willing to establish in-jokes with its customers and poke fun at competition isn't bad either. Apple's not doing this to be mean - anyone who's used a PC knows what the blue screen is and how often you wind up seeing it.

It's really not that huge or offensive a deal.

Try to follow me here, Anil-

I'm not better than you because I prefer Apple products,

I prefer Apple products *because* I'm better than you.

By better, I mean cuter, happier, smarter, and wealthier.

Some may call that smug.

Others call it reality.

Namaste

Jeez, Dude... lighten up. BTW, the cat name for Windows is PUSSY.

Haha that's funny. The blue screen is a windows 3.x/9x bluescreen. Btw do you have Counter Strike or Half Life?

Somebody needs to get a sense of humor. It amazes me that anyone would really get worked up over something like this that's an obvious joke.

I should think that the icon in its "normal" size on a desktop (48 x 48, say) will be so small as to not show the BSOD text. It will look rather unobtrusively blue, not offending anyone. Only geeks will get the joke. Nicely done, Apple!

man these fanboys just don't stop. but how come they are so quiet about all the trouble Leopard is having?? It might not be "blue screening" but it sure is not working up to expectations.

[1] Cat Names.

At least on 'Mac OS X, 10.5', the 'cat name' is most definitely found. Please ensure Finder is the active application. Select 'Help', then 'Mac Help'. What's new in Leopard?

To quote Henry:

"If Microsoft used System Bombs or Spinning Beachballs to represent Macs, most here telling Anil to get a life would be beside themselves with rage."

Actually, no.
Because there are more important things in life to be enraged about. To anyone with something better to do it would just be another joke ...which I guess means a lot of people on both sides of the fence need something better to do.

Case in point, those who preached about levels of humor and a "time and place for everything" are essentially hypocrites.
If you have a life outside your computer, or at least outside of the politically-correct corporate fanboy lifestyle at all, then your view of "levels of humor" should be broad enough to realize this entire BSOD joke is very, very small indeed. That it's raised this much debate is a pretty sad view of modern western culture.
To read much of this, you'd think the icon was racist humor.

The real over-reaction always takes place when someone shares their personal over-reaction with a group, or god forbid, the public.

It's not a big deal that they put the icon there, although personally I admit I find apples ads and this icon egg to be a little bit childish. But I also find plenty of hilarious comedians childish and they are still funny.

Ever since the 90's it seems like people are so scared of being viewed as politically incorrect, impolite, insincere, etc that no one can do anything without dumbing it down to the all-consumable and corporate approved netural mass message.

God forbid mac takes a shot at the PC. That's just SO wrong, I want to take back my macbook pro because I identify with my OS so hard I can't get over a single joke!!!

I would never do that to PC!!!

To the person that hesitates buying a mac laptop because you don't want to be part of the mac culture, maybe you shouldn't buy one.

Anyone that bases a hardware tool decision on the culture surrounding it is both missing the point and highly likely to get sucked into said "culture". Get a computer for the reasons you need it, not the reasons everyone else tells you you should.

Thanks!

Windows/Linux user here. I like the joke. Please do lighten up.

Re: (two weeks on, oh well) about cat names, I think his point isn't that the names themselves are a problem, or too cutesy, or whatever the hell. It's that the names are opaque to the user--in other words, user-hostile.

Before I started bringing my Vista laptop into work, I was using our Mac desktops, and I agree. I'd download a programme and only discover then that I had the wrong cat. I'm not a tech blogger, just a (non-mac) geek, but I didn't know what the hell cat I was running. If applications are OS-limited, than it should be clearer what that OS is. All I knew is I was using OSX. Of some kind.

But then I've never got the idea that Macs were particularly user-friendly in the first place.

ha ha!

hippie iMac

many people might think of these kind of things as mere jokes, however, corporations no matter the size should not engange in such immature actions and be professional regarding product releases. using a bsod icon to represent a windows or any samba share is highly unprofessional no matter what angle one may take.

Apple should learn to behave more like Sony...or Nokia.

Maybe Microsoft should include an icon in Vista SP1 of one of those old iMacs (you know, the first gen ones) with a spinning-beachball-of-death on it, that shows up whenever you connect to a Mac.

Or maybe BOTH companies should just get a clue, and co-operate, get along. I understand the Apple camp/MS Camp is good for THEIR business, but for the rest of us, the actual businesses and home users - well, we just want our computers to work and connect to each other without going through hoops.

Linux crashes?!?!?

But really, dude, what did you expect from Apple? At the end of the boot cycle, OS X is JUST ANOTHER OS. Open folder, close folder. Mount share, unmount share. Whew! that was so much more rewarding on a mac.

Anyone else remember years of OS 9 freezing up if, god forbit, you opened more than one program at once, having to completely reboot (no protected memory space), then having a smiling mac look at you while you fumed?

I think a lot of folks are missing the point here. Sure it's sort of funny, but it shows an overall lack of professionalism. If apple expects to be taken seriously by "the real world", silly antics like this just make it look more and more like the girl who's beautiful on the outside, but mean-spirited and petty on the inside. I don't know, as a systems admin, I don't like what it would show to my users, if I were to have them connected to a windows file share. I also think it's a relatively inaccurate portrayal of Windows systems.

"Perhaps most disturbingly, it's not at all implausible that this little easter egg was, at least implicitly, approved by Steve Jobs himself"

Wow! that is the most convoluted statement I've read in a long time. The most disturbing thing is that it is possible that maybe, just maybe, Steve Jobs approved this without actually giving his approval.

....Now, that's "Smug Ugly!"

All I can say is, who knew such dull, pointless and inspired prose could inspire so many comments?! Keep up the good work Anil! Maybe some day someone will give a shit for your take. or not...

Great post. I can't tell you how much I'm beginning to dislike the ever-so-smug and usually not so subtle "I am immeasurably superior to you in every way, because I use a mac and you use windows." attitude.

The majority of smug mac users seem to have very little computer or general technical knowledge, which I imagine has a little something to do with the put downs. Yes, there are a lot of cool mac users who do amazing things, and more often than not they aren't spending their time being a smug jerk and bashing people who use a different OS.

The fact that this attitude is being encouraged from the company itself does seem to warrant a thoughtful blog post.

I'd better end this comment now, before my copy of xp crashes. :)

always a joke when it's not directed toward you. don't you love how even though Mac is the one making the 'joke' Mac users are vehemently defending it, or rather justifying it?

Anil has made a valid point. but that is just it though, mac users being smug demographically is not far from truth. they can't even recognize their own smugness. can dish out the scrutiny, but can't take it. pathetic to say the least.

just admit, Jobs' marketing is based completely on downplaying pc. what is pc anyways? i can understand mac os versus windows, but against all of pc? this is where Jobs fails. i very happy with my superior hardware that i have spent much less on. that is where i win.

just imagine if MS used a steaming pile of dog poo as the icon for networked macs. wonder how many "aw come on, get a sense of humor" remarks there'd be then...

I’d have empathy with PC users if they didn’t understand what the icon meant or had never seen that kind of screen before. That’s not the case. However, people don’t want to get reminded of their failures and you’re likely to get a bad reaction. That's understandable. Still, as often as I’ve been derided by PC users over the years for using a Mac, I wouldn’t feel apologetic at all.

"Oh wait… you’re an idiot. Longhorn is the code name for Windows Server 2008."

Vista and Server 2008 share the same code base and codename.

I've noticed a lot of these comments are concerning the smugness of Apple users, but it's a little ridiculous to only see one side of the story. P.C. users are also smug, and I've heard quite the same bit from P.C.'s as I have from Mac users to PC Users.

It's just a tool and having one or the other doesn't represent your worth as an individual so you shouldn't be insulted if there's a harmless blue screen image. That's what they do when they crash. It would be just the same if Windows decided to use a sad mac as a representation of Apple. Would you be insulted? Probably not.

Who’s being smug here? You’re saying that Apple can’t throw in an extremely amusing joke (not to mention an accurate representation) without being arrogant jerks. I’m not buying it. Lighten up, dude.

@Mike: Sony, eh? Do the words "DRM-loving rootkit scandal artists" mean anything to you?

@ jwer: Seriously, man, you don’t even have a vague clue about what a kernel panic is. Where the very core of the operating systems stops operating, it’s not really possible to flip open a preference file and figure out what language the user speaks, then pop up a customized error message. Apple did this to improve usability, which has been their legacy ever since System 6. How, exactly, is this being arrogant?

Who cares??!! MAC IS THE BEST OS EVER!! Why can’t they show an image of an a olden-age computer with that annoying blue screen?? It represents very well the other operative systems… I HATE WINDOWS!!! and one more thing: Windows Vista IS WAY WORST than Windows XP—

Dang... you can't be funny anymore without being attacked. I think the image is funny. I use both Windows and OSX. There are things I like about both of them. But I can also joke about the both of them too.
I like people with a sense of humor though.. makes the world a happier place.

I think you are jealous idiot who can't seem to get over the fact that Apple played a light-hearted joke. But if your other computers have feelings that were hurt by this joke, then by all means, go on and sue apple for an apology. I wish you good luck, sincerely.