| Tuesday, September 29, 2009 |
05:58 - Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/28/charlie-brooker-microsoft-mac-wi
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I guess if Microsoft's purpose in releasing those "Windows 7 Launch Party" videos was to spark some publicity—of the "any is good" variety—from pundits, at least in that respect they've succeeded.
It's so terrible, it induces an entirely new emotion: a blend of vertigo, disgust, anger and embarrassment which I like to call "shitasmia". It not only creates this emotion: it defines it. It's the most shitasmic cultural artefact in history. Watch it for yourself.
Still, bad though it is, I vaguely prefer the clumping, clueless, uncool, crappiness of Microsoft's bland Stepford gang to the creepy assurance of the average Mac evangelist. At least the grinning dildos in the Windows video are fictional, whereas eerie replicant Mac monks really are everywhere, standing over your shoulder in their charcoal pullovers, smirking with amusement at your hopelessly inferior OS, knowing they're better than you because they use Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard.
Snow Leopard. SNOW LEOPARD.
I don't care if you're right. I just want you to die.
I'm reminded of a friend in Toronto who pointed out a poster ad in the subway for Toronto's city water system, touting its cleanliness and quality of service and so on—despite the fact that it's effectively a government monopoly. "Why don't they just put up billboards for Toronto City Air?" he said. "It's smoggy. It's acrid. But you'll DIE without it."
I feel for the guy, I really do. Which of course plays me right into his archetype. But really, the way the world has shaken out has really left people like him between a rock and a hard place, hasn't it? There is no good choice if you want to retain your dignity, so you just punt that dignity downfield in the way that lets you keep doing what you were doing.
Via JMH.
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Brian Tiemann
