A New Look for an Old Nemesis
Sep. 26 5:09 pm - Post by Brendan Magee
As many of you have probably read, Windows 8 is going to include an update to the appearance of the infamous Blue Screen of Death (a.k.a. BSoD). Instead of containing the ominous message many Windows users have come to dread, the refined look will be much simpler and “friendlier,” with a “sad face” emoticon taking the place of most of the text. Given the new BSoD’s markedly less intimidating nature, I’d suggest that we dub it the FFoF, or “frowny face of fail.” Seems fitting in light of its cutesy façade.
Of course, this cosmetic change is merely palliative: it doesn’t address the root cause, which is the stability of the code underlying the system. Researchers at NICTA, Australia’s national IT research center, have been making some headway into developing “crash-proof” code, which just might obviate the need for a BSoD in future versions of Windows. I’m sure the success of those efforts would be more beneficial than any attempts to mollify frustrated users with one of these → 
If Microsoft’s goal is to distract people from their anger, I have a few suggestions that might be useful. Since it seems that even ATMs aren’t immune to these difficulties, what about an error screen lifted directly from Bret Easton Ellis’s masterpiece of 1980s greed and excess, American Psycho? I’m referring to the occasion when a cash machine offers a simple, direct command to the novel’s protagonist, Patrick Bateman: “FEED ME A STRAY CAT.” If you like the simplicity of the American Psycho error screen but are put off by the insanity and implied feline cruelty, consider instead the elegant Venture Bros. solution: the “PROBLEM” light.
Maybe after they’ve sorted out this BSoD business, Microsoft can tackle the bane of all Xbox 360 players: the “Red Ring of Death.” I know a few console gamers in this office who’d be pleased as punch with that sort of improvement.