Jim Male 10/4/2005
Jim@xugle.com
Mr. Steve Ballmer
CEO of Microsoft Inc.
Mr. Ballmer:
On Tuesday October 4th, I contacted Microsoft’s technical support about an issue that has yet to be resolved… I recently built a new computer with the hopes of transplanting my hard drive into the new system. I did so, and the lack of flexibility that Microsoft so kindly included with Windows XP Home Edition causes it to Give me the safe mode prompt, with each option including (my personal favorite) the Blue Screen of Death with side of automatic system restart.
Contacting several companies about this problem, including Microsoft and Gigabyte (the manufacturer of my motherboard, the GA-K8n Pro-SLI) all I received was finger pointing and senseless answers such as something along the lines of “You must download and install the chipset drivers for your new motherboard while using that motherboard. After that, windows should start.” As this answer has a circular dependency, I cannot follow through with it. Another potential solution was to reformat my hard drive and re-install windows. How acceptable does this sound to you, Mr. Ballmer? Would you be willing to nuke your hard drive and start over at the drop of a hat?
The lack of general knowledge of computer systems and the windows operating system that your technical support group possesses amazes me. How could one person possibly be trained to know every in and out of the windows operating system!?! The simple answer is that they cannot. I highly suggest having an unannounced internal tech support audit. Microsoft needs it. Badly.
Finally, I wish to inform you that this is the final nail in my Windows-Use Coffin. Linux is looking extremely favorable, as I have had only three kernel panics EVER. However, I lost count of BSoDi in 1996. With the recent announcement that Quake 4 will be released for Linux, and the modification that allows Doom 3 to be played on Unix-Like operating systems. Also, I would like to inform you that this was typed on Open Office.org Version 1.1.5 on Kubuntu Linux, and printed through the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS)
I hope this Fax will cause action to be taken to improve your product’s flexibility and tech support quality for the cult-like following that windows will have when it is considered an alternative operating system (remember OS/2?)
-Jim Male
*signature*
Jim@xugle.com
This was the angry Fax that I sent to Steve Ballmer after I had been p/oed enough bu the crappy tech support I reveived. The Next day, while I was at school, a certified Microsoft Web Administrator/Tech Support Guy called my house. My mom told him to call back later, so he emailed me an introduction and told me that he had taken up my case, and would call me around 3:15 to help. When the called, I could immidiately tell that this was not some indian-hick that was pulled of the streets of Bombay and given a 3 week crash-course. I explained that my system wouldn’t boot into windows in the new machine, and he replied that it was an anti-pirating measure, so people can’t install windows on one hard drive and then dd it to hundereds of other drives. To get around this I would need a non-OEM copy of windows, so I could perform a “repair” install… which basically re-generates the Registry.
Being the cheapskate that I am, I tried looking in the usual places, miscilaneous torrent sites, P2P networks, etc. for a cracked copy. No dice. The next day, at wal-mart, I asked about a copy of Windows XP Home… the guy pulled out a copy of the UPGRADE disk, which is for people running Copies of Windows in the 95 Family, and tried to pass it off as the Full copy. That basterd.
Tomorrow I have a school sponsored community service project (putting up christmas lights) that I have to complete (or I don’t graduate in 2010) and after that I’m going to get a copy of XP Home and then it’s going to be DOOM TIME!!
-jX (slightly less pissed off)