Dear Log,
«Insensitive computer programmers with little knowledge of geography [or language or...] have cost the giant Microsoft company hundreds of millions of dollars in lost business and led hapless company employees to be arrested by offended governments. [...]I'm conflicted here. On the one hand, it's Microsoft, the spastic colon of modern capitalism.For example when employees were arrested in Turkey because Kurdistan had been shown as a separate entity on maps of the country, a decision was taken to remove Kurdistan from all maps. "Of course we offended Kurds by doing this but we had offended the Turks more and they were a much more important market for our products. It was a hard commercial decision, not political." [...]
[And in another incident:] "I checked with an Arabic speaker in the company who was also a Muslim about what the chant [in the background music to a video game, "Wu-Tang 99 Pirate Ninja" or whatever] meant and it was from the Koran. He went ballistic. It was an incredible insult to Islam." He asked for the game to be withdrawn but it was issued against his advice in the United States in the belief that it would not be noticed. [...]
[...and on and on...]»
On the other hand, they have managed to successfully convey to practically every histrionic little clan on the planet an important message, namely: The exact geometry of your disputed border with Khekhistan does not matter. Whether the word for ">>Next" in Eastern Ethnese is the same as the word for "stabbing you six times in the throat" in Western Ethnese, does not matter. Whether the centipede on your flag is rampant or sejant does not matter. You do not matter.
I think of it as a public service message.
Microsoft will impress me further only if MSWord 2004 is renamed "Bitch I'm-a Kill You".
