This is probably one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.

What's Windows? Oh, yeah.... as a Mac user (and convert from Windows), I sometimes forget there are people who actually *want* to use an inferior, cheap knock-off operating system.

Windows is for people who want to play around with their computers.

Macs are for those of us who actually want to get work done.

Acccording to the article each of those patties weighs 113 grams, or roughly a quarter pound. Seven of them totals 791 grams, or roughly 1.75 pounds. That's a lot of meat! I wonder if they really expect to sell many of them. Is this some cultural thing peculiar to Japan?

But does any of this mean that it is Microsoft which has no taste, or Burger King?

So how would I describe that meat monstrosity? Bloated and unwieldy... sure sounds like MS software to me. So I beg to differ, Michael: Kudos to Microsoft for 'truth in advertising'.

Maybe Microsoft has no taste, but you have just devoted a non-zero period of your life to make publicity for Microsoft's new operating system, and Microsoft hasn't had to pay you anything. Any Samizdata reader who didn't know Windows 7 was out today, certainly knows now!

After suffering through that recent lengthy discussion about Windows version numbers, how could you think that there was any Samizdata reader who didn't already know about Windows 7?

Any Samizdata reader who didn't know Windows 7 was out today, certainly knows now!

Anyone who didn't know Windows 7 was out today must have no internet connection and no television :D

So if you manage to eat a whole one and then pass out with your head on the table, do you see a tunnel and a welcoming, loving light, or do you see a Blue Screen of Death and an error code?

Ahhhh .. it is good to see that the Religious Rivalries that used to be expressed during the Amiga Wars period are re-asserting themselves ... or it yet another expression of the Self-Styled Elite versus the lumpenvolk ?

What's next ? Some variant on the Spanish Inquisition ? Or the tired old "But MACs don't get viruses" ?

Lets settle this once and for all. Windows is for gamers and people who don't know better (gamers do know better but have no choice), Macs are for fashion slaves with more money than sense, and Linux (including BeOS, BSD and other esoterica) is for masochists and people who don't care what they look like while getting serious work done.

There, end of argument.

Well I use both Windows (gamer who loathes consoles) and a Mac (fashion victim)...

Was that story about the Chevy Nova in Spain true?

Maybe the rest of us are supposed to eat it; but, will
the Hindu market?

windows = stirling engine
mac os x = 4 stroke ic engine
linux = wankel rotary engine

I am beginning to wonder if there is a way to turn this into an LVT thread...

Since the ad is for the Japanese market, I'd imagine that the designers and the people who gave the approval were all Japanese. What is considered to be in good or bad taste in the UK or US is not universally accepted.

Aha, I think I've found the inspiration for this.
To paraphrase: The world is a blur of technology and meat. http://www.zippythepinhead.com/

The guys in marketing didn't think too far ahead - they pretty much set up the "Big Mac" response from a twaining of Apple and McDonald's - "You never go wrong with a classic" or some such.....

Reluctant to disturb the party but:

- what the heck is wrong with TONS of great burger patties stuck on top of each other?

- if you tried Win7 you would realize it's actually Microsoft's best effort yet, not so bloated and unwieldy anymore; have you?

- is it cool to poke fun at a company that is no longer THE threat to humankind? (wink)

That said it's obviously your property so... :)

Oh come now. How can one see an advertisement like this and not feel the immediate need to make fun of the people responsible for it. And Windows 7 is a good product, sure, but I still want to make fun of the burger.

Any chance that this is a wind up? An alligator would struggle to bite into that monstrosity.

Tomas, I have not tried Windows 7 (I will probably wait for the second service pack), but *this advert* is telling me that it is bloated and unwieldy... and as that has generally been my experience with MS products...

Nigel: No, it's real

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCHhWX205bY&feature=player_embedded

I see now that I was arguing not with the post itself but rather the comments that ensued - my mistake.

Hence I'm only going to add that this ad seems to me more of a product of Japanese 'oddness', if you will, rather than bad taste on Microsoft's part. Other than the lame "Windows 7 Party" thing, they tend to be rather bland and uninspiring in their communication.

But, how many recall those years back, just as Steve came back into Apple that Bill Gates had MSFT provide substantial capital to Apple at a very crucial time - good investment, no?

"I am beginning to wonder if there is a way to turn this into an LVT thread..."

Of course there is!

If we had a Land Value Tax, then people would spend their entire lives standing in line outside the land valuation office waiting for their chance to protest the ridiculous valuation that some faceless bureaucrat had imposed on their little piece of heaven. They would have no time to use any operating system -- but they might appreciate a family member coming by with a huge burger to keep them going through the cold nights.

Of course, said family member would have had to pay for the burger with a gold coin. Don't want no fiat currency messing up our LVT paradise!

Alice: oy, my big mouth:-)

The interface does affect a person's thought process - time and effort has to be spent on learning the ins and outs of how it works, this becomes ingrained in the mind, as the computer is an object we interact with probably every day.

Some interfaces are seen as being more 'polished', or easy to use, or more secure, or better than there counterparts, or have a dedicated group of like-minded followers.

And what about the electromagnetic affects?

This ad appears to be for a Japanese market. I don't know enough about fashion and fads in Japan to say for sure but I imagine this may actually be a popular advertising move there, due to the popularity of competitive eating.

what the heck is wrong with TONS of great burger patties stuck on top of each other?

Absolutely nothing, although they missed a glaring opportunity to separate those 7 great burger patties with 7 slices of cheese and 7 rashers of bacon. Pity. My arteries are hardening at the mere thought of it.

Windows 7: Available in Shanghai via unofficial channels slightly ahead of the official release date, for the princely sum of 5.5 Yuan. About 50p. Subliminal message: That’s about all it’s worth.

Mmmmm... burgers.

I majored in liberal arts. Would you like fries with that?

Er, no. A couple of gallons of Coke might be helpful though.

Look. Macca's has its Double Quarter Pounder. Wendy's has its Three Quarter Pounder... and for a while it had an unlimited Pepper Stacker to boot. In-N-Out topped out at 100 stacks, with cheese in between.

What's a puny 7 stacker compared to allathat?

PS Who uses MSFT products, well, most large corporations, gamers, HTPC enthusiasts, and about 80% of all home users beyond that. I'd say their dominance is guaranteed for at least another half decade.

I wonder if it's called a whopper because they're lying about how good it is, or lying about you being able to finish it? Does it come with a free stomach-pump?

Perry: Windows 7 *is* the second service pack. Anyway, as a gamer who hates consoles, have you played Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising yet?

This was definitely not a good idea. Very unhealthy and fattening. It would probably take a week to burn off all those calories.

-Nikki-(Link)