Microsoft to launch Vista with human billboard

Microsoft will kick off its Windows Vista launch activities with a human billboard in downtown New York.

The Cirque du Soleil-style performance will take place at 9 a.m. Monday at the Terminal Building.

"It's a billboard. It's marketing, except that it's made by people," Mike Sievert, corporate VP for Windows told CNET News.com late Wednesday.

Among those on hand for the marketing stunt will be around 80 families that extensively tested Vista.

The performance will kick off two days of activities in New York as the software maker touts its first consumer Windows release in five years as well as the launch of Office 2007.

Sievert said New York was chosen because it is a "very big, very important city" for Microsoft. The company plans to invite several hundred beta testers from the Greater New York area to a party in the Times Square area Monday evening.

Microsoft, along with several of its hardware partners are hosting a lunch Monday at the posh Cipriani restaurant.

New York was also the locale for the business launch of Vista and Office 2007 in November.

[reverend_john]

So what, big deal, who cares.

So what, big deal, who cares.
Why do I dislike Bill Gates and windows?
I'm a minister with a church and we set up an area for the kids to learn and use computers. Of course we needed a windows operating system for the 12 computers that where donated. Upon contacting microsoft about needing windows for these kids, I get ?you can purchase a volume license? for a price that was so high we could not afford it.
So here we sit with 12 out dated computers, 12 inoperable computers (no system), and a bunch of unhappy kids. I try to teach them there is good in everyone but that?s hard to do when they see what Microsoft did to them.

[NRecob]

GOT ANY CHEESE WIT DAT WHINE? LOL

God helps those who help themselves genius. Do you have ANY clue how many people out there CLAIM to represent a church and feel they are "entitled" to FREE software "for the kids"? I don't blame Microsoft a BIT. They are a BUSINESS in the BUSINESS of MAKING MONEY. BTW, Bill Gates has given away more money to charity than you and your ENTIRE congregation will EVER SEE IN YOUR COLLECTIVE LIFETIMES ;) GET OFF YOUR AZZ AND MAKE THE PROJECT HAPPEN REV--BLAMING SOMEONE AND NOT MAKING IT HAPPEN ONLY TEACHES THE CHILDREN TO BE SPOILED SNOT NOSED WHINERS WHEN THEY DON'T GET WHAT THEY WANT EASILY. ;)

[DigiCamGeek]

Welcome to the real world, kiddies

Microsoft didn't do anything to them. You got 12 free computers. That's pretty amazing in itself. Microsoft isn't obligated to provide free anything to anybody, and they shouldn't have to be. Did you try applying for a grant, or something else like that, before you demanded a free operating system from the world's largest evil empire?

You should try and teach those kids some "real world" lessons. Nothing is free. Several years ago, when I was in college, a bunch of us helped build a shelter, a place for drug-addicted mothers to go (with their children) to clean up and start over. It was free for them, but we worked our butts off so they could have a better life. Some of the money came from our own pockets, but almost all of it came from a grant that we applied for through the city and county governments.

Don't hate microsoft and Bill Gates just because they won't give stuff away for free. That's just silly. ;-)

[Riquez-001]

A Blessing in Disguise

I think this is Gods way of saying you don't need Windows or
Microsoft. You can install Linux for FREE on these computers & you
just need to find a good samaritan with some spare time to help.
Good luck with your computer project, this is a blessing in
disguise.

[J_Satch]

Try eBay

You could probably pick up Windows 2000 or even XP pretty cheap. You don't need the latest and greatest (in some people's opinion) to learn basic computing concepts.

[dotmike]

Use Ubuntu, they have Baby Jesus (it's true!)

IIRC, Canonical's management hierarchy consists of a fairly
traditional open source structure, with Mark Shuttleworth as the
ultimate recourse for a serious decision.

However, where it is something that is important and
Shuttleworth isn't well placed or able to decide on it, the team
asks "what would make Baby Jesus cry?"

So don't make Baby Jesus cry by using Windows, use Ubuntu
instead.

[orphu]

WWJD

I don't think he'd complain about not getting something for free that others pay for.

I sincerely doubt that you're a minister.

[orphu]

WWJD

I don't think he'd complain about not getting something for free that others pay for.

I sincerely doubt that you're a minister.

[rapier1]

Having worked with non profits most of my life

I can tell you that there are arrangements that can be made if
you have the wherewithal to actually persue them. For example,
you can actually search the MS website and find:
http://www.microsoft.com/industry/publicsector/grants.mspx
and
http://www.techsoup.org/stock/microsoftprogram.asp

The problem is that you probably didn't know the right
questions to ask. That question is "I am interested in the
microsoft software donation program for nonprofits. Can you
help me?" Now that you have the information you need go kick
some ass.

[KTLA_knew]

MS charity

Hasn't MS been reported to be the single most charitable large corporation on the planet in per-capita giving?

The fact that you're using your position of influence over children to twist their views to fit your agenda is appaling, as though MS "did" anything to them.

My guess is this is just another Linux troll, not a true story.

[Hep Cat]

From the headline...

I thought this was going to be a guy standing inTimes Square
with a sandwich board.

If you read C|Net, you'd think this Vista launch was the end-all,
be-all of amazing technical breakthroughs for the consumer,
but most well-respected technical journalists have already
panned the release.

Then again, those guys don't make most of their money from
Microsoft ads, like C|Net does.

[rapier1]

Or it could be

That this is actually news to a larger group of people than you
personally.

Its interesting how people react to CNet. All of the Apple people
seem to think that they are horrfiically biased against Apple and all
of the MS people think they are intensely biased against MS.
Everyone wants to be a victim I suppose.

[Norseman]

"Human billboard"...

...also made me visualize the guy with the sandwich board that reads "THE END IS NEAR."

Hmmmm. Maybe that's not so far from the truth!

[J_Satch]

Great Idea...

...they could hire the blue man group, paint some hexadecimal code on them, and call them the BSOD group!

[nugmebot]

apart from the religious blabla, he is right

Linux is no religion, so religious remarks are not neccesary. But even if the minister that started this thread reads a bit more about the philosophy behing linux/free software, he will conclude that it combines very well with his religion.

[mh20932]

YAWN -- if you want to impress me...

...try launching Vista with a living billboard composed of 256 Siberian Huskies. It would look better, smell better, and have a higher collective IQ.

[Rapidweather]

Cirque du Soleil

The Cirque du Soleil is quite visual, so I see the tie-in between the fancy graphics in Vista here.
Look up Cirque du Soleil on the internet, their website is very fascinating, just like the shows.
Don't know if the Vista show in NY will feature them, but I'm sure we'll find out Monday.

rapidweather.com

[Sumatra-Bosch]

Vistapocalypse - Study Finds Vista Almost Completely Insecure

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,128660-c,onlinesecurity/article.html#

[jdzions]

Read the article and you'll see this...

Webroot picked the malicious code samples from tens of thousands of samples collected on its Phileas spyware scanning network. Webroot's Spy Sweeper product spotted all of the samples.

When asked, Eschelbeck acknowledged that 25 samples was a tiny fraction of Webroot's database of tens of thousands of malicious code samples. He also acknowledged that it may be possible for Microsoft or other competitors to pick samples of malicious code that would evade Webroot's Spy Sweeper product, given advanced knowledge of how Spy Sweeper's detection features worked.

(In other words - rigged study. He didn't claim to have made a random sample, he didn't even claim that he didn't cherry-pick. Had he made either claim, one could choose to believe him or not; without the claim, one tends to believe he looked for samples that made Defender look bad.)

[jdzions]

Read the article and you'll see this...

Webroot picked the malicious code samples from tens of thousands of samples collected on its Phileas spyware scanning network. Webroot's Spy Sweeper product spotted all of the samples.

When asked, Eschelbeck acknowledged that 25 samples was a tiny fraction of Webroot's database of tens of thousands of malicious code samples. He also acknowledged that it may be possible for Microsoft or other competitors to pick samples of malicious code that would evade Webroot's Spy Sweeper product, given advanced knowledge of how Spy Sweeper's detection features worked.

(In other words - rigged study. He didn't claim to have made a random sample, he didn't even claim that he didn't cherry-pick. Had he made either claim, one could choose to believe him or not; without the claim, one tends to believe he looked for samples that made Defender look bad.)

[dynoplatinum]

where's the terminal building?

does anyone know the street addy of where this is gonna happen?