Writing Software for Worldwide Distribution Proves Difficult 1391
lupa1420 writes "Insensitive computer programmers with little knowledge of geography 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."
Specific Ocean? (Score:5, Funny)
The annual National Geographic Survey had thrown up the sad fact that only 23 out of 56 young Americans knew the whereabouts of the Pacific Ocean
Oh, cry me a river--like the Pacific Ocean is some big, important thing. I mean, you need to drive all the way to Sweden just to see it!
ob simpsons (Score:5, Funny)
Que? (Score:4, Funny)
Perhaps the best known...was a colour-coded world map showing time zones, which showed the disputed Jammu-Kashmir region as not being in India...The mistake led to the whole of the Windows 95 operating system being banned in the country, losing large sales. For its replacement, Microsoft, Office 97, Microsoft removed the colour coding and sold 100,000 copies in India.
Office 97 replaced Windows 95? Yikes.
Cheers,
Ian
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:5, Funny)
Other items which caused offence (Score:5, Funny)
Several Arab countries resented being called either "Oil" or "Just terrorists".
Several former Soviet Bloc and Warsaw Pact countries objected to the name of their countries being followed by "(or whatever they are calling themselves this week)."
Re:not exclusive (Score:5, Funny)
I hope not. Especially since Seattle is essentially on the Pacific Ocean.!
Re:Insular US (Score:5, Funny)
Yes and one of them is your President!
Of course not! (Score:5, Funny)
.
[/sarcasm]
Re: the grandparent post, that quote from the article got me too. I was wondering if they were showing an upside down map or something...
Re:ob simpsons (Score:4, Funny)
Homer: (Looking at a globe map...country being Uruguay) Hee hee! Look at this country! 'You are gay.'
Re:Lame article (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Insular US (Score:5, Funny)
"To the C students, I say, 'You too can be president of the United States.'" - George W. Bush, 2001
I wish I had a nickel... (Score:3, Funny)
1) Office 97
2) Office 98
3) Windows 97 (and they will refuse to be corrected)
23 in 56 can locate the Pacific Ocean? Seems a little high, to me.
Nice Title... (Score:3, Funny)
In order to assist our beloved editors with coming up with more accurate titles, I have included a list of other titles that they can use for articles at thier discretion:
Light Speed Turns Out to be Really Fast
Windows Security Hole Discovered, Disavowed
Fall Elections May Descend into Chaos
Script Kiddies Demand More H@x, Fewer Firewalls, Higher Salaries
Microsoft PR Campaigns Foolish, Ineffective
Hot Grtis Proven to Make ANYONE More Attractive
Oh that's great! (Score:5, Funny)
*cough*hagia sophia*cough*
Re:Lame article (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, who cares about little piss-ant countries like Pakistan. Call me back when they have nukes...
*RRRINNNGGGG*
North Dakota and Montana (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:3, Funny)
And what about slashdot? (Score:5, Funny)
I will not stop until the color changes!
Re:not exclusive (Score:1, Funny)
And when the big one hits, will be IN the Pacific
Re:ob simpsons (Score:2, Funny)
Leela: "The United States is part of the world"
Fry: "Man, i have been gone a long time!"
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:3, Funny)
Maybe if you referred to some place in America we'd understand.
Seriously, though, I have a friend who was moving from Wisconsin to Florida about 15 years ago. He got pulled over in Alabama by a state trooper for doing 70 in a 55. The trooper saw Wisconsin on his license plate and drivers license and then asked for his passport.
He did manage to get out of the ticket. I suppose the trooper didn't want that to get back to the station.
Re:The whole idea is crazy (Score:4, Funny)
And people didn't fucking buy it and so Microsoft fucking changed their fucking code so that the fucking people would fucking again buy the fucking product.
Re:Que? (Score:4, Funny)
Why would studying C lead you to politics? (Score:5, Funny)
All those pointers and 0 based arithmetic. I swear if I ever have to write another link-list routine, I'll go postal.
Re:Que? (Score:4, Funny)
But you Unix types wouldn't bat an eye if the text read "...replacing Windows 95 with emacs!"
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:4, Funny)
"So, this is America? That is too bad, I wanted Brazil."
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:5, Funny)
A worldwide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was:"Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?"
The survey was a huge failure...
In Africa they didn't know what "food" meant
In Eastern Europe they didn't know what "honest" meant.
In Western Europe they didn't know what "shortage" meant
In China they didn't know what "opinion" meant.
In the Middle East they didn't know what "solution" meant.
In South America they didn't know what "please" meant.
And in the USA they didn't know what "the rest of the world" meant
Ohio? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:And what about slashdot? (Score:4, Funny)
You Sir, ain't no Canadian.
It is colour, eh!
Kakuto Chojin (Score:3, Funny)
I never even heard of it before this article and now I'm intrigued. I've got a few Muslim friends who might shed a little insight into that chant thing. And who knows! They might react with rage!! Could be very entertaining!
Anyone got that? Contact me at xdesign at hotmail.com
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:1, Funny)
That's easy... alaska is in the pacific ocean just southeast of hawaii and just west of mexico. its surrounded by a thick white straight coral reef or something.
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:3, Funny)
Duh... it's a few hundred miles southwest of California, right next to Hawaii. (There's a thick black protective barrier of some kind around them, I think after Pearl Harbor was bombed in the 1700s.) Don't you look at maps?
Re:Of course not! (Score:4, Funny)
"Made in Turkey" and "Fabrique en Dinde".
The French "Dinde" is the bird, while the country's name is Turquie in French.
Re:Insular US (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Master / Slave HDD (Score:1, Funny)
If I were you I'd worry less about IDE terminology and more about sexual frustration...
Re:After reading this article... (Score:1, Funny)
Dickhead.
NEW Mexico (Score:2, Funny)
Also, I did tech support calls for a few years in college and at least once a month some idiot would make a reference to us being "foreign". My favorite was "You speak very good English for living in a foreign country." "I try my best..." is all I could come up with.
Re:While we're on the subject.. (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Master / Slave HDD (Score:3, Funny)
If I say "asshole", are you offended? Just offhand? I wouldn't be. As soon as I say "You asshole", you should be offended. Context.
Get the chip off your shoulder, the bug out of your ass, and stop acting like anyone has anything against you. The only thing I see you guilty of is adherence to blind rhetoric. (Oops, I said blind... maybe I should say sight-impaired...)
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:5, Funny)
So you've got your hands held up in front of you to illustrate geographical locations. Maybe they were trying to poke you in the eye for being such a weirdo.
Re:Of course not! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Of course not! (Score:4, Funny)
Now, imagine if some Christian zealots wanted to ban or censor offensive music, lyrics or even games. I mean, if that was to happen in the US, it would cause an outrage!
Re:fall forever, Pacific Ocean where? (Score:1, Funny)
No problem... (Score:3, Funny)
It wouldn't bother me at all. Here [web-japan.org] is the flag of the country I live in...
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:4, Funny)
There is no way possible that only 20% of the teenage population in America could identify the United States on a standard globe.
Now, possibly if this globe only had latitude/longitude lines, and no geo/political markings (such as continents, countries, oceans) etc. I could believe it.
We have all stared at maps. We all watch TV where the outline of the country is shown on the news. We know what the outline of the country looks like. Florida is that little thingy on the bottom, and Maine is the one way up on top.
We know what the North/South American landmass looks like...okay, yes, South America and Africa could be mistaken for each other - but North America doesn't look much like Eurasia.
I could possibly, somehow, believe that 20% of the teenagers could NOT find the United States. And I would assume that retards would make up about 1/2 of that number.
Take me to a highschool in the most backwoods, or crack infested neighborhood. At least 50% of those kids have some sort of brain and kind and could find the United States. Then go to a fairly decent high school, and you are talking about at least 95% (the other 5% being the aforementioned retards).
Yes, there are morons like Jessica Simpson (god I'd like to bone her) running around who don't know fish from poultry. But that is not 80% of the population.
Shit...if nothing else, about 20% of the teenagers are immigrants...and therefore by world standards, they must be educated enough to pick out our country on a globe.
Re:Bah! (Score:2, Funny)
This probably won't translate: (Score:5, Funny)
A very attractive, accomplished, intelligent woman played a prank on me. As a party game, she had me close my eyes and trace the outline of "the ideal woman". I figured the game was to get the guy to lose track and laugh at the deformed outline. Something along the lines of "Her breasts are 2 feet above her neck!"
So I concentraited very hard.
"Ok, show where her eyes are."
"Show where her nose is."
"Show where her hair comes down to."
"Show where her breasts are and their approximate size"
"Show where her navel is."
"Show where her waist is."
"Show where her hips are."
I was focussing really hard as the bits got closer together, sure I was creating a monster.
"Show where her vagina is."
I put my finger out and felt a warm, moist cavity.
I fell over laughing - she'd knelt and put her mouth on my finger. I was pretty surprised. And a bit embarrassed.
Urban Legend? (Score:1, Funny)
As you says, 'Pajero' is a word that here in Spain evokes some (un?)pleasant images
After a time, they renamed to 'Montero', a word without such connotations...
Not to mention the Mitsubitshi GRAND Pajero...
Re:The whole idea is crazy (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The whole idea is crazy (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Specific Ocean? (Score:3, Funny)
"We all watch TV where the outline of the country is shown on the news."
Maybe the TV is the problem [icccr.org].