526: Chapter 525: Bug Causes Massive Blue Screens

At the same time, Microsoft's public relations teams in China and Europe were firing on all cylinders, throwing massive budgets at everything.

Splash screen ads, information stream pushes—they used every available resource. They even partnered with 360.

In short, they used every means possible to ensure that as soon as users opened their computers, they would see the promotion for the free upgrade to Win10.

Many users, lured by the word "free," chose to update as soon as the official version launched, waiting to use the new system the next morning.

The new system worked fine for the first two days, but by June 27th, some users started encountering problems.

An internet company in Beijing.

"Damn it, blue screen! My project wasn't saved yet!"

"Crap, mine too!"

"Luckily, I saved it last night, so the loss isn't too bad."

Then the third, the fourth... half of the computers in the office turned blue, filled with blinding white code.

The technicians working there rushed over, cursing at the blue screens:

"Are these idiots at Microsoft not doing any testing?"

"In previous years, a new version would take at least two more months. And how could they possibly offer a free upgrade?"

"It's over. We shouldn't have been greedy for this small benefit. It's obvious they were nervous because of Transsion and rushed out a system..."

Meanwhile, more users on forums were posting about their miserable experiences.

For example, a college student writing their graduation thesis was halfway through when the system inexplicably auto-updated. After restarting, it went straight to a blue screen, and the thesis of over 10,000 words was gone.

An internet cafe, wanting to save money, chose to batch-update, only for half the machines to fail to boot, leaving the owner squatting at the entrance smoking in anger.

Even funnier, his friends all came over to "congratulate" him.

The worst cases were government office computers, which also inexplicably auto-updated and ended up blue-screening and going on strike.

The service counters in the hall were forced to suspend operations.

As the number of "lucky" victims grew, #Win10BlueScreenIncident# completely took over the trending searches.

"Thanks a lot, Microsoft. A free upgrade that comes with a blue screen. My graduation project is gone. Are you going to take responsibility for me delaying my graduation?"

"Our boss is almost worried to death. 30+ computers in a small enterprise all blue-screened. 100% failure rate, can you believe it? The IT department is so angry they're writing resignation letters. It's hilarious; they can't fix it at all."

"When it was paid, it was at least usable. Once it's free, they just give up. So, we legitimate users are just lab rats, huh?"

"Free upgrade is one thing, but the disgusting part is that it's a forced update? Our company's computers got hit."

Almost simultaneously, Microsoft received a flood of complaints, but the problems went far beyond just blue screens.

For example, network card drivers failing after the update, printers unable to connect, game frame rates plummeting, infinite reboot loops...

The most serious issue was some users losing hard drive data after the update, rendering the computers unable to boot.

Facing various issues, Microsoft China's customer service lines were completely overwhelmed. Many users who finally got through received this reply:

"Hello, sir, thank you for calling. However, due to high call volume, there are 999 users ahead of you in the queue."

To mitigate the impact, Microsoft China finally couldn't help but issue a response:

"We are urgently investigating the issue. We recommend that users experiencing problems roll back to the previous version. Microsoft will provide technical support."

But this cold response only made netizens more irritated.

"Roll back? Easy for you to say. My files are gone; how do I roll back?"

"It really looks like you pushed a free upgrade without finishing testing, just to suppress our domestic operating system. You have no shame."

"@Transsion, when is Taishan OS coming out? We can't wait anymore. If I keep using Windows, I'm going to go crazy!"

"Hurry up and launch it! I'll buy it no matter the price, as long as it doesn't blue screen or force updates. That's better than anything!"

Just as the internet was in an uproar, Transsion took the opportunity to land a few more blows using the Digital Chat Station account.

Digital Chat Station: "When Microsoft announced the free version the day before yesterday, I already warned everyone that free things are often the most expensive. But at the time, many people called me a lackey for Transsion, claiming I was just protecting my master. Now, I think the results are quite clear."

"After this lesson, let's talk about this matter. First, is Microsoft suddenly offering it for free out of the goodness of their hearts? Don't kid yourselves."

"Since 2000, or rather since computers entered the Chinese market, Windows has relied on turning a blind eye to piracy to kill off a large number of domestic operating systems. If you try to sell an OS, they lower their prices or make that version free, and users vote with their choices. But once you're dead, they slowly start charging licensing fees. It's an old trick. And Microsoft's legal department hasn't said they're ignoring this; they might still use legal means one day..."

"Looking at the current situation, they still want to play that card, but Transsion isn't one of those small companies from back then. I've also gotten some inside information about Taishan System. Taishan System won't play the 'free activation' game, it won't break industry rules, and of course, it won't rely on burning money to grab market share. But we will bring the price down to a level everyone can afford, like a monthly fee the price of a milk tea, or a perpetual license the price of a meal. Stable, smooth, secure, no ads, and most importantly, no forced updates. Good things shouldn't be ridiculously expensive."

No forced updates and the pricing—this immediately hit Microsoft where it hurts...

It is said that Microsoft immediately held an emergency meeting, and technicians were forced to work overtime again. They had to fix the blue screen issue within 24 hours, or everyone could get fired...

The technicians were helpless but had no choice but to work overtime. After all, the Windows operating system is the last bastion of the United States' tech industry; it must be preserved.

"Digital Chat Station is still the best, the tone is as ruthless as ever. A bunch of dogs were saying Microsoft is letting you use a free OS, and you don't even know how to be grateful. Foreign companies are all wolves with wild ambitions; I'm not grateful for jack."

"A monthly fee the price of a milk tea? That sounds pretty good. If a perpetual license is under 100 yuan, I'll buy 10 copies directly to support the domestic system."

"I don't ask for much, just don't blue screen, don't force updates, and don't secretly install bloatware. Is that too much to ask? Windows can't do any of those."

"To the person above, regarding the secret installation of bloatware, could it be your Little Bird Wallpaper?"

"Uh? Speaking of Little Bird Wallpaper, can Transsion restrict 360? This guy is just too disgusting~"

"To the person above, remember the 360 Law: if you can't even uninstall Little Bird Wallpaper, then you really do need it! [Dog Head]"