A Burger King where the only Whopper is the BSOD font
- Reference: 1632161707
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/09/20/bork/
- Source link:
At least it makes a change from McDonald's, very much the [1]DNS of Bork when it comes to failures.
In this instance, it looks like it is the exterior signage, normally showing a slideshow of tasty (and frequently greasy) treats, that has succumbed to the curse of Microsoft.
[2]
Click to enlarge
"That color... That font..." said Register reader TD, who spotted the unhappy sign. TD pulled into the parking lot to snap the scene, but did not say whether a purchase was made.
Perhaps, therefore, this is some new marketing wheeze by the patty pusher: come for the bork, stay for the burger? Or, more likely, Windows has tired of being put to use as a glorified sign flipper and taken its vengeance by flipping its own special sign (via the Blue Screen of Death).
[3]
With so little detail available, it is difficult to speculate on what has befallen the screen. We'd guess the operating system is Windows 7, or possibly Windows XP (judging by the font) and either a bit of hardware has given up the ghost, or the software running the slideshow has strayed somewhere where Microsoft would rather it didn't.
[4]
The BSOD itself is a bit of an endangered species nowadays. Microsoft redesigned it in more recent incarnations of Windows to be less alarming and instead feature a sad face emoticon rather than a screenful of apparent gibberish to frighten the horses.
Still, it is a comfort to know that in the Iowa city of Cedar Rapids, some of the old ways are still holding their own. Even if Windows has most definitely fallen down. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/01/bork/
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/09/20/bork.jpg
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YUkEphbSsbNXdASzidmi-QAAAEE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YUkEphbSsbNXdASzidmi-QAAAEE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
BK signage
Around here, any Burger King with a color digital display uses ones from Daktronics in Brookings, South Dakota.
After my high school moved to a new building in January 1997, I had the pleasure of running a large exterior low-res Daktronics incandescent 80 x 16 sign during my senior year. It was mounted on poles by the main road; each pixel was the size of my head -- or so it seemed -- and it drank power like a rock concert. The PC running it was some IBM clone running MS-DOS (I don't know the version) and interfaced to the "sign driver" unit via good ol' RS-232. It was also kind of cool to learn that their display boards had been used in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
I know more recent Daktronics products ran software on Windows, so I'm not too surprised here, and XP sounds right.
(One more thing: two my three initials are "B" and "K", but I'm 50/50 between them and Wendy's.)
Windows...
...has fallen down at the BK Lounge, ohhh yeah!
Didn't say if a purchase was made?
Of course a purchase was not made - what do you think this is, McDonalds?!
When did McDonalds become half the price and double the quality of BK, I'm sure they used to compete.
Windows has fallen and can't get up!
Seems Mrs. Fletcher took Clara Peller's place in asking "Where's the beef?!?"
USA 1980's TV commercials....