And now for something much sillier: Microsoft's promotional material for XP. In early September, the ever-so-slick Microsoft marketing machine got into gear by sending out an 'Exploiting Windows' email newsletter extolling the virtues of its next operating system.

It may well extol the virtues of its lovely software, but sadly it shows absolutely no regard for the basic rules of the English language.

Apparently, XP means every member of a family will (and we quote) "be able to have there (sic) own environment within the PC that is unique to them".

Microsoft also says many people have "purchased Digital Camera's (sic), Video Camera's (sic), MP3 music players and the like".

Sometimes, software installations go wrong and screw your system up. But with XP, it's not a problem: if this happens, you can revert to the pre-installation settings. As the newsletter reads, "If you install a new piece of hardware or software that causes the PC to fail you can restore the PC to it's (sic) last know (sic) working condition."

But our favourite balls-up is in the very first part of the letter. Microsoft says: "In many homes today the PC is used by the entire family. To meet the needs of everyone in a secure and reliable manor (sic) is a tough challenge we deliver on with Windows XP."

Fair enough, but what about those of us who aren't to the manor born and live in unreliable, insecure flats? Tsk. Let's hope Microsoft checks its code more carefully than its promo material. Err...


thanx to Jon at Silicon.com