The following is a conversation overheard as Bill Gates was
moving into his new house...
Bill: "There are a few issues we need to discuss."
Contractor: "Ah, you have our basic support option.
Calls are free for the first 90 days and $75 a call thereafter. Okay?"
Bill: "Uh, yeah... the first issue is the living room.
We think its a little smaller than we anticipated."
Contractor: "Yeah. Some compromises were made to have
it out by the release date."
Bill: "We won't be able to fit all our furniture in
there."
Contractor: "Well, you have two options. You can
purchase a new, larger living room; or you can use a Stacker."
Bill: "Stacker?"
Contractor: "Yeah, it allows you to fit twice as much
furniture into the room. By stacking it, of course, you put the
entertainment center on the couch... the chairs on the table... etc. You
leave an empty spot, so when you want to use some furniture you can unstack
what you need and then put it back when you're done."
Bill: "Uh... I dunno... issue two. The second issue is
the light fixtures. The bulbs we brought with us from our old home won't
fit. The threads run the wrong way."
Contractor: "Oh! That's easy. Those bulbs aren't plug
and play. You'll have to upgrade to the new bulbs."
Bill: "And the electrical outlets? The holes are round,
not rectangular. How do I fix that?"
Contractor: "Just uninstall and reinstall the
electrical system."
Bill: "You're kidding!?"
Contractor: "Nope. Its the only way."
Bill: " Well... I have one last problem. Sometimes,
when I have guests over, someone will flush the toilet and it won't stop.
The water pressure drops so low that the showers don't work."
Contractor: "That's a resource leakage problem. One
fixture is failing to terminate and is hogging the resources preventing
access from other fixtures."
Bill: "And how do I fix that?"
Contractor: "Well, after each flush, you all need to
exit the house, turn off the water at the street, turn it back on, reenter
the house and then you can get back to work."
Bill: "That's the last straw. What kind of product are
you selling me?"
Contractor: "Hey, if you don't like it nobody made you
buy it."
Bill: "And when will this be fixed?"
Contractor: "Oh, in your next house -- which will be
ready to release sometime near the end of next year. Actually it was due out
this year, but we've had some delays..."
