Special 7th-Heaven episode. Help save Microsoft.
Copyright C 2006 by Eric Matteson
Permission is granted to copy the plain text version
of this script and to publish it on the Internet.
Non-profit uses such as student films are also allowed.
..
Starring Mark Hammil as Luke Skywalker.
Starring Stephen Collins as Eric Camden.
Starring David Gallagher as Simon Camden.
(Scene 1 At Camden house in living room)
Simon is at home being home schooled
in Fall 2006.
Eric Camden brings Luke Skywalker in to the
living room with Simon.
ERIC
I have invited Luke Skywalker over to help teach
about Microsoft Windows.
RUTHIE
Why pay for Windows ?? There is a rumor that LINUX
is simply a copy of Windows with a different
desktop artwork.
LUKE
Absolutley WRONG!!!!
Linux XWindows is very different from Microsoft
Windows and the Linux filesystem is different from
the DOS filesystem used by Microsoft Windows.
SIMON
XWindows looks a lot like Microsoft Windows.
LUKE
Linux XWindows uses bit plane arrays. Even in the simplest
monochrome program pixels are actually put into
bytes in REVERSE ORDER.
Overall the LINUX bit plane is upside up.
Microsoft Windows uses a bitmap in memory where
pixels in a byte are NOT in reverse order.
Microsoft bitmaps for the SetDIBitsToDevice(............
are UPSIDE DOWN.
When colors are used in LINUX several bit plane arrays
are used one for each color. Within a bit plane
array for a color there are still eight partial pixels
per byte that are set to set that color.
In Microsoft Windows there is just ONE bitmap
and several bits are used in each pixel for
colored bitmaps.
SIMON
Even though Linux XWindows looks like
Microsoft Windows it is different ??
LUKE
Absolutley. There was a case in which Apple computers
that used a different kind of CPU than a normal computer
had a system that looked like Microsoft Windows and
had the same look and feel even though they were
different inside.
One of the companies sued the other because the
two systems looked so much alike on the outside.
The Court found the defendent company NOT GUILTY
because APPLE MACINTOSH operating system is
different internally from Microsoft Windows even
though they look alike to untrained computer
users.
Think of LINUX XWINDOWS for the Pentium Based computer
as a third similar looking operating system that
is uniquely different from the other two on the
inside.
LINUX XWINDOWS is NOT a copy of MICROSOFT WINDOWS.
RUTHIE
Luke, what do you think of Microsofts
alleged possible reccommendation to use Suse Linux ??
LUKE
I hate Suse Linux with a passion. It is impossible to
turn off the sceensaver in Suse Linux. In Microsoft Windows
in display settings there is a screensaver section
that allows the screensaver to be turned off completely.
It is also hard to find software development
during Suse installation. You have to stop at the
same screen that has partitioning and choose
change install settings add software development and
check the check dependencies check box.
SIMON
Fedora Core Linux Version five allows the screensaver
to be turned off even though Suse does not.
In Fedora Core Linux just check the VISIBLE
software development checkbox during installation.
LUKE
Linux in general has a problem with removable
media. The newer Linuxes wait for 30 seconds before
beginning to write to a floppy disk drive and you
have to watch the floppy drive light because the
Linux lets you go on to the next command before even
starting to write to the floppy disk drive.
I hate Linux!! I hope that Microsoft Windows continues
to be available in the future.
(Then the Camdens have lunch and Luke Skywalker
eats with them.)
(Scene 2 at computer store)
Eric and Annie Camden are at the new computer
store to look for a new computer.
There are rows and rows of new computers that have no
floppy disk drives.
CLERK
How can I help you ??
ERIC
We need new computers with floppy disk drives for
our family.
CLERK
What is a floppy disk drive ??
ERIC
You stick in a 3-1/2 inch square plastic thing with
a magnetic disk inside that is used to record information.
ANNIE
Our kids at school have to turn their assignments in
on 1.44 megabyte floppy disks.
CLERK
I do not know what you are talking about.
ANNIE
Remember when you used previous computers in the
past ?? the 3-1/2 inch wide 1/4 inch high slot
on the front of the computer with a button to the
lower right.
CLERK
I just arrived in the United States last week.
I have never used a computer before.
ANNIE
Can you call the manufacturer and special order
three computers with 1.44 megabyte floppy disk drives ??
CLERK
No. In the country I am from the factory is always right.
We do not question them or ask for any special favors.
We just accept whatever we are given without question.
ERIC
What about the customer always being right ??
CLERK
I have never heard of that.
(Then Eric and Annie leave the computer store and go home.)
(Scene 3 at home)
Annie fixes dinner. Kevin and Lucy come over.
Then at the table.
ANNIE
We could not find a new computer at the computer
store that had a floppy disk drive so we did not
get a new computer.
LUCY
I bought a new computer last week. I tried two usb thumb
flash drives with it and they both failed. After the
second flash drive failed I remembered that it was
a flash memory thing similar to a usb flash thumb drive
that had failed on a Mars mission.
KEVIN
I opened up the computer. Even though it has a 40 pin
connector on the motherboard for the CD ROM drive cable
the motherboard does not have the required 34 pin connector
for a floppy disk drive cable.
It is much harder to burn data to a cd rom than it is
to just copy it to a floppy disk. In the good old days
(Last Year) you could use notepad to fix a text file on
a floppy and just save the changed file back to the
floppy disk.
With a cd rom you have to first save to the hard drive
and change the filename or create a new subdirectory and
put the new version of the file there.
Then you have to use special CD rom burning software
load the current cd rom image in and then add the new
files and subdirectories and press the burn button.
Sometimes the CD ROM burning software does not work right
and it destroys the ISO 9660 filesystem on the CD ROM
so that in addition to not saving the new data the filesystem
is destroyed so all previous data on the CD ROM is destroyed
and the CD ROM is no longer usable. It is not possible
to format cd roms or delete mistake files and start over
again. You have to replace the CD with a new one when there
is a failure.
ANNIE
How is the new Windows Vista working out ??
LUCY
We did not get Windows with the new computer.
There was an article on the Internet in which a
Microsoft leader alleged that Linux is copied from
Windows and he or she is reccomending the use of
Suse Linux.
Suse Linux will not let us turn the screensaver
off and we have to reboot to change
data CD roms.
KEVIN
When we find and buy a new computer that HAS A FLOPPY
DISK DRIVE for 1.44 megabyte floppy disks we will consider
purchasing Microsoft Windows Vista at that time for
that proposed new computer.
ANNIE
I hope that Microsoft will pursuade the computer
manufacturers arround the world to reinstate
1.44 megabyte floppy disk drives in new computers.
My kids have to turn in their school homework
assignments on 1.44 megabyte floppy disks.
(End of scene 3)
(Scene 4 Next day Eric and Simon go a
thrift store.
They find four used Pentium computers.
They all have 3-1/2 inch floppy disk drives.
The clerk says that the hard drives are bare
so previous peoples credit card numbers
will not be stolen. All private information
was erased from the hard drives.
The Clerk provides sets of CDs for
Fedora Core Linux and Suse Linux and
Centos Linux.
The clerk explains that these pre owned
computers are not able to run Windows Vista
and Microsoft no longer provides the older
versions of Windows.
(Scene 5)
At home the Camdens install Linux on
three computers at the same time.
They are very careful to check install
software development.
Fedora Core and Centos Linux set up correctly.
Then Suse Linux fails to turn off screensaver.
Then the Camdens replace Suse Linux with Centos
Linux and install Fedora Core Linux on the
fourth computer.
(scene 6)
Simon is at community college to investigate the
Spring 2007 catalog. He did not enroll
in Fall 2006 because the gcc bookstore did not
have any textbooks that he needed.
After asking arround about networking classes
Simon found out that there are no textbooks for most
networking classes.
Simon sits down at a picnic table.
Martin shows up.
SIMON
Is Microsoft able to make textbooks for its networking
classes ??
MARTIN
In Fall 2006 the gcc bookstore was late in ordering
the textbook for exam 70-270 elementary Windows
configuration book for CS981 beginning networking class.
CS 981 meets on Monday nights from 6:00 to 10:00 P.M.
Monday September 11th,2006 was the first day of class.
At 11:00 A.M. a helicopter landed in the parking lot and
men came out of it with boxes and took them into the
gcc bookstore. I followed them in there. They opened up the
boxes. The cover said 70-270
TEXTBOOK
Then they put the books on the shelves. I then bought
one for my CS 981 class.
After I left the bookstore the helicopter took off.
There was a set of four colors painted on the bottom of
the helicopter that looked just like a Windows logo.
Microsoft has vast resources. Microsoft CAN make and
deliver textbooks for all classes about Microsoft Windows
networking and Microsoft programming languages.
SIMON
Has Microsoft made textbooks for every Microsoft
class yet ?
MARTIN
I am not sure. All I know is that they can.
(Then Reese shows up)
REESE
I asked arround about a textbook for CS965
beginning networking and the teachers said that CS965
beginning networking uses a CD rom.
The CD rom company says that the CDs are only good for
6 or 12 months because they require an Internet verification
every time the training software is started or used.
The CDs claim that fast students need to spend at least 50
hours a month on the CDs and most dial up internet
service providers allow only ten hours of connect time each month.
MARTIN
Why dont you buy the standalone version of the training cds ??
REESE
The company said that they are being discontinued. They will be
all gone by December 31,2006.
To make matters worse they do not install and also do not
run. The other students who got the farthest said that the simulations
crash and get stuck and do not work.
When I was in the army several other recruits there said they
had dropped out of school and joined the army because they could
not get the training CDs to work.
The seargent thought it would be a challenge so as a joke
he bought a training CD and tried to put it in his computer.
The simulation starts but later crashes.
On the seargents computer screen it looked like the
simulation was using actual pictures of Microsofts
desktop and my network places and it looked like
actual Microsoft artwork had been copied into the
training CDs.
MARTIN
Who made the training CDs ??
REESE
It was NOT Microsoft.
It was definitely not Linux.
It was some small company that would have been
forgotten long ago if the gcc professors would have gone
back to plain old text books at the first sign of trouble.
(Martin and Simon then go back home.)
(SCene 7)
Over at Lucys house Lucy and Kevin and Luke are there when
Martin and Simon show up.
MARTIN
Over at the communnity college Reese says that
there is no textbook for CS965.
LUCY
I hated that course! I dropped it because the
training CD Rom does not work.
SIMON
What happenned ??
LUCY
Let me show you. Lucy puts the CD in her
older Windows computer and clicks on the
brown and black icon.
The Cd starts up.
Lucy logs on to the website attached to the CD.
Luke gets closer for a peek at the screen.
Lucy clicks on a simulation. There is Microsoft artwork
on the screen for a different version of Windows.
Then the simulation crashes.
Lucy unplugs the computer.
SIMON
Does everything on the CD fail like that ?? Luke and Martin
LUCY
most things there fail. I can only log on for
one more week because the CD ROM expires next week!!
(Scene 8 over at the big Camdens house)
After dinner at the sofa Luke and Martin are there.
Martin hands Luke an article about Microsoft accusing
Linux of piracy.
MARTIN
Luke, this article accuses Linux of copying Microsoft
Windows.
LUKE
Linux XWindows is vastly different from Microsoft Windows.
The internal programming logic is vastly different.
Even the artwork is different so that you CAN tell them
apart.
(luke then reads the article)
(Luke then cries. he has his head in his hands and is crying)
(Simon comes over and asks Luke what is wrong)
SIMON
Luke, What is wrong.
LUKE
That small company that is making training CDs for the gcc
networking courses is illegally copying Microsoft artwork
into its simulations and training films and those simulations
CRASH!!
SIMON
What can be done about it ??
LUKE
Pretty please ask the teachers there to use genuine
high quality Microsoft TEXTBOOKS for courses about Microsoft
networking and Microsoft programming languages.
I strongly beleive that every student who enrolls to learn
about Microsoft in any way should be given the privelige
to learn from a genuine Microsoft TEXTBOOK instead of
some one elses temporary CRASHWARE CD ROM.
I also am opposed to temporary CDs that require Internet logons to
use. Students should not have to pay for textbooks that are written
in dissappearing ink or any temporary training CD ROM that requires
an Internet logon.
SIMON
Scince most of the affected courses are Microsoft networking
classes MIcrosofts reputation among students is at stake.
Many students in my English class have dropped networking
and switched their personal computers to Linux only.
The best essay in the class that the teacher printed and
passed arround had a question that how come Microsoft with
its billions of dollars has neglected textbook writing
and DISTRIBUTION and allowed professors to settle for some
small companys crashware CDs to determine the reputation
of Microsoft among students ??
(End of episode)
If you know anybody in the computer hardware industry
please ask about reinstating the 34 pin floppy cable connector
on the motherboards and reinstating floppy disk drives in
new computers.
If you know anyone who teaches Microsoft classes remind them to
use genuine high quality Microsoft textbooks instead of some one
elses crashware temporary training CDs.
If you know any state legislators please ask them how much progress
has been made on the all volunteer juries bill I asked for in a
previous episode.
Written by Eric Matteson ericmatteson2003november@hotmail.com
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