Monday, August 29 12:00 AM ET

Microsoft to Replace BSOD with Solitaire of Death Screen

Redmond , WA - Microsoft has announced that Windows XP will be the last operating system to ship with the infamous "Blue Screen of Death" feature. Windows Vista, the company's next OS, will combine the least popular Windows feature with its most popular to provide Windows users with a much more pleasant crashing experience.

Vista will come with the Solitaire of Death feature as a replacement for the Blue Screen of Death. Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates sees this as a real boon for Windows users.

"Now when Windows reverts to less ideal operation for reasons unknown and not the fault of Microsoft, the operating system will run a tiny footprint version of Solitaire instead of the previous Blue Screen information panel."

Now when users have a problem with their PC they can play solitaire until help arrives from the IT support staff. Gates believes that this will be a great improvement for enterprise users especially in government departments. "Let's face it, these users were probably playing solitaire before their PC crashed so falling back to the SOD will not inconvenience them," said Gates.

In homage to the BSOD, the deck of cards in the game will be blue. Users running the Vista beta will know that this feature has not yet been included in the current version. SOD will ship with the next release of the Vista beta and users will have ample opportunity to see it.