Wal-mart’s browser brouhaha

Slashdot feels rejected since Wal-mart supports only IE for it’s video store. Now seriously, who cares? Consider this:

1. What is the probability that a majority of Slashdotters are not Wal-mart customers?

Answer: High. So stop fretting. Nobody cares what Wal-mart is doing. If it’s Amazon, Google, Apple or Yahoo that’s restricting access to certain browsers then there is a reason to get all worked up.

2. What is the probability that a majority of Wal-mart customers use Windows/IE?

Answer: Very high. Let’s give some credit for Wal-mart for knowing their audience well. There is zero to slim chance that their target audience even knows about Firefox and Safari. Of course the argument can be made that in the digital world, Wal-mart might go after a wider audience. But, honestly, even if Wal-mart’s prices were cheaper by a whole 22 cents it’s unlikely that folks who shop at Amazon and Apple will suddenly switch to Wal-mart.

Vista: small frustrations begin to add up

From CNet:

Cartoonist Mike Cope spent hours trying to get his Windows 2000-based system to move to Vista. Initially, he tried to upgrade from within Windows 2000, but that didn’t work. Next, the Stoney Creek, Ontario, resident tried to do a clean installation of the software on his PC. The software installed fine, but when time came to do the product activation–a mandatory step with Vista–the process failed.

After reinstalling Windows 2000 and trying a few more things, Cope eventually found a loophole that solved his problem–installing Vista without activating it and then installing it a second time and going through the activation process. Because the software assumed he was moving from Vista to Vista, it activated successfully.

Still, Cope wasn’t happy with the more than six hours he spent getting to Vista. “I should’ve bought a Mac,” Cope said.

So what stopped you, Mike? Fresh start, remember?