Perhaps Microsoft is cursed, given the odd events and dumb missteps
that have accompanied the new OS' launch. The launch is being
undermined by some unexplained phenomena. Consider the following.

What possessed the Today Show?

The Today Show, which averages some 5 million viewers, hosted
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to officially launch the Windows 7
operating system. But what possessed the Today Show art department to
show Windows 7 on an older MacBook Pro behind Ballmer?

Microsoft can hardly blame the Today people. The company did the same
thing in one of its own ads. The laptop used in a TV commercial for
Microsoft's Songsmith is a MacBook. Microsoft put stickers all over
the Mac, including one strategically placed over the Apple logo, to
hide the fact. Are Windows laptops really that hard to find?

Ghost at CNBC crashes Microsoft stock

What kind of poltergeist at CNBC caused the network to mess up the
Microsoft guidance numbers? The day after Windows 7's launch,
Microsoft announced earnings that, though they represented lower
revenue and profits, beat Wall Street estimates and earned the company
a rapidly rising stock price. But at approximately 10:50 that morning,
CNBC and a Wall Street Journal blog called Digits falsely reported
that Microsoft had lowered its previous estimates about future
earnings, which triggered a steep decline in the value of Microsoft
shares.

Windows 7 burger comes back to haunt Microsoft

Who's the genius who came up with the idea of a promotional Burger
King Windows 7 Whopper? It's a regular Whopper hamburger, but with
seven hamburger patties. Burger King restaurants in Japan this week
started selling the Microsoft tie-in sandwich through a print ad.

Unfortunately, journalists, bloggers and even CNN rushed to Tokyo to
try the burger. The ensuing pictures and videos show that the Windows
7 Whopper has all the characteristics Microsoft says Windows 7 itself
doesn't have. The burger is big, bloated, ugly, hard to "use" and slow
(to eat). The promotion just gave people another reason to laugh at
Microsoft's marketing ineptitude.

Windows 7 curse kills Family Guy humor

The Family Guy cartoon is usually hilarious. But a Windows 7 tie-in
did nothing but damage the reputations of both Microsoft and Family
Guy. The Windows 7 segment -- which isn't a commercial, but actually
part of the show -- was meant to go viral, and it did. Unfortunately,
all the online chatter about the video was about how bad it was, and
how shameful it was for the Family Guy producers to sell out like
that.

Windows 7 launch party-goers need an exorcism?

As part of its broad set of Windows 7 launch initiatives, Microsoft
contracted with a company called House Party to organize Windows 7
launch parties around the country. Selected party hosts got copies of
Windows 7 signed by Steve Ballmer (uh, that increases its value by
approximately nothing), plus "party favors" you would expect to see at
the birthday of a 6-year-old.

The video was created by House Party, not Microsoft. But how could
Microsoft allow it to happen? You've seen the video. The only possible
explanation is that the actors are possessed by evil spirits.

And you've probably seen most of the inevitable parody videos. But
have you seen the new Funny or Die parody? Ouch!

Paranormal activity explains loss of Internet at U.K. launch

During the official U.K. launch event in London, the demonstration PCs
on the stage lost Internet connectivity during a demo of the Virtual
Earth application. Giant screens all over the presentation hall showed
huge error messages saying that an Internet connection could not be
found.

Lack of Internet access ruined the subsequent demo of the Sky Player.
After resuming with a Q&A session and believing the problem solved,
Microsoft executives tried again to demonstrate Sky Player, and again
the Internet connection had mysteriously vanished.

There's no question about it. Something eerie is happening around
Microsoft's Windows 7 marketing.