Ballad of a Windows 7 fanboy |
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Ballad of a Windows 7 fanboy
Most kids in talent shows dance or play instruments. Fifth-grader Will Smith made a musical pitch for Windows 7 instead.
After seeing this video on YouTube yesterday afternoon, I almost didn't believe it was real, so I sent a message to the person who posted it, and ultimately connected with Carolyn Smith of Lakeway, Texas, who said her 10-year-old son is the one featured in the video. Will loves computers and he's a "huge Microsoft fan," she said, noting that he dressed up as Bill Gates for Halloween a year ago -- complete with a Windows Blue Screen of Death replicated on his back.
This year, when it came time for the school talent show, he had been testing Windows 7, and he spent the better part of a weekend writing the song. The video is from the rehearsal, which explains why he's told at the end to remember to "milk the crowd." After the real performance, his mom said, Will was mobbed by girls in the green room.
"I just wanted to write a song about the new Windows operating system," Will said after his mom put him on the phone. Asked about his favorite feature, he said it's the new taskbar. And this, frankly, is almost more unbelievable than him writing the song: He said he has upgraded all four of his family's computers to Windows 7.
When he grows up, he said, he plans to work at Geek Squad, or Microsoft, probably as a programmer.
His mom said she was initially reluctant to let a friend post the video on YouTube, but she ultimately was convinced that it was too good not to let others see. And when I asked directly, just for the record, she said Microsoft had nothing to do with it.
"We're not like those people who put their kid in the balloon," she said, laughing. "This is not coordinated. Windows and Microsoft had no idea."
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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