We all know how much of a hassle Microsoft Windows can be, yet most users seem content to trust it to manage their home or office PCs. The kids' school essays and those photos you took last January at Bribie Island are one thing, however, how willing would you be to put your entire body, quite literally, at the mercy of a Window's system?
An infamous tabloid newspaper, Weekly World News, reports that Microsoft is apparently developing a personal "matter-transporter", based on Windows software, so that Bill Gates may visit Mars. According to WWN's source, Gates recently purchased the planet from the United Nations, and plans to use his company's matter-transporter, dubbed "Microsoft Wormhole", to build a vacation home there. An excerpt from the article details exactly how "Microsoft Wormhole" might work,
"Microsoft Wormhole will essentially be a matter-transporter, our source tells WWN. There are rumors the traveler would be digitally disassembled by a computer or cell-phone attachment, sent through Windows software and reconstituted at his destination."
While the report is, at the very best, incredibly dubious, it does raise an interesting question. How willing are we to trust the various aspects of our lives to computerized systems? Think back to some of the frustrations you've experienced dealing with PC software, and then consider that the same software may be responsible for ensuring that your paycheck goes through every week, that your next eye exam is accurate, or that your plane lands safely at the end of a flight. Assume, for a moment, that Windows Wormhole has been released - how willing are you to plug yourself in?
