Now that the smoke has cleared, it turns out that funny little Internet Explorer study could be a hoax that managed to ensnare a lot of legitimate news gatherers, myself included, depending on how loosely you define "news." But you have to admit -- when the tricksters suggested that Microsoft fans are just a little dimmer than the rest of us, it kicked up a storm all over the InterWebs. After I posed the question earlier this week, my own corner of the Net veritably burned up with responses.
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Of course, my issues with Microsoft go back further than IQ tests. Let's start with my favorite from reader B.B., who apparently took more than the usual amount of umbrage from a recent post where I suggested Microsoft Windows is overdue for a dirt nap and speculated about a possible Microsoft-Sony merger.
Reading your article "Microsoft, Windows, and Sony: Marry, boff, or kill" makes me want to punch you in the face. You bash Windows with no foundation or credibility. Get a life.
Bashing Windows? Guilty as charged. No foundation or credibility? I've been using Windows since the dark days of 3.0, or more than 20 years. If that's not a foundation for frustration, I don't know what one is. But I'll be sure to cross the street when I see you coming, B.B.
In a similar vein, just this week I posted an item about a report from Canadian brain testers AptiQuant Psychometrics claiming that Internet Explorer users are dumber than paint. Granted, it turned out they were pulling our leg, but it clearly touched a nerve for many of us. I suspected that would rub some people the wrong way, and I was not disappointed. Smarty-pants reader A.W. writes:
I agree that IE has fallen along the wayside. However, I have an IQ of 140 and still use it along with Firefox. It's just called the comfort zone. Its what a lot of we self learned computer users started out with and out of loyalty still use. But to call all IE users "below the line," I think you are the one who could use an up to date IQ test.
Actually I had an IQ test last month. That's the one where the doctor asks you to turn your head and cough, right? I'm told I passed.