Microsoft Says To Give Up FireFox, Or Get Lost

In a move that sounds like a joke, Microsoft is offering $10,000 as a prize for using IE8. They specify that Firefox users need to switch, or get lost! I’ve been accused of blog hyperbole once or twice, but that’s a direct quote from the contest site:

We’ve buried $10,000 somewhere on the Internet and if you’re the first one to find it, you get to keep it.
But you’ll never find it using old Firefox.
(So get rid of it, or get lost.)

It seems as if the big M is paying users to risk giving up the convenience and stability of FireFox, but if the choice is between a distant shot at a $10,000 prize, or using a stable browser with virus protection everyday, well, that’s not much of a choice.

I’m not a big fan of the new Word or the old Internet Explorer (I do use it from time to time to check if my sites work in IE), so as much as I love trying new programs, I don’t think I’ll try IE8.

The new Word was such a disappointment. I know that a new version of a familiar product can be a bit like when Stick reorganizes the cabinets. I look for sugar with the salt and the spices, but he’s put it next to coffee and tea. There’s nothing wrong with putting sugar by the tea bags and electric kettle, it may even be more efficient to keep it there, it’ll just take me a few confused openings of the spice cabinet to remember. I expect a bit of learning curve, but the new Word was a bit like hiding the sugar (and other essentials, like the beer and yogurt staples) in a drawer marked only with the Windows logo.

Even though there’s a $10,000 prize that can only be seen with IE8, I’ll be staying with FireFox. So, Microsoft, since you put it that way, I think I’ll get lost.

Info from Ten Grand is Buried Here | Microsoft, thanks to @mercurywaxing for the tip.