Microsoft Launches IT Superhero Comic

willdavid writes "Paul McDougall reports in InformationWeek on Microsoft's new online comic. The Heroes Happen Here comic strips are being created by Jordan Gorfinkel, a former DC Comics editor who helped revitalize the Batman series. 'Tech workers who in the middle of the night fix a downed server or take on a computer virus don't really have extraordinary powers. It just seems that way. But a new comic book has debuted in which IT pros literally are superheroes. The daily Web comic, called Heroes Happen Here, features tech savvy crime fighters like Lord Firewall, who "stands between chaos and order" and says things like "begone vermin!"'" And because it's never easy, in order to read the archives of the comic you're going to need to install Microsoft's Silverlight.

Just wondering

[Skevin (16048)]

Will the main villains of this strip also feature an evil software company that abuses its monopoly?
Will the heroes use Open Source in a positive responsible manner?

Solomon

Re:Just wondering

[phrostie (121428)]

It'll be like Wanted where the villians kill off the heroes and take over the world

Re:

[Grishnakh (216268)]

What's this "Wanted" thing? More details, please.

Re:Just wondering

[Grishnakh (216268)]

Nope, the villains will be open-source using anarchists who use open source software to spread viruses. The heroes will only use properly licensed proprietary software, will say negative things about free software and reverse engineering, and will pay homage in a ritualized way to Microsoft 5 times a day.

I haven't looked at it (I don't have silverlight available on my Linux machine), but this comic sounds like a really stupid idea. Who wants to idolize some corporate goons? People always root for underdogs, and despite how much MS might try to somehow paint themselves that way, they're not an underdog, they're a big oppressor.

Re:Just wondering

[Opportunist (166417)]

Could this be the first superhero comic where the audience roots for the villain and is constantly happy throughout the comic only to get really let down in the end?

Re:Just wondering

[value_added (719364)]

Could this be the first superhero comic where the audience roots for the villain and is constantly happy throughout the comic only to get really let down in the end?

Naah. For someone to root for a villain, the villain has to be endowed with a certain measure of cool, or otherwise be extraordinarily interesting. In this scenario, we'd likely see a slow-moving and slightly stupid superhero dressed in a costume emblazoned with the letters WGA, a belt decorated with animated icons, a magic red "Reboot" button on his wrist, and cape with a big blue "e" on it. When not pressing the magic button, he'd be spending his time shouting at a motley collection of unwashed, bearded, sandal-wearing villains, or, when the action really heats up, throwing a chair or two.

Re:Just wondering

[rbanffy (584143)]

A couple years back, I got, for my birthday, a book called "Programmers at Work", edited by Microsoft Press. The book is a collection of interviews of programmers ranging from Andy Hertzfeld, Gary Kildall and Butler Lampson all the way to Bill Gates.

I strongly suspect it's not available today and never again will be printed in this form, mainly because in his interview, Bill Gates said:

Interviewer: Is studying computer science the best way to prepare to be a programmer?
Bill Gates: No. the best way to prepare is to write programs, and to study great programs that other people have written. In my case, I went to the garbage cans at the Computer Science Center and I fished out listings of their operating system. You got to be willing to read other people's code, then write your own, then have other people review your code. You've got to want to be in this incredible feedback loop where you get the world-class people to tell you what you're doing wrong.

You have to love the fine irony.

Re:Just wondering

[garlicbready (846542)]

No Mr Stallman I expect you to Die

Re:

[Nimey (114278)]

And his Doomsday Weapon is a rotary belt-fed chair launcher.

Re:

[magnusrex1280 (1075361)]

However it is kind of nice that you can install Silverlight on Firefox. I'm so used to Microsoft forcing you to use IE for some things, like Windows Update.

Re:Just wondering

[daeg (828071)]

No, it just means Microsoft can make Firefox insecure like IE used to be. Hooray!

(Only half kidding.)

Cross-platform? (Re:Just wondering)

[Kiralan (765796)]

I find it interesting that Silverlight is announced as 'cross-platform' on its home page, and the compatibility chart lists Mac OS-10X, yet the license agreement only permits use on XP and Vista????

Re:

[AuMatar (183847)]

XP and Vista- 2 platforms. Thats as crossplatform as MS is gonna make it.

Re:

[sl956 (200477)]

They just have some stupid browser sniffing in place to serve you the 'right' license agreement depending on your OS (or more precisely depending on the OS advertised by your User Agent).

As a linux user, i just get a blank page (not even an error message).

A diff between the Windows and OSX licenses doesn't show any difference though (only the name of the product in the title differs).

Re:Cross-platform? (Re:Just wondering)

[KFW (3689)]

You must have read the license with a PC. I'm using FireFox on a Mac - when I clicked the link to read the license agreement, I was directed to a page with "MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS FOR FIREFOX 1.5+ AND SAFARI ON MACINTOSH OSX 10.4+". See http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/license-mac.aspx [microsoft.com]
/K

Who is the target audience?

[ResQuad (243184)]

I don't mean to sound cruel, but what is their target audience? Anyone who isn't in IT is going to think this is amazingly stupid. Most of those in IT will probably be using firefox and therefor not be using Silverlight. In the end its free press for Microsoft, I guess.

I wonder the same thing

[_merlin (160982)]

Real geeks have XKCD, Dilbert and BOFH to amuse them among other things.

Re:

[filbranden (1168407)]

I read User Friendly [userfriendly.org] as well.

I didn't know there were new stories of the BOFH! I mean, I've read the archives, but where are the new stories?

Re:Who is the target audience?

[LDoggg_ (659725)]

The target audience is the morons that microsoft is able to dupe into installing silverlight just to view static pictures.

Requiring it to view archives is stupid. They can link to a page with img tags just like everyone else has been doing for the last 15 years or so.

Re:Who is the target audience?

[gullevek (174152)]

yeah, but they are happy they have finally a place where they can use silverlight.

Re:

[Opportunist (166417)]

Yeah, but where's the PR capabilities?

Investor: "Well, tell me why Silverlight is the next big thing."
MS-PR-goon: "Oh, well, it can be used to display content in a new, meaningful way!"
Investor: "Aha. Do you have any examples?"
MS-PR-goon: "Certainly! Here, look at this webcomic."
Investor: "I ... see... But how is it different from all the other webcomics?"
MS-PR-goon: "It uses Silverlight. Duh."

Re:

[_xeno_ (155264)]

Actually it's not quite as dumb as it sounds. They're not simple static pictures, they're actually vector graphics, and with Silverlight you can view them fullscreen, without any stretching or distortion. (Guess who had to install Silverlight at work?)

It works in Firefox under Windows, by the way. (Word of warning: Silverlight and FlashBlock do NOT work together. However, Silverlight, NoScript, AdBlock Plus, and Firebug all work fine together.)

Now if only there were an open scalable vector graphics [w3.org] form

Re:

[LDoggg_ (659725)]

Now if only there were an open scalable vector graphics [w3.org] format that they could have used instead... if only...

So actually it is as dumb as it sounds then.

Re:

[RalphSleigh (899929)]

Looks like static jpgs to me

http://www.microsoft.com/heroeshappenhere/comicviewer/Images/Week1_Day1_full.jpg [microsoft.com]

Re:Who is the target audience?

[Tribbin (565963)]

"Microsoft® Silverlight(TM) is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in ..."

What is this ".exe" file and how do I use it?

Re:Who is the target audience?

[Tribbin (565963)]

Who sould have thunk?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_(runtime) [wikipedia.org]

(Silverlight for unix-like env.)

Re:Who is the target audience?

[Petrushka (815171)]

Most of those in IT will probably be using firefox and therefor not be using Silverlight.

For MS employees, there's Silverlight. For everyone else, there's blogs.technet.com/hhh_comic/rss.xml [technet.com].

So in the MS world of Superheros...

[Japong (793982)]

Is Linus or Steve the new Lex Luthor?

Re:So in the MS world of Superheros...

[Kuukai (865890)]

Or, better yet, is Steve Ballmer the new Green Lantern? Unfortunately, his ring only holds power over chairs...

Re:

[Kelson (129150)]

Or, better yet, is Steve Ballmer the new Green Lantern? Unfortunately, his ring only holds power over chairs...

And it can't affect wooden chairs. All of you using plastic and metal chairs had better watch out!

Makes sense

[nine-times (778537)]

So Microsoft is admitting that you do need super-human abilities to keep Microsoft's crap from bombing out.

Heroic plot idea

[Sloppy (14984)]

In a Web 2.0 twist, readers will be asked to submit real-life IT stories that could possibly be used for future episodes.

The hero deploys a mail client that doesn't execute a fucking attachment when someone clicks it. Then the hero deploys a web browser that doesn't execute someone else's code when a user looks at a web page. Then the hero deploys an OS that doesn't load and execute code from removable media whenever the user inserts the media, and doesn't automatically treat somebody else's code as automatically executable simply because the user happened to save it and then clicked it in their file manager.

The climax of the story: the users never have any problems and never bother to call him to remove viruses, because they never get any. The users are bored and nobody knows why. Nobody knows the sacrifice the hero made, because it wasn't really a sacrifice and it ended up costing less. The hero, tragically depressed because he missed out on all the !!!GLORY!!! of cleaning up easily predictable and preventable messes, walks off into the sunset.

Sound like a good episode?

Microsoft has no guts

[by Anonymous Coward]

If I had to push Silverlight I'd immediately create a dozen porn sites allowing the download of free Silverlight encapsulated hires long movies. That would kill Flash in less than one month.

Something's happening there!

[Quiet_Desperation (858215)]

Are the two, um, heroes spooning in that last panel?

And hackers of the world fear him? What? That he'll eat them?

IT superhero: thanks for the pr0n!

[mveloso (325617)]

The other day, my SAN filled up with unauthorized images. My IT hero j*s*n, archived all the images for me so I could examine them in the privacy of my own home. He also cleared out the SAN so more images could show up.

Thank you, j*s*n! You're my hero!

Re:IT superhero: thanks for the pr0n!

[meta-monkey (321000)]

Seven or eight years ago I worked at a university high-performance computing research lab. One night a cracker got in through one of our ancient unpatched Solaris boxes, and proceeded to wipe out everyone's home directories (thank god for backups!), uploaded 40GB of porn (that was a lot back then) and then started an IRC server to share it. It was kind of awesome.

Re:IT superhero: thanks for the pr0n!

[drspliff (652992)]

Sorry :(

Can I have my porn back now please?

But We Already Have One of Those

[Greyfox (87712)]

The BOFH. Our hero isn't the guy who quietly fixes the computer after the 47th time user error screwed it up. Our hero is the extremely psychotic individual who gets away with killing those users so they stop screwing up the IT Infrastructure. Or interrupting his game of Couterstrike. Our hero is the guy who can add several zeros to the end of your electricity bill just because he thought the question you asked him was retarded. Our hero is the guy who will blackmail users who post photos of themselves to alt.gay.likes.to.be.spanked.by.nuns. Or who occasionally posts pictures of those users there himself.

Somehow I suspect that Microsoft's version of this will make me vomit a little in my mouth... just like everything else that Microsoft does. In fact I suspect that making people vomit in their mouths will be Microsoft's hero's super power.

And let's not forget

[markov_chain (202465)]

Action Item, The Professional Superhero! [profession...erhero.com]

oops?

[quest(answer)ion (894426)]

silly me. i thought the flashy "install silverlight" prompt was the comic. imagine my surprise that there's another comic hidden behind that.

will microsoft's innovation never cease?

So a superhero who fixes his own problems?

[wardk (3037)]

so WHY is the server down, WHY is there a virus getting in?

Obviously we need a [Mac,Linux,BSD,Amiga] superhero who can deal with these problems AT THE SOURCE.

yes, go Cloverdale on Redmond....

Cant they just write a fucking OS?

[Jackie_Chan_Fan (730745)]

Talk about expanding yourself into ridiculous areas, that they need not be in. Write a fucking OS that isnt full of bloated shit, and supports all major graphic file formats, all open source and major video/audio codecs, a secure os without DRM, an OS that runs FASTER than previous versions...

JUST DO THAT.

Enough with the stupid attempts at trying to be as cool as google or yahoo. You're fucking Microsoft. You were never cool. STOP IT.

Re:

[Macthorpe (960048)]

You think any company is 'cool'?

I don't think it's Microsoft that needs to 'STOP IT'.

Re:

[Lumpy (12016)]

Write a fucking OS that isnt full of bloated shit, and supports all major graphic file formats, all open source and major video/audio codecs, a secure os without DRM, an OS that runs FASTER than previous versions...

OSX 10.5... it does ALL OF THAT much to my suprise, so it can be done. Microsoft simply refuses to do it.

Good god, it made a old G4 laptop run faster than the OS that it came with that was 2 versions old. That's like Vista making a Pentium III laptop that came with Windows 98 feel faster.

Who is who?

[dedeman (726830)]

The daily Web comic, called Heroes Happen Here, features tech savvy crime fighters like Lord Firewall, who "stands between chaos and order" and says things like "begone vermin!"'

So, does this "Lord Firewall" work for, or against, Microsoft?

I'd be worried about anyone, IT or otherwise, who "says things like "begone vermin!""

Microsoft and Silverlight

[MobyDisk (75490)]

They are reeaallly stooping low to make this require Silverlight. Nobody else wants to use this product, so just pay people to use it. Brilliant!
- Donating money to non-profits and earmarking the money to transform their Flash web sites into Silverlight
    (I went to a BaltoMSDN presentation on Silverlight, done by the guys who did the conversion)
- Making webcomics that use Silverlight
- Displaying a nag screen on MS download sites recommending that people use the new Silverlight download manager

No one came imagine the hilarity of my laugh once someone writes a tool to convert the comic into Flash. :)

Ultimate lesson for Silverlight-only websites

[mxs (42717)]

I clicked the link.

Drawing looked decent, so I click it.

Requires Silverlight.

I am not going to install Silverlight for a Comic Strip or any other website content that works just as well without it.

I don't care enough about that website to install Silverlight.

That website just lost a prospective repeat visitor.

Silverlight just cost you, prospective silverlight-only website operator, money.

Thank you Microsoft, for this great lesson on why not to use Silverlight.

is that an example on the link?

[NotZed (19455)]

It isn't even funny. It isn't even remotely funny, nor particularly entertaining, and barely makes sense for that matter.

And the stereotyping is just sad - but what do you expect from 'an outsider'. Not all technical people are 1. overweight, 2. wear druggie shirts, nor 3. give a shit about hackers. And it's also pushing that other sickening stereotype that seems to pervade American comedy - that guys are bumbling/overweight 'lovable fools' and girls are smart and classy/usually at least a bit hot.

A very strange form of viral marketing for their craptastic clone of the craptastic flash software though. I imagine it could only be dreamt up in the strange cultures that develop in the closed world that Microsoft and other large companies seem to develop. (Novell was almost cult-like, and a little scary to be honest). I bet they thought it would be really 'cool', 'nifty', and 'hip', and no doubt plenty of their cult-members think the same.

Plain, non-silverlight archives

[Lemming Mark (849014)]

http://blogs.technet.com/hhh_comic/default.aspx [technet.com]

Problem is

[Marcos Eliziario (969923)]

The drawing is nicely done, the colors are just right. But heck. this thing is not funny, is not even vaguely interesting enough to be read.