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.

Re:Just wondering

[phrostie]

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

Who is the target audience?

[ResQuad]

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.

Re:Who is the target audience?

[LDoggg_]

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.

Heroic plot idea

[Sloppy]

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?

Re:Just wondering

[magnusrex1280]

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]

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

(Only half kidding.)

Re:Who is the target audience?

[Opportunist]

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."

Cant they just write a fucking OS?

[Jackie_Chan_Fan]

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.

Who is who?

[dedeman]

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!""

Re:Who is the target audience?

[Petrushka]

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].

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

[Kelson]

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!

Ultimate lesson for Silverlight-only websites

[mxs]

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]

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.

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

[AuMatar]

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

Re:Cant they just write a fucking OS?

[yabun]

Well put! Please people, realize this isn't a vehicle for any inspired creative outlet of IT stories. It's a limp d!ck marketing trick to get people to install the Silverlight plugin. Just like Vista Ultimate Extras was a let down of a limp d!ck marketing trick to get people to fork over more dough. It is what it is.

Re:Silverlightblock

[filbranden]

I won't install Silverlight until there's a Firefox extension like Flashblock for it.

Are you kidding? I won't install Silverlight. Period. Ever.

No way I'm running unsecured web code.

Exactly my point here!

dumb, just dumb

[freeballer]

I can't even make this into a GREAT quote/commment... but HOLY CRAP-FEST GATEMAN! This is the dumbest thing I've seen since the copyright superhero.. and yes, another "wonderful m$ program" you need to install... *sarcasm noted here*