[darklajid]

How many people in your inner circle were able to make _any_ use of that information?

I'm not sure what to think about the emoticon (don't like those too much), but I don't think something valuable to the general public was lost here..

[dfxm12]

I get what you are saying, but now no one has any information about what the problem might be and how to fix it, as opposed to people savvy enough to Google the STOP code (and I think you are underestimating the current population and certainly ignoring people's ability to learn to Google error messages).

Sure, there was something psychologically jarring about the old BSOD, but without giving us any clue as to what went wrong with the computer, how is anyone supposed to be able to fix it? Is it impossible to display a STOP code in a friendly manner?

[runjake]

Yes, they do. People knowledgeable in Windows analyze the dump files a BSOD creates. These file have all the information needed for debugging. In addition, it's dumped in the event logs.

People on HN seem pretty quick to jump on this pre-beta release, and Windows in general, without proper situational awareness.

[sid0]

- You can still google the code Windows provides.

- If you're really savvy you know how to use WinDBG and load up a memory dump.