Apple has released “The Underdogs: BSOD (Blue Screen of Death),” a video short that skillfully pokes fun at a Microsoft problem from last year, when a serious Windows computer crash occurred due to a faulty CrowdStrike security update.
On Windows, a severe crash results in a blue screen overtaking the screen, with information about possible causes displayed in white text. This has become known colloquially as the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). In most cases, the only thing that helps is a restart, if that’s enough. In the past, it was relatively common to have to reinstall the Windows operating system completely.
In my own experience, however, this hardly ever happens anymore. Nevertheless, it does happen, as in the massive case of CrowdStrike, and Apple used this as motivation to make fun of the competition from Redmond.
The eight-minute video can be found on Apple’s YouTube channel (it’s also after this paragraph, if you want to watch it). The production value displays the professionalism that Apple has developed through its Apple TV+ streaming service to produce short films like this. Some of it is a little reminiscent of the multi-award-winning Apple TV+ show, The Studio.
[Spoiler alert.] The Underdogs, the four main characters who have already appeared in several “Apple at Work” videos, are desperate to track down Trev Smith at Container Con. Trev would be the ticket to gigantic sales. But the competition–who uses Windows PCs–is making great strides in wooing investors, until their entire Windows system fails. At the end, The Underdogs are feeling generous and hand out Mac minis to make the world a better place. Apple demonstrates its aplomb by ending the short with the words “There’s no security like Mac security.”
The video is a fun watch. The short doesn’t lack for cross-promotional bits. For example, an image of Severance actor Tramell Tillman makes a brief appearance in a quick montage. So fans of that show might want to give it a watch—even if they aren’t using a Mac.
