Not sure I'd want to live in a world inspired by Microsoft though

November 17, 2015 12:53 AM

Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft features work by Elizabeth Bear , Greg Bear, David Brin, Nancy Kress, Ann Leckie, Jack McDevitt, Seanan McGuire and Robert J. Sawyer, "also includes a short graphic novel by Blue Delliquanti and Michele Rosenthal, and original illustrations by Joey Camacho" and is available for free from the usual ebook retailers.
posted by MartinWisse (13 comments total)

This makes Margaret Atwood's Surfacing look just all that much more prescient.
posted by fairmettle at 3:18 AM on November 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

The earliest Microsoft inspired fiction might be Douglas Coupland's Microserfs, first published as a short story in Wired back in 1994, and then exapnded as an epistolary novel published in 1995.
posted by Toekneesan at 3:40 AM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Is there going to be a story featuring a Blue Screen Of Death Star?
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 3:44 AM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Dystopias, presumably.

The earliest Microsoft inspired fiction might be Douglas Coupland's Microserfs...

I thought that swerved away from the obvious ending, incidentally; when they came to launch, they should have discovered that Bill Gates had nicked their idea, produced a version which was bloated and inferior, and was giving it away free with Windows as a competition-stifler.
posted by Segundus at 3:57 AM on November 17, 2015 [7 favorites]

A legit but free ebook featuring Kress and Sawyer stories? I will be there (when I grab some time that's also free). Thanks.
posted by NorthernLite at 5:13 AM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

a giant mega corp being one of the few remaining patrons of the short-story besides an extremely limited audience of nerds as downstream effect of capitalism is truly an amazing reality to be experience

it's almost like science fiction was actually always about real life this whooooole time
posted by runt at 9:19 AM on November 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired Paid For by Microsoft
posted by gottabefunky at 10:01 AM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

I once wrote a short story is inspired by Microsoft, but it was just a long stream of obscenities. Also, it didn't really count as fiction.
posted by suetanvil at 10:37 AM on November 17, 2015

I wonder why they don't have a link to download the file directly as a Mobi or Epub. You can download it from four different places with DRM.
posted by gregr at 11:40 AM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Windows 10 is actually really good, and free even if you pirated a previous version.

These days MS are like the cuddly uncle that used to break knees for the Mafia but now makes nice wooden napkin rings in his basement all day long.
posted by Sebmojo at 12:34 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Jesus Christ people. It's a free book with good authors in it! Buncha ingrates

Thanks OP!
posted by coleboptera at 12:52 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Sure, why not? But I think the literary challenge might be greater to write microsoft romance or microsoftporn.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:56 PM on November 17, 2015

Thanks, I look forward to checking this out.

For my money there's only one (perhaps NSFW and may taint your Amazon search history) Microsoft-inspired great work of fiction.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:28 PM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]