You gotta give this 17-year-old credit, or in Microsoft’s case: cash and parting gifts. Mike Rowe of British Columbia made a funny and bought the domain www.mikerowesoft.com.
Well, Uncle Bill and the Redmond boys didn’t like it one bit. So they offered him cold, hard cash: $10. Funny thing is, the kid wanted a few more zeroes: $10,000 (I like this kid’s math).
But ultimately they settled somewhere in the middle: the costs of changing to a new Web site and redirecting traffic; Microsoft certification training and other gifts, including an Xbox. All on Microsoft’s seemingly limitless tab.
And in the true spirit of entrepreneurship, according to The Globe and Mail Web site, Mr. Rowe was selling a book of his legal correspondence with Microsoft on ebay and the bids had reached $750.
If you do a search on ebay, you’ll find a bunch of people trying to capitalize on this teen’s fame. One of my favorite items is the hunting blind for Mike Rowe to hide in for $53. No, it doesn’t have a Windows XP symbol on it. Or an apple.
It’s good to “beat” the king.