They shouldn't be popping the champagne corks at Microsoft over the news that Windows 7 sales are skyrocketing. A well-known management consultant says that Windows 7's success could be the worst thing to happen to Microsoft, and turn the company in the General Motors of software.

It's not only long-time Linux true believers who say that Linux will eventually wipe out Windows. An former Microsoft employee of 11 years says that "proprietary software is eventually going to be doomed," and believes that Microsoft's future lies in releasing its own version of Linux.

Has Apple decided that among its top potential customers for switching to a Mac are Windows 7 pirates? Based on ads that Apple is buying on Google that might be the case --- search for "download Windows 7" and you'll see an Apple ad urging PC users to switch to the Mac. But search for "buy Windows 7" and you'll see no such ad.

Microsoft may find the Family Guy too off-color or off-center for sponsorship, but the company seems to have something of a double standard --- it's spent more than $1 million on ads for South Park, and it pays for ads on shows that feature drug dealing, violence, plenty of sex, and bathroom humor.

The surge of Windows 7 market share in October certainly sounds like good news for Microsoft. But Microsoft shouldn't celebrate so quickly, because there's evidence much of that gain has been driven by widespread piracy in Eastern Europe.

Google, being investigated by the FCC for whether its blocking of phone calls on Google Voice violates the law, has essentially told the agency that it should be let off the hook because it's cut back on the calls it blocks. That's like saying you're only a little bit pregnant.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder and CEO of Canonical, which makes Ubuntu, the popular version of Linux, recently said that he is "delighted" with the release of Windows 7, calling it an "excellent release." But don't expect that to stop many of the Linux faithful from badmouthing Windows.

Here's no surprise: Microsoft has cancelled its Windows 7 sponsorship of a Family Guy special on November 8, saying "the content was not a fit with the Windows brand." I guess they expected jokes about User Account Control rather than feminine hygiene, and about Aero Peek rather than incest.

The Windows 7 Whopper from Burger King weighs in with seven full patties, but that hasn't stopped people worldwide from attempting to eat the gut-busting heart-killer. I've got videos that show them eating them in what appears to be attempts at suicide-by-burger.

Make of it what you will, but Linux creator Linus Torvald has been photographed in front of a stack of copies of Windows 7 in Japan giving a big thumbs-up. I've got the photo in my blog.

Microsoft is celebrating the release of Windows 7 in Japan with a Burger King promotion for the Windows 7 Whopper: Seven patties stacked on top of one another in one sandwich. Given that Microsoft has been criticized for releasing top-heavy, bloated operating systems, this could be one of its worst promotional ideas ever.

Unlike in baseball, when it comes to operating systems, it's two strikes and you're out. Given that Microsoft missed with Vista, if Windows 7 isn't a big hit, Microsoft is in for serious trouble

If one analyst is to be believed, Windows 7 will be a far bigger hit with enterprises than was Vista. Information Technology Intelligence Corp. just released a survey saying 50 percent of businesses will upgrade to Windows 7 in the first year.

Microsoft has released data from one week of people using Microsoft Security Essentials anti-malware, and the results are clear: XP machines are far more vulnerable than Vista PCs, and Vista PCs are more vulnerable than those with Windows 7. And Brazil, for unknown reasons, is a hotbed for worms.

Next month, Microsoft is sponsoring a Family Guy television special in which instead of traditional advertising, pitches for Windows 7 will be woven directly into the show itself. I've seen a short preview, and it commits the worst cardinal sin of comedy: It's just not funny. I've got the preview in my blog.