
Mac Beer:
At first, came only a 16-oz. can, but now comes in a 32-oz. can. Considered
by many to be a "light" beer. All the cans look identical. When you take one
from the fridge, it opens itself. The ingredients list is not on the can. If
you call to ask about the ingredients, you are told that "you don't need to
know." A notice on the side reminds you to drag your empties to the trashcan.
Windows 3.1 Beer:
The world's most popular. Comes in a 16-oz. can that looks a lot like Mac Beer's.
Requires that you already own a DOS Beer. Claims that it allows you to drink
several DOS Beers simultaneously, but in reality you can only drink a few of
them, very slowly, especially slowly if you are drinking the Windows Beer at
the same time. Sometimes, for apparently no reason, a can of Windows Beer will
explode when you open it.
OS/2 Beer:
Comes in a 32-oz can. Does allow you to drink several DOS Beers simultaneously.
Allows you to drink Windows 3.1 Beer simultaneously too, but somewhat slower.
Advertises that its cans won't explode when you open them, even if you shake
them up. You never really see anyone drinking OS/2 Beer, but the manufacturer
(International Beer Manufacturing) claims that 9 million six-packs have been
sold.
Windows 95 Beer:
You can't buy it yet, but a lot of people have taste-tested it and claim it's
wonderful. The can looks a lot like Mac Beer's can, but tastes more like Windows
3.1 Beer. It comes in 32-oz. cans, but when you look inside, the cans only have
16 oz. of beer in them. Most people will probably keep drinking Windows 3.1
Beer until their friends try Windows 95 Beer and say they like it. The ingredients
list, when you look at the small print, has some of the same ingredients that
come in DOS beer, even though the manufacturer claims that this is an entirely
new brew.
Windows NT Beer:
Comes in 32-oz. cans, but you can only buy it by the truckload. This causes
most people to have to go out and buy bigger refrigerators. The can looks just
like Windows 3.1 Beer's, but the company promises to change the can to look
just like Windows 95 Beer's - after Windows 95 beer starts shipping. Touted
as an "industrial strength" beer, and suggested only for use in bars.
Unix Beer:
Comes in several different brands, in cans ranging from 8 oz. to 64 oz. Drinkers
of Unix Beer display fierce brand loyalty, even though they claim that all the
different brands taste almost identical. Sometimes the pop-tops break off when
you try to open them, so you have to have your own can opener around for those
occasions, in which case you either need a complete set of instructions or a
friend who has been drinking Unix Beer for several years.
AmigaDOS Beer:
The company has gone out of business, but their recipe has been picked up by
some weird German company, so now this beer will be an import. This beer never
really sold very well because the original manufacturer didn't understand marketing.
Like Unix Beer, AmigaDOS Beer fans are an extremely loyal and loud group. It
originally came in a 16-oz. can, but now comes in 32-oz. cans too. When this
can was originally introduced, it appeared flashy and colorful, but the design
hasn't changed much over the years, so it appears dated now. Critics of this
beer claim that it is only meant for watching TV anyway.
VMS Beer:
Requires minimal user interaction, except for popping the top and sipping. However
cans have been known on occasion to explode, or contain extremely un-beer-like
contents. Best drunk in high pressure development environments. When you call
the manufacturer for the list of ingredients, you're told that is proprietary
and referred to an unknown listing in the manuals published by the FDA. Rumors
are that this was once listed in the Physicians' Desk Reference as a tranquilizer,
but no one can claim to have actually seen it.