I was initially pleased to see that Microsoft is going to start offering a Fix-it system which you can download from the Web. You have a computer problem, then assuming you can still get at the Internet you go onto Microsoft's pages, download this new fix-it thing and it will address whichever known problem you have.

OK. Flaw number one, your problem may be that you can't get onto the Web. It may not be though, and we'll assume for the moment that it's not.

Flaw number two is; hang on, if there are known issues shouldn't these be getting fixed as the world progresses in general? If there's going to be a difficulty with your computer and you're connected to the Net, surely al these updates that MS adds to your system without checking (I've certainly returned to a computer I'd left on in the middle of some work and found the work lost and a message telling me Windows restarted due to an update - thanks Bill!) should contain the fixes regardless?

I have a theory. My best guess is that I'm right, all this stuff is downloaded automatically. Microsoft, though, knows that it gets a bad press for needing fixes all the time. So what does it do? It publicises the fact that there is yet another way to make system fixes easy and fast. How friendly, how helpful, how very PR-spin.

I'll be fascinated to see just how many times the thing is downloaded. The BBC's account is here.