Here's another rule to live by: When you're the biggest PC software company in the known universe and you have to bribe and/or force people to use your products, said products are probably not very good.

Which brings us to today's screed about Internet Explorer 8.

As The Register snarkily informs us, Microsoft's Australian branch is offering for users to switch to IE8. Actually, anyone can enter the contest, but the Web site where the loot is "buried" is only visible if you're using IE8.

Hey, if you want to make your browser choice based on an infinitesimal chance of winning 10 large, good on ya, mate. But many users are having IE8 foisted upon them unawares, and with crappy consequences.

[ Got amazing , real-life experiences, lessons learned the hard way, or war stories from the trenches? Submit it to . If we publish your story, we'll send you a $50 American Express gift card. ]