before the release of windows 98, there was a press demonstration at comdex in april 1998. microsoft ceo bill gates was highlighting the operating system's ease of use and enhanced support for plug and play (pnp). when presentation assistant chris capossela plugged a scanner in and attempted to install it, windows 98 displayed a blue screen of death. gates remarked after applause and cheering from the audience, "that must be why we're not shipping windows 98 yet." video footage of this event became a popular internet phenomenon.