Unfortunately, I've never read the Tolkien books or seen the movies, but I'm pretty sure I get it.
And like Midnite, especially given the things we know for sure Microsoft has pulled, I think it's definitely sadly plausible.
A curse on the CD, or in my case the DVD, would also explain why my recovery DVD won't fully read in
any of the
three DVD drives I own (bizarrely, only a certain group of files will read in each drive - but it's a totally different group in each drive
) and I've had to pay $29 to order a replacement from my desktop computer's manufacturer.
Not that $29 is anywhere near as expensive as a new copy of Windows would be - but it's the principle. A DVD that has never been taken out of its sleeve should be able to be read successfully in
every drive it's attempted in, and especially in the drive that came with the computer it's intended to rescue...