Zombies, hearses and monster trucks mark Windows Phone 7 celebration

So what do you do when you want to launch a new smart phone operating system in a market crowded with fierce competitors who have at least two years’ head start on you?
You have a parade!

Or at least you do if you’re Microsoft.
Friday on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, scores of people, dancing zombies and at least one monster truck that said "Windows Phone Pride" filled the streets to celebrate the Windows Phone 7 operating system.
The zombies seemed too busy walking like zombies and doing the "Thriller" dance to consider that the battle for market share would be uphill — up a very steep hill.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture between NBC Universal and a parade-throwing Microsoft. Our headquarters is on the Microsoft campus, which is why I was able to enjoy the celebration from our newsroom.)
For a moment I thought that the corporate pride-building parade was actually a funeral procession when I saw a hearse.
Then I realized that there were pallbearers behind it carrying an iPhone.