Playing Geometry Wars on my computer, the frame rate suddenly drops, the game disappears and my desktop appears.

A crash?

No. My anti-virus software has found an update and wants to know if I want to download it.

Geometry Wars is smart enough to pause itself when this happens, but attempting to re-immerse oneself in the middle of such a hectic experience is futile.

Ship destroyed immediately after returning to the game.

The versatile nature of a computer is supposed to be one of its advantages over a game console. Not only can I play games on my computer, but I can also get work done, or play music or video, or get the news, or communicate with others. A console can be used for playing games and... playing other games. (Well, current consoles have media and communication features, but they are not close to replacing computers for such functions.)

It's when these many uses get in the way of one another that this is a problem. If I'm playing a game I do not want to be interrupted. Consoles don't--well, rarely--do this. Computers do it all the time.