“Saddling the latest version of your company’s flagship product with a name that reminds old-timers like me of the Dodge Colt Vista or the even more ancient Oldsmobile Vista-Cruiser? At Microsoft, that’s what passes for innovation. In his opening speech at a recent Microsoft analysts meeting, CEO Steve Ballmer uttered the ‘i’ word no less than 24 times,” Stephen Manes writes for the October 2005 issue of PC World magazine.
“Excuse me? Microsoft’s history is largely about developing (or buying) and then aggressively marketing sometimes-improved variants of other people’s ideas. As long as there’s competition, Microsoft makes products that are just good enough or cheap enough to stifle it. Then it rests on its laurels and moves on to rework other ideas it didn’t originate,” Manes writes.
“What’s been revealed of Windows Vista is particularly sad,” Manes writes. “Defaulting to a mode that requires users to enter an administrative password before they can install programs? A security-enhancing idea, but one that’s been around for ages in Apple’s Mac OS X. Integrated search? Apple has it now. The Registry? There’s no sign of that monstrosity in OS X, but it’ll still be around in Windows Vista to drive users nuts. Copying the competition’s good ideas and retaining a bad one that you actually did originate: That’s innovation!”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Microsoft debuts Dashboard Widgets, er, ‘Microsoft Gadgets’ – September 13, 2005
Microsoft appropriates Apple’s ‘brushed metal’ look for Office 12 for Windows – September 13, 2005
Windows czar Allchin says Apple copying Microsoft’s Windows Longhorn – April 27, 2005
Microsoft employees leaving due to (and blogging about) malaise smothering company – April 25, 2005
eWEEK Editor Coursey: Longhorn so far ‘looks shockingly like a Macintosh’ – April 25, 2005
Due in late 2006, many of Windows Longhorn’s features have been in Mac OS X since 2001 – April 25, 2005
Microsoft’s new mantra: ‘It Just Works’ ripped straight from Apple’s ‘Switch’ campaign – April 22, 2005
Apple CEO Steve Jobs on Microsoft’s Longhorn: ‘They are shamelessly copying us’ – April 21, 2005
Microsoft’s Windows Longhorn will bear more than just a passing resemblance to Apple’s Mac OS X – April 15, 2005
Silicon Valley: Apple CEO Steve Jobs previews ‘Longhorn’ – June 29, 2004
Apple CEO Steve Jobs: Mac OS X Tiger ‘is going to drive the copycats crazy – June 28, 2004
Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs previews Mac OS X 10.4 ‘Tiger’ to ship in the first half of 2005 – June 28, 2004
Apple takes dead aim at Microsoft, ‘Longhorn’ with WWDC Mac OS X 10.4 ‘Tiger’ ads – June 28, 2004
PC Magazine: Microsoft ‘Longhorn’ preview shows ‘an Apple look’ – May 06, 2004
Microsoft concerned that Longhorn’s look and feel will be copied if revealed too soon – August 25, 2003
Windows ‘Longhorn’ to add translucent windows that ripple and shrink by 2005 – May 19, 2003
Apple leads; Wintel follows as usual – November 11, 2002
Microsoft = IMITATION
Apple = INNOVATION
But .NET 2.0 (or whatever) will take over the world, make companies rich by seamlessly integrating thingamajigs together.
I sit here in an office in Hong Kong with my colleague. I’m working on a 15″ G4 Powerbook (the latest: 100MB HD, 128MB VRAM, YES!) and he’s on his Dell Latitude whatever (XP SP2).
My blood pressure stays below average all day, whereas he’s about to have a stroke: “Outlook has encountered an error and has to close – OK?”
I tell this guy to make sure his healthcare insurance hasn’t got any stress-related exclusions, because pretty soon he’s going to need it… And what does he have to look forward to: more of the same sh*t from Bill and Co.
I figure a few more weeks of this and he’ll be a switcher – what’s been the final straw for most of you ex-M$ users out there?
Of course Microsoft innovates!
Shesh come on people! Look what they have done recently
the iThrew
the iChair
at the iWall
In fact Bill Gates is responsible for great innovations like
iCensorship and of course the iFsked by iChina
And the Team Microsoft created things like
iNotCompatable and the great iNotSecure
Not to mention iButtFugly and iDontWork
Microsoft innovation at it’s best!!
Im going with the best of both worlds. some company claims they have taken source code from both Mac OSX and windows XP to make the ultimate OS!! http://www.hybridOSXP.com
check it out.
.NET is a M$ rip-off of Java from SUN. ‘Mo imitation innovation.
So instead of a widget we have a gadget. Instead of spotlight we have searchlight and it goes on and on.
What is this, ‘Registry’ that Windows people deal with?
I was just going to ask as well. Registry? Anyone?
Isn’t a registrey where you go to stores and pick out things you want before you get married?
seriously, i would also like to know what and how the registry in windows works. please enlighten me
Registry = a database of all configuation settings in Windows. If something bad happens to the registry, Windows has big troubles.
This should help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_registry
Be glad you never have to try to fix something on your Mac with regedit. And be really careful with the registry on your PC if you are unfamiliar with it. Mistakes in editing the registry can ruin system stability (what little stability Windows users may enjoy, that is).
If your question about the registry was tongue in cheek, forgive me for taking it literally.
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Michael
MDW:Ahead as in “Apple is ahead of the game”.
Greatest article on Microsoft ever. I especially love the part about the orphan kid who killed his parents.
“What’s been revealed of Windows Vista is particularly sad,” Manes writes.
Holy crap. That’s a pretty harsh article from, what I would assume to be, one of the leading ‘champions’ of all things Microsoft: PC World magazine.
If they are slamming Mafiasoft’s newest OS update this badly, things must be REALLY disappointing to them. They gave major kudos to Apple’s OS X, though.
I think someone is starting to see the light…
MaWo: ‘working’. As in, “It seems as though Apple really has its mojo working. Yeah, baby, yeah.”
wow, considering that published on PC World the article is a pretty impressive mark down for MS and praise for Apple. Inconceivable a few years ago…
Hay Folks,
Miscrosoft greatest innovation products
iSee
iCopy
iMonopolize
Wow that was pretty hard hitting for PC World. He even picked on the irony of M$ making a security service that you have to pay for and called it what it is….. a protection racket.
It always amazes me that as much as people have to do on computers nowadays, they don’t seem to pick up on this. I would have to chalk this up to ignorance because it doesn’t make any sense for someone to make the masochistic choice of using windows (unless they actually ARE masochistic, of course)
RE: But .NET 2.0 (or whatever) will take over the world, make companies rich by seamlessly integrating thingamajigs together.
Probably will – BUT no one in business needs that!
Microsoft needs to do some market research before it force feeds the business world with it’s il-concieved and out-dated products.
Talking of innovation, I just saw the first of the new iPod nano with hands only ads on TV (NZ Time) tonight. I didnt catch the name of the track but I have to say that the style of the ads is VERY clever. I see the MS ads all the time, unfortunately they are very COMMON. No Mac ads to speak of though..???
“seriously, i would also like to know what and how the registry in windows works.”
Unfortunately, nobody knows.
“seriously, i would also like to know what and how the registry in windows works.”
I think Bill Gates and Steve ‘the Chair’ Ballmer would like to know that as well!
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What’s the registry?
Take every single .plist file on your Mac, take all the ascii letters and remove the vowels, convert all numbers to hex and prepend with 0x00000000, and keep pasting it into a file until it reaches 50MB. Shake well, and hope not one byte gets changed or you can kiss goodbye any chance of the computer ever booting again.
Pretty much sums it up.
Nice article, especially if you read it all. I was hoping he would say something about “innovating” mice, keyboards and gaming consoles.
The office suite is the only good thing Microsoft came up with (and they made for the Mac before making it for the PC. They needed to learn how to use a graphical user interface from Apple to produce office, and then used that knowledge to produce Windows).
What is interesting is that Office remains their main source of revenue. They actually make little or no “direct” money on all else. (Indirectly, though, they do)
One would think that since even in their experience the stuff they imitated didn’t really become cash cows, they would stick with producing good stuff from scratch (or as close to “scratch” they can get).
“Copying the competition’s good ideas and retaining a bad one that you actually did originate: That’s innovation!”
heh, couldn’t have said it better myself…
In Massachusetts, we don’t have a Department of Motor Vehicles, we have a Registry of Motor Vehicles. And while most other states’ residents tend to use the acronym “DMV”, we say “The Registry.” So the word, for us, universally brings to mind ideas of frustration, incompetence, and causing a big waste of time. So, to me, it’s no surprise that Microsoft uses this name for this part of their trouble-prone file system.
And Wotcher, you beat my man Sputnik to the punch talking about .Net taking over everything. Well done, comrade! It will be a great day when the thingamajigs are wrested from the clutches of the bourgeoisie and returned to the grateful proletariat. Seize the broadband!
…
(So first I said I was from Taxachusetts, and then I played around with Sputnik’s insightful “Microsoft=Soviet Union” joke by talking like a Communist. I’m done for…)
The final straw for me was way back when Windows XP was in Service Pack 1 mode. I was in need of upgrading my desktop from Windows 2000 and I just couldn’t stomach forking over several hundred dollars for _another_ half baked MS OS full of security holes and instability. My friend and I had been gawking over OS X Beta reviews we had read and it reminded me of the NeXT OS I had used in our NeXT lab in college. I recalled its stability, good looks, and UNIX core and was all about checking out Apple “with the risk of changing my mind”. Good plan. I was so impressed I not only got a PowerBook ti (1st gen 400 Mhz! ha!) but I also bought aome Apple stock, thinking this could be big. Well I can’t take credit for guessing Apple would iPod the world, but my split-adjusted sub-$8 basis in a $50+ stock does make me just as happy as my iMac G5 i write this comment on.
– me
MDN word: stage
Haans,
Even thought your post is out of place here, you’re right on the money buddy! Keep up the good work!
To MDN and Petey:
“Microsoft needs to do some market research before it force feeds the business world with it’s il-concieved and out-dated products.”
Outdated? Before it even ships? I love it! Just as the press tagged Apple with the “beleagured” tag for years, how’s about tagging Vista with the “outdated” tag from the get-go? As in, “Hundreds of people stood in line for hours today eagerly waiting to become among the first to buy Microsoft’s outdated Vista operating system.”
Oh, wait. They don’t do that, do they?
Via TomsHardware.com
http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews/20050727_172553.html
This would be the main reason for any Windows user to upgrade to Vista.
“This afternoon, Microsoft’s Greg Sullivan confirmed the company’s official exodus away from the System Registry as a key component, and toward what are now being called “application manifests”–individual, secure files for applications to store their own configuration data, and for other purposes. It turns out that, as Microsoft moves toward gradual adoption of what was dubbed this morning Windows Communication Foundation (formerly and more affectionately known as “Indigo”), a single file for storing the configurations and data attributes of all running components in the system, may eventually no longer be necessary.
“This has been an ongoing design goal of ours,” Sullivan told us. “The Registry has served its purpose well for managing the settings and keys required to do configuration–particularly application installation and behavior–but that model has also been fraught with some challenges that we’ve had to face. So it’s been a long-term goal for us to evolve that.” However, Sullivan added, there are still over 600 million people using Windows XP and, therefore, using local System Registries. The challenge over the next several years will be to migrate to a Registry-free world without breaking applications.
One approach to implementing this exodus, Sullivan revealed to us for the first time, will be a new system that provides non-administrative users with a “virtual Registry,” ostensibly at first for the sake of protecting the main Registry from abuse. This way, said Sullivan, “not every user has to be an administrator to accomplish something. But when we’re able to virtualize the Registry, we can actually provide a standard user with a way to have a meaningful interaction, including installing applications that write to the Registry, but in a way that doesn’t necessarily permanently harm or affect what the administrator has set up.” Conceivably, a virtual Registry could be used by older Windows applications that still require it, within a future system – probably far later than Vista – that no longer provides the Registry as a standard service.”
There you go.
The damage is done. When the competition constantly comes in
second place…they have no choice but to try to conform to whatever
the winner is doing, that’s just business or is it?
Microsoft’s best bet would be to remove Bill Gates as thier CEO and
find a charismatic leader in the mold of Steve Jobs to take hold of
the reins. It’ll never happen. Microsoft doesn’t attract those types of
people. <•>|<•>
CT =====]———— wunderkind
Somebody stop me. I have that overwhelming feeling that Micro$oft is going to develop something just like Apple’s Tiger (Vista) and all the world will be dumb enough to believe them that they actually invented it.
Please don’t say this is Windows 95 happening all over again.
I am sad.
Are we on the verge of deja vu? Will Apple get the proper attention it deserves?
so – what’s this about Steve and Chairs? Is there another Monkey boy video?
Simply put…been there, done that. Don’t get too lost in the wake of
another. Apple knows that the best view is clear with no obstructions.
Keeping a clear view is easy for Apple. Get the point?
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CT ======]———— Did you catch that?
freedom chairs,
MDN article:
Chair hurling Microsoft CEO Ballmer: ‘I’m going to f—ing kill Google’ – September 03, 2005
uh…so they might be able to get away from the registry on the next upgrade?
**”…Conceivably, a virtual Registry could be used by older Windows applications that still require it, within a future system – probably far later than Vista – that no longer provides the Registry as a standard service.”**
They should have been spending the last few years building Vista from the ground up, and addressing every little thing they’ve learned since windows 95. If it’s not happening now, I think it’s too late. I’m tired of folks claiming to be trapped on windows. If my company really wanted to, they could tell the accounting software vender of ours that we wanted to move platforms. Since this software runs on the niakwa runtime environment, and was ported from wangs sometime ago, I’m sure they could come up with another layer for a *nix deployment. I would be so much happier with Fedora or Red hat running on my server back there. Screw Active Directory. I see no advantages to it. Also, my company is actively adding our new servers to the AD by downgrading them from Win2k3 to Win2k to avoid the hassles of dealing with the directory issues the upgrade would entail. Dammit. Then on top of that I still have NT running, so I most of my users need to have an account on the directory and an account on my local NT domain. Every time the AD makes them change their password, I have to change it on my NT box. I’m glad all this stuff is running on MS or I’d have nothing to do here….
–A spiffy MCSE
or is Ballmer looking more and more like the guy in Young Frankenstein?
I must commend PCWorld for an honest unMSmarred article. Its great to know that what Mac users have known for years PC users and analysts are beginning to realize as well.
Ever wonder why it has taken so long for MS to get ShornHorn/Vista out?
I can see it now:
They haven’t been able to come up with any innovative framework for it. because they have no innovative ideas (MS is as forward thinking as roadkill)
Its taken years of watching others companies to get their ideas from and constant meetings (chaird thrown as well) to decide who to steal from
They waited for some other company to come up with a product that was succesful before imitating (butchering) it
Now that MacOSX Tiger is so popular THEY NOW HAVE A DIRECTION, as shown by some of their new innovations: brushed metal facelift, midgets etc.
Unfortunately they may have waited too long before stealing their next great OS….there are many more Windows switchers than they care to admit to, more articles belittling MS for their incompetence, and generally more digusted users that see that there are other alternatives
Now for the SECURITY aspect…………..
Having the registry is 1000 times better than going through lines and lines of BS in .plist files. Id much rather use a more structured app to manage background information than using emacs or worst, the pico editor…This guys an f’ing idiot. Admin authentication was in unix and linux long before apple “barrowed” most if not all of their code from OSS. Yeah, Apple’s the innovator alright. Innovator in deception.
Wow. That article was really in PC World? I hope that guy has a good boss; the pressure from advertisers (MS, Dell, et. al.) to squelch this enlightened correspondent will likely be tremendous.
Re: Will MS get credit for copying good ideas from Tiger (and Linux et. al.)?
Of course they will, but the more enlightened will know the truth. My hope is that Apple will steal whatever “thunder” Vista has by releasing Leopard right at the same time as Vista with features that MS hasn’t even considered yet.
Yes, NMFY – its much better to have a huge file that controls all settings on your computer – that way a minor file error can take down your whole system – or virus writers can target and hide code within that file. I can see that you have spent a considerable amount of your brain power contemplating this.
There are lines…and there are lines. Some lines disappear…like lines
drawn in the sand. Others are more like attack dogs behind a security
fence, pacing back and forth challenging any would be trespassers.
Who drew the line that is computing today? Someone must have found a
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better way to use a computer. I’d say it was Apple. Computers can do
so much more than number crunch, what would you say?
CT =====]———– Seeing the depths of destruction?
What it all comes down to is Apple computer users don’t have to go
through all of the exhausting and complicated procedures that are
required by people who are stuck with Microsoft OSes.
Life isn’t as easy as it looks…yes it is.
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CT ======]————- Where the f#ck are we???
NoMacForYou
Apple may have “barrowed” code, but unlike MS they MADE IT BETTER, and TAYLORED IT TO THE MAC and for Mac users. Yes, Linux / Unix were around a lot longer, BUT they haven’t been able to build in the same GUI as Apple has, have yet to have an easier installation process (it you are not UNIX oriented, its a maze). And the code is open source if my long term memory serves me. MS doesn’t know how to make something better. They copy to keep up, they change for propiertary use AND gain. Why anyone would want to play catchup and spend an inordinate amount of time taking care of his computer rather than his taking care of him??
At least with Apple, I expect and GET innovation.
By the way, the .plist was always around with the Mac OS’s…preference files were part of the earlier OS. If an app crashed or wouldn’t open, one of the fixes was to trash the preference file, the app would on the next opening create a new one. It DIDNT DRAG the system down.
just a question, and you needn’t answer here…how much time do you spend babysitting your system with security patches, reboots, spy/mal ware apps? I dont spend any except for the automatic upgrades from Apple; 10 minutes when I upgrade, if I want to upgrade and what I want to upgrade, securely.
“….Somebody stop me. I have that overwhelming feeling that Micro$oft is going to develop something just like Apple’s Tiger (Vista) and all the world will be dumb enough to believe them that they actually invented it.
Please don’t say this is Windows 95 happening all over again….”
‘Fraid so, John…
But, I suspect Longhorn … uhhh Vista … will probably look like Panther … run (almost) like Puma .. and still be based on DOS …
Until the Evil Empire gets a clue …bites the bullet .. and figures out how to make a UNIX-based OS … their lack of security problems will haunt them till the end !!
On second thought … its just possible that even if they were to build a ‘Nix system … they wouldnt have a clue about securing it !!
you get down to the nitty-gritty…it’s money. Who has it? I don’t know,
but one things for sure…if you’re using an Apple computer…you’re not
spending yours babysitting your computers or the people who use them.
Do babysitters have such a strangle hold on business that they just
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can’t shake them free? Horrorfying thought!
CT ======]—————- Nothing for nothing
the two main things that made me switch other than how glorious OSX looked and the glowing reviews was a college class on .NET, and then windows crapped out on me when I was watching a video and wouldnt start up as the login.exe or something was gone. .NET made me really hate windows, it was always freezing, the tools werent intuitive, poor documentation, not any way to really make a great application or any way to make it easy to access features of other apps like OSX and xCode does. I took a Bignerdranch Core OSX course this summer and it made me appreciate xCode even more. I love Apple cause they help me have more time to do what I want to do, not patch or update virus/malware removal programs everyday, week, month, year… Major developers really need to wake up and smell the truth, windows is yesterday it has no future without a complete rewrite, (and thats not going to happen). UNIX is over 30 years old and its going strong, Linux is growing and is maturing very well, Im planning on building a kubuntu box to play with, use as a server and such. Ive checked out the screenshots of Vista, and its just a facelift, with some ideas taken from competitors, nothing revolutionary. I really hope Steve has a media program& hardware to blow Win media center out of the the market.
lifelongmac . . . thanks for mentioning the whole drag the .plist to trast restart app to create new one. in most cases trouble shooting a mac is as easy as that.
I just got my report card…I can’t believe it, an E for effort, and a lower
case one at that. If I work harder…maybe I can improve my grade.
The city, she loves me…PEACE! <•>|<•>
CT =======]————– ALWAYS haunted, tak!