Any doubt that Microsoft has no original ideas and cannot even seem to copy good design correctly has to look no further than the most recent release of Windows Media Player.
Compared to this from Apple.
Gee, I wonder how Microsoft “innovated” round corners and brushed metal for their media player? They’re so advanced up there in Redmond, huh? And it’s no wonder that Microsoft’s screenshots are so tiny; they do know how to market mediocrity correctly, at least. And the sheer brilliance of naming their Mac version, “Windows Media Player for Mac” rivals their most famous innovation; using the “Start” button to “Shut Down.”
Here’s Microsoft poorly copying Apple’s iMovie with Windows Movie Maker. Compared to the true innovator here.
As a sidenote, let’s compare “innovative” Wintel hardware design to Apple’s here.
I mean, really, Apple’s Twentieth Anniversary Macintosh is still the model trying to be copied by any number of Wintel box assemblers over five years after its debut and they still haven’t come close to its elegance.
Here’s Dell’s new Axim X5 Pocket PC PDA. It’s startling how much inspiration comes from Cupertino. It’s no wonder that the worker bees in Redmond and the commodity Wintel box assemblers like Dell refer to Apple as “R&D South.” Just compare Dell’s PDA above to Apple’s default Aqua desktop in Mac OS X.
Bill Gates is all gung-ho about his “innovative” Tablet PC concept. Too bad Apple did it years ago with the Newton, where, as a side note, Apple invented the PDA. And, Mr. Gates, on the day of your Tablet PC unveiling, about a million copies of Mac OS X were already in use sporting Inkwell.
We won’t even get into the Gateway “Asstro” (misspelling intentional) or the eMachines “eOne” fiascos that tried (and failed) to clone the original iMac. Hint: it’s the OS, stupid.
To put the icing on the cake, if you’re a Wintel Sufferer™, just look at your Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system and compare it to Apple’s here. Apple was first, as usual.
“The only thing original about Windows XP is the ‘P,'” holds more than an ounce of truth. Windows users who like to refer to Mac’s as “toys” should always be reminded that while they’re using their mouse to control their “upside down backwards” fake of the Mac GUI, along with their QuickTime-derivative Windows Media Player, and iMovie-Wannabe MovieMaker, to remember to thank Steve Jobs for giving them all of the above and pray that Apple is always around to lead the personal computing industry.
SteveJack is a long-time Macintosh user, web designer, multimedia producer and a regular contributor to the MacDailyNews Opinion section.
