“Do you have any idea where you saved your last file? Both Microsoft and Apple Computer are betting the answer is no. And their newest operating systems bear uncannily like-minded search tools as a result,” Ina Fried reports for CNET News.
MacDailyNews Take: Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger is due in 10 days. Microsoft’s stripped-down Windows ‘Longhorn’ is due by Christmas 2006, or well over a year and a half from now. If you’re going to compare “newest operating systems,” how far out in the future can you go? This is ridiculous. In no other industry would this stupidity ever happen. Do you think Car & Driver compares this year’s Mercedes to what Ford has on the drawing boards for their 2007 model? Of course not. If Microsoft were a car maker today, they’d be promising power door locks and cruise control “real soon now” while breathlessly — as though theses features were something new and different — showing the world animated models of how they would eventually work on their cars. And CNET would have the scoop, we’re sure.
Fried continues, “The Longhorn preview Microsoft gave reporters last week revealed that with the new OS, the software giant is introducing composited graphics for the desktop, something Apple has had since Mac OS X’s debut. The result is that Longhorn’s windows can be see-through, revealing the contents of other windows or the desktop below.”
MacDailyNews Take: Apple previewed Mac OS X on January 5, 2000. We searched CNET and the Web and couldn’t find a single article that pitted Windows 2000 against Mac OS X. Articles that compared Mac OS X to Windows did not start appearing until Mac OS X was shipping and available to customers.
Fried continues, “‘You can imagine videos on top of videos and even translucency,’ said Jim Allchin, head of Microsoft’s Windows unit. In one application of the new technology, windows that are maximized or minimized spring to life in a way similar to the ‘genie effect’ through which Mac OS X windows are sent down to the Dock.”
MacDailyNews Take: Thanks, Jimmy, but we don’t have to “imagine” it (and neither did Microsoft, apparently), we’ve had translucency and the “genie effect” shipping since September 2000.
Fried continues, “Both companies’ OSes have a search window, identified by a magnifying glass icon, in the upper right-hand corner. Users of Tiger–the new Mac OS–can save a search query as a ‘smart folder,’ while Microsoft has its yet-to-be-finally-named “virtual folders” that offer a similar function. But similarities–and the issue of who copied who–aside, there’s a key difference between Tiger and Longhorn. Apple is coming out with Tiger in two weeks; Microsoft hopes to have Longhorn out by the second half of next year.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ should be compared to what’s available from other vendors. In Microsoft’s case, that would be Windows XP SP2. Comparing Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ to vapor from other companies is patently idiotic and seems to us to be the only method Wintel-centric media outlets have left by which to continue prop up the Wintel hegemony as customers wait and wait and wait for something that, as promised today, won’t even be able to measure up to what’s been in their local Apple stores for years. Stating that one OS is due in days and the other in over a year and a half at the end of an article after treating them both as concrete products throughout doesn’t suddenly transform the article into something meaningful.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Microsoft’s Windows Longhorn will bear more than just a passing resemblance to Apple’s Mac OS X – April 15, 2005
Analyst: ‘Microsoft’s Longhorn is going to have hard time upstaging Apple’s Mac OS X Tiger’ – April 13, 2005
Analyst: Apple in ‘position to exploit Microsoft missteps, claim leadership’ with Mac OS X Tiger – April 13, 2005
Apple’s Schiller: Mac OS X Tiger ‘has created even more distance between us and Microsoft’ – April 13, 2005
Will Mac OS X Tiger add fuel to Apple’s recent momentum in the computer business? – April 13, 2005
Why doesn’t Apple advertise Mac OS X on TV? – April 12, 2005
Analyst: Tiger proves ‘Apple is light years ahead of Microsoft in developing PC operating systems’ – April 12, 2005
Apple to ship Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ on Friday, April 29; pre-orders start today – April 12, 2005
Apple Announces Mac OS X Server ‘Tiger’ to ship Friday, April 29 with 64-bit application support – April 12, 2005
Analysts: Apple’s new Tiger operating system could really impact Mac sales – April 12, 2005
Piper Jaffray raises Apple estimates on Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ release news – April 12, 2005
Apple’s Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ vs. Microsoft’s Windows ‘Longhorn’ – March 31, 2005
New Microsoft Longhorn chief was former Pepto-Bismol brand manager – March 18, 2005
Microsoft’s Longhorn fantasy vs. Apple’s Mac OS X reality – September 14, 2004
Is Microsoft’s stripped-down ‘Longhorn’ worth waiting for? – September 10, 2004
Silicon Valley: Apple CEO Steve Jobs previews ‘Longhorn’ – June 29, 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
“Furthermore, the Apple OS is so slow… why would anyone want to use it. You type and the letters do not show up in real time, you resize a window and it does not move in real time. Apple has created an over-bloated eye candy machine that won’t even be able to access most serious internet sites.”
Troll, troll everywhere a troll…
Sputnick’s back!! Long time no see, buddy. Been busy re-installing SP2 and clearing out the spyware?
And remember…
Microsoft said that for Longhorn to run with all this eyecandy, the computer will need to be ‘optimized’ or essentially, pretty fast. If a PC user’s machine isn’t fast enough, they will have exactly what they’ve had for the past 3 years!
What is it that Joe-Sixpack wants? Eye-candy. That is what lures them to a new OS. (I know this emperically… show any PC user Expose or the Genie effect in OS X)
How disappointed are people gonna be when they find they will have most of the same look and feel of XP in Longhorn? Then again, Joe Sixpack doesn’t usually upgrade their OS… they just buy a whole new computer.
Micro$in has done nothing but suppress technology and innovation. We are living in 1990 instead of 2005 because of monopoly, strong arming, and leveraging tactics to control something that they only manage to dabble in in the first place. Their goal is not innovation or even money…it is power and control. You should only get to control if you have the best product and the best solution(like the iPod), and with Micro$in, that is not the case. Stupid company taking advantage of stupid people. Good enough is not good enough!!
Now I see Adobe with possibly more leverage than anyone because they are the only major solution for anything visual on the internet. What is left? Frontpage? Freeway? Flash is soooo much an important factor for the future of web pages. Funny, flash originated from a great little Mac drawing program called Futurewave Smartsketch. It was awesome on OS 9 in its day. Amazing how things can take off.
I’m afraid Microsoft will rewrite history again.
“Furthermore, the Apple OS is so slow.”
This point might not be so far from the truth.
If this rumor is correct, it’s might disappointing for PowerMac lovers.
No PCI Express
No dual Core
No Blue-ray
Small speed bump
http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0504g5notes.html
Dual Core Operton anyone?
Sputnik’s back! BTW, where’s Ron?
“Virtual folders” have been on around at Apple all the way back to Copeland now almost 10 years ago It is totally disgusting of that MS spokesman to claim that “They just might have copied us,” This was demostrated at the WWDC 10 years ago and we know that MS attended. A lot of these search technologies were in heavy development way back then at Apple. Why do you think Microsoft calls Apple “R&D south campus”?
I am also impressed with Apple, Microsoft still has 1.5 years of development before its OS comes out. That is the total time of development for Tiger. Microsoft still has plenty of time to copy. Hopefully the next OS X will be ready when Longhorn finally arrives. Lets see, who’s OS is better for quickly innovating on?
Microsoft is hating it… They won’t have anything to answer Panther with, let alone Tiger, until more than 1.5 years from now… LOL
“”You can imagine videos on top of videos and even translucency,’ said Jim Allchin, head of Microsoft’s Windows unit. […] Thanks, Jimmy, but we don’t have to ‘imagine’ it, we’ve had translucency […] shipping since September 2000.”
Minor nit. I’m not sure we’ve had translucency and video. I could be wrong, though. If I remember correctly, it has to do with QuickTime 6.x built on top of QuickDraw. QuickTime 7, conversely, runs on Core Graphics so you can get all the cool effects (such as live resize, videos playing as they move to the dock, etc.) Personally, this is huge selling point for Tiger and one of the reasons I’ll go buy it right off.
That said, I will be curious to see how many little gotchas like that we end up with in Longhorn…
Open a sticky note, drag and drop in a QuickTime movie, then Note -> Translucent Window…
BING!
Who cares if M$ copies Apple.
It just makes it easier for switchers to make the transformation.
Apple’s Tiger might be 1.5 years ahead of PC’s, but what about the hardware being 1.5 years behind?
I sure hope those rumours at ThinkSecret are bullsh*t.
considering Think Secret is correct about 80% of the time, i’d say the odds are in favor of the “rumor” being true.
“Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ should be compared to what’s available from other vendors. In Microsoft’s case, that would be Windows XP SP2”
Thurott did exactly that
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Longhorn isn’t vaporware!
Remember, Microsoft announced Windows months before Apple released the Macintosh in Jan of 1984. Sure, it took Microsoft a couple of years to release Windows 286; but who will argue that it wasn’t worth the wait? Windows 286 was in color back when the Macintosh only had Black and White.
It’s a safe better that Longhorn will also be superior to Tiger. I’ll bet Tiger still doesn’t have anything to match Solitare and Freecell.
I’ve got to say — I hate this web site. It’s just a troll magnet, in addition to being some sort of wierd ode to tiny type. Plus, most of the comments here are a mixture of mis & dis information. It’s sad, I’ve got to say.
Really, anybody can post here that they consider Win XP to be the greatest thing since canned beer, but really, if you believe that, you have deluded yourself. Windows XP is the land where spyware roams, where your TCP/IP stack is hoplessly corrupted . . .
Longhorn V1.0 will likely be a Piece of garbage – what program has MS done well in version 1.0? I can’t remember any – I believe Longhorn 3.1 will be pretty good though so patchers will likely have to wait at least five years to get something decent.
I find it odd that the article is comparing a finalized but unreleased OS against an OS that is still in development. How utterly useless! More interesting to wait 10 days and compare Mac OS 10.4 to Windows XP SP2. Later, when Longhorn finally ships, we can compare it to Mac OS 10.5. LOL
“Comparing Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ to vapor from other companies is patently idiotic and seems to us to be the only method Wintel-centric media outlets have left by which to continue prop up the Wintel hegemony”
WHOA! That’s some pent up anger right there!!! Chill out! You call THIS news reporting?
Longhorn is not vaporware. I love the Mac, but Longhorn does seem like an improvement in many areas. To each his own. We all benefit. Longhorn will be out sooner than you think though, as MS did a thorough clean-up of the scheduling mess. Stop hating!
“What program has MS done well in version 1.0?”
Not many, but there are some (products/software). Xbox, Windows Media Center come to mind. They’re pretty hot.
Actually Bill, to call the xBox a product that was “done well in version 1.0” doesn’t hold much water. I’ve heard several anecdotes about non-functioning xBoxes on display at WalMarts, DVD drives that constantly died and needed servicing/replacement, and then there’s that whole mess ith that power cord recall that didn’t solve the overheating issue and lulled unsuspecting users into a false sense of security (info here – http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000870036868/).
The M$ kool aid must have some kind of additive that hopelessly keeps some people hooked, even if the beverage itself tastes like urine. Need detox? go cold turkey and take 1 Mac Mini. Dr’s orders
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MDN magic word = “run” (no comment.)
I thought it was an informative article…allegiance to a system aside, you have to recognize some realities: Windows has its user-base while Macintosh has its own…why fret over it, Microsoft comes out with an Operating System every 3 years or so and provides free upgrades + other free things to help users out…Apple increments its OS every year charging users for each upgrade…two competing models…guess which one works!
If Apple had actually written its operating system instead of borrowing a UNIX core (the real hard stuff to write), we probably would have to wait until 2010 to see the fancy transparent windows in MacOS.
Mike Barros says:
“If Apple had actually written its operating system instead of borrowing a UNIX core (the real hard stuff to write), we probably would have to wait until 2010 to see the fancy transparent windows in MacOS.”
That’s right, cores are projects unto themselves. There have been three cores over the past 25 years that have amounted to anything: DOS, MacOS and UNIX. For robustness and ruggedness UNIX has clearly been the superior system. Now Microsoft is going to hammer us over the head with their new core saying it’s an improvement over everything that ever has been. I think it’s just an improvement over DOS. But because Microsoft has everyone’s mind it will be easy for them to convince you that it’s the greatest thing since the wheel.
They’ve been successful at rewriting history before. Let’s see if they can pull it off again this time.