“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).