“On Monday, Steve Jobs addressed thousands of Macintosh hardware and software developers at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. The clear message: the traditional Cold War between Mac OS and Windows is back on, and now it’s wearing spurs,” Andy Ihnatko writes for The Chicago Sun-Times.
“No kidding. Steve did everything but pound his shoe on the table and insist that his placement of iMacs in Cuba was merely a case of helping a brother revolutionary defend itself from industrial imperialism. Vista, the new overhaul of Microsoft Windows, will (dear Lord, please) finally be released in January, after five years’ worth of delays. Steve was keen on sharing Apple’s impartial opinion that Vista is but a shabby clone of Mac OS… last year’s Mac OS,” Ihnatko writes.
Ihnatko writes, “And Apple hasn’t exactly been sitting on its hands for the last 15 months. ‘Well, if you can’t innovate… impersonate,’ Apple’s VP of software engineering chided. And then the conference hall’s giant screens were filled with a photo of a fat Elvis.”
“Ouch,” Ihnatko writes. “They do have a point. If Microsoft’s current public beta of Vista and Apple’s sneak preview of Mac OS 10.5 (“Leopard,” promised for spring delivery) are anything to go by… Microsoft is in big, big trouble… Steve Jobs generated more genuine enthusiasm for Leopard in 90 minutes than Microsoft has generated for Vista in the last five years.”
Full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
InfoWorld: With Mac OS X Leopard, Apple aims to ruin Vista’s chance of gaining early traction – August 09, 2006
Big race? Which will ship first, Microsoft’s Windows Vista or Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard? – August 09, 2006
Analyst: Apple’s new Mac OS X Leopard sets new bar, leaves Microsoft’s Vista in the dust – August 08, 2006
Gartner analyst: It’s a ‘distinct possibility’ that Mac OS X Leopard will ship before Windows Vista – August 07, 2006
Apple WWDC banner: ‘Mac OS X Leopard. Introducing Vista 2.0’ – August 07, 2006
Ballmer analyzes Microsoft’s One Big Mistake, Vista… er, ‘One Big’ Vista Mistake – August 02, 2006
Leopard attack on Vista: Apple taunts Microsoft with much faster operating system launches – July 05, 2006
What Microsoft has chopped from Windows Vista, and when – June 27, 2006
Microsoft botches another copy job: Windows Vista Flip3D vs. Apple Mac OS X Exposé – June 26, 2006
Windows Vista rips-off Mac OS X at great hardware cost (and Apple gains in the end) – June 13, 2006
Computerworld: Microsoft Windows Vista a distant second-best to Apple Mac OS X – June 02, 2006
Thurrott: Microsoft collapsing under its own weight, Gates has driven Windows Vista into the ground – April 20, 2006
Thurrott: Microsoft going to get eaten alive over Windows Vista’s resemblance to Apple’s Mac OS X – March 09, 2006
NY Times’ Pogue on Gates’ CES demo: Most of Vista features unadulterated ripoffs from Apple Mac OS X – January 05, 2006
Analyst: Windows Vista may still impress many consumers because they have not seen Apple’s Mac OS X – January 05, 2006
Gartner: Ignore Microsoft Windows Vista until 2008 (why not just get Apple Mac OS X Tiger today?) – November 12, 2005
Microsoft’s Windows Vista strives to deliver what Apple’s Mac OS X already offers – October 10, 2005
Thurrott: many of Windows Vista’s upcoming features appeared first in Apple’s Mac OS X – September 26, 2005
Microsoft’s Ballmer: It’s true, some of Windows Vista’s features are ‘kissing cousins’ to Mac OS X – September 18, 2005
Windows tech writer Thurrott: ‘In many ways, Mac OS X Tiger is simply better than Windows’ – May 07, 2005
Thurrott: Longhorn demos ‘unimpressive, fall short of graphical excellence found today in Mac OS X’ – April 26, 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
Steve Jobs: Microsoft copied original Apple Mac with Windows 95, now they’re copying us again – February 08, 2005
The Age: ‘Apple’s Mac OS X at least a generation ahead of Windows XP, iMac G5 clearly the best’ – December 15, 2004
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
PC Magazine: Microsoft ‘Longhorn’ preview shows ‘an Apple look’ – May 06, 2004
Windows ‘Longhorn’ to add translucent windows that ripple and shrink by 2005 – May 19, 2003
Apple leads; Wintel follows as usual – November 11, 2002
macfreek,
Apple is winning today, with gold metal after gold metal. It doesn’t matter what percentage of the market they owe. The percentage they _do_ own is very, very, very strong and stable. That’s what matters. The Windows side of the fence is such a mess because nobody and their dog has a leader showing them the way. Apple is being a leader with respect to Macs.
I work with a top 5 bank in the U.S., and we are planning to move to XP later this year! We are still running Office 2000. Based on the amount of games people play here, it seems the preference for Windows is based on the ability to play Solitare, freecell and mine sweeper.
Macaday,
You’re probably a bit off, but not by much.
How about…
On life support: 2010
Death: 2015
Forgotten: 2020
The family of Microsoft has announced the death of Windows after a long battle with illness. Originally born in 1985 as the illegitimate child of Cupertino-based company and a pig wearing a particularly unflattering shade of lipstick, Windows’ early life was characterised by being unable to walk and chew gum at the same time.
In August 1995, Windows underwent a partially successful operation to cure a previously unknown disease called DOS however some brain-damaged programs continued to be invoked from a command line until Windows’s death causing many IT analysts to believe that this version of Windows was the so-called Missing Link between modern computing and monkeys hitting each other with sticks.
Unfortunately, some of the medical decisions taken in 1995 caused Windows to develop a virulent auto-immune deficiency combined with a voracious appetite to have unprotected relationships with a number of unsuitable partners and – by 2006 (and having changed its name to Windows XP) – it was alleged to have had over 150,000 partners who had forced it to become a gibbering idiot capable of sending out millions of unwanted communications every day to people offering everything from painkillers to breast enlargement.
Multiple attempts to fight back the onset of senility whilst still maintaining the original character of Windows resulted in another name change to Windows Vista in 2008. However, by now, the writing was on the wall as Windows developed further auto-immune complications even whilst undergoing surgery. Its final years were spent thrashing around trying to find a suitable legacy for posterity, including being the foundation for a generation of second-rate, quarter-assed devices such as games consoles, mobile phones and even refrigerators.
Windows leaves several billion unsatisfied customers and a retinue of tens of thousands of flunkeys who made a living selling hardware, software and support. However, it is probably the world of the criminal and anti-social who will miss this most promiscuous of technology products and the opportunities it presented to spread chaos, confusion and misery.
A close friend, Steve Ballmer (a man who was once filmed dancing with monkeys), is said to be grief-stricken and many local furniture salespeople are said to have received bulk orders presumably for the wake.
The funeral, which will be private, will be held on Thursday. The family request that, in lieu of flowers, donations should be made to The Jim Allchin Mission for Distressed IT Worker which seeks to find useful employment for technology support staff who have fallen on hard times.”
Yeah, acceptance of Vista will not be instant by the IT folks, especially if it requires purchasing new hardware. New acquisitions will have to survive the bean counters. This is common sense, guys. It’ll come on all those fancy new computers, which will be expensive. Cutting-edge customers will have it, but everyone else will wait until service pack one is out at least. See, the thing about Vista is that its appearance fills people with consternation — even its fans. Contrast that to the salivation that you see for Leopard.
Microsoft has lost the battle, and this is evidence that they’re losing the war.
The really stupid thing is that regardless of how shit Vista is, we all know it will sell a lot of copies. Microsoft have spent how many billions on this thing? Surely they could have made something equally as crappy for a fraction of the cost?
Vista is the Rich Little of operating systems.
Mac fans have an unbelievable ego. Windows, impersonating an OS that hardly has 5% market share? Don’t be so vain. It really doesn’t flatter you…