Bill Gates lists Microsoft ‘innovations’ that Apple has offered Mac users for years

CNN’s Miles O’Brien interviewed Bill Gates about the debut of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista, this morning.

One portion was especially interesting:

O’Brien: Frankly, a lot of what I see here, um, seems to mimic a little bit [Apple’s Mac] OS X. Were you going after a specific look there, the Mac look, or?

MacDailyNews Take: A little bit? Ya think?

Gates: No, no, no. Actually, uh, the, we’re ahead [slight pause] on a lot, uh, there’s whole areas where we’ve innovated like Media Center and tablet, uh, that, uh, no one else is doing and the parental control, that’s the first time that’s been done. Even in this photo area, you know, we’d love to have you compare how we’ve done, make it easy to make a DVD, edit high definition movies.

Snippet of Miles O’Brien’s CNN interview with Microsoft’s Bill Gates:

Full video interview here.

MacDailyNews Take: Note Gates’ uncomfortable squirming in his chair, frequent pauses, and “uhs.” Wow.

Gates’ body language reminds us of PC’s squirming here:

Mr. Gates, perhaps the reason that no one else is doing “innovations” like Media Center and tablet is because of your, uh, sales figures for those products?

As for the rest:
Parental Controls: Apple debuted Parental Controls in Mac OS X Tiger, released on April 29. 2005. That’s nearly two years ago. (Gates yesterday spoke with NBC’s Today Show host Meredith Vieira and tried out the same “parental controls” lie there, too, at 2:34 into the video here.)
Photos: Apple debuted iPhoto on January 7, 2002. That’s over five years ago.
DVD creation: Apple debuted iDVD on January 9, 2001. That’s over six years ago.
Movies: Apple debuted iMovie on October 5, 1999. That’s over seven years ago. Oh, HD? Okay, Apple debuted iMovie HD on January 11, 2005. That’s over two years ago.

So much for Microsoft’s “whole areas” of innovation.

Related articles:
Gates bristles over Vista, Mac OS X comparisons – January 29, 2007
Pioneer Press: Windows Vista shows ‘Apple is an innovation engine; Microsoft, not so much’ – January 29, 2007
Imitating Apple Computer is no match for innovation – January 17, 2006
Apple’s talent and innovation vs. Microsoft’s hype – October 25, 2005
PC World: Microsoft innovation – an oxymoron – September 14, 2005
Charles Arthur: Microsoft’s definition of ‘innovation’ different from everyone else’s – April 27, 2004

85 Comments

  1. Bill Gates’ body language is very revealing. Have a look at this interview and also at the one yesterday on MSNBC with that Meredith Vierra chick. In both interviews when he is asked about Vista’s obvious similarities to OS X, he does a big shuffling about and repositioning of himself in his chair. It’s the same “tell” both times. This sort of body language reveals that a person is highly uncomfortable with the issue before them. As well he should be.

  2. “we’d love to have you compare how we’ve done”

    Them’s fightin’ words, Clem.

    If Bill’s dad was Geppetto, he would have skewered thousands of people to death in the southeastern U.S. this morning unfortunate enough to be in his line of nostrils.

  3. I must admit some of the screenshots I’ve seen of Vista are impressive. They truly made a big stride in visual elegance, no doubt thanks to Apple. Leopard better be revolutionary with a whole new look. From what I’ve seen, however, it looks a lot like the current OSX. That, to me, is disappointing. I like visual change. On that one note, Microsoft scored a hole-in-one. Aside from that, Vista is a failure.

  4. Sad. I think Bill Gates is doing more to wreck Vista than help it. They really should have had someone with more speaking experience doing these interviews. Gates looks really sad in all of them (Daily Show, CNN, etc).

  5. Wow, upon looking more closely at Vista, it would appear that it really is an adavance over Apple’s offerings. Why, you can easily edit high-definition content, easily make your own DVD movies, and they have this nifty photo gallery app that offers basic touch-up capabilities as well as serving as a central repository for your photo collection.

    I have to admit that this is all pretty cool stuff, and I’d really love to have it, so I’m going to switch to Vista now, seeing as how you can’t do any of that on the Mac for years now.

  6. This is where you send comments to CNN on the blatant, outright lies told to Miles O’Brien this morning:
    http://www.cnn.com/feedback/

    Who knows? They might try a follow-up.
    A six billion dollar, five year waste of time is certainly newsworthy.
    Think of all of the shareholders and pension funds that should sue Microsoft for a monumental waste of resources.
    Gates doesn’t have to know truth from lies.
    He actually believes <u>he</u> decides the truth.

  7. What I think is interesting is that journalists have the gonads to pose the question.

    Let’s face it, Gates & Co. have been copying the Mac since Windows 1.0. Its just that now, they’re getting called for it.

    The King is wearing no clothes.

  8. I did say “WOW” to some of the features in windows Vista. However, I did my “WOW” during the Macworld keynotes over the past 8 years to these innovative features. Heck, some of the features were in OS9. WOW, MS innovation is finally heading into the late 90s. “Microsoft.Where did I go yesterday?” I would say today but been there, done that.

  9. If you go to cnn.com

    they have a quick vote, (along right lower side)

    Will you be updating your software to Vista??

    after my vote the results were

    yes, right away 6%

    eventually, no rush 78%

    I don’t use windows 16%

    I am impressed with the “I don’t use windows” vote

  10. It really doesn’t matter. Microsoft won the OS war decades ago, and they did just enough to keep their user base satisfied.

    If hardly anyone switched in the last 5 years, do you really think they will now.

  11. PC walks up to Mac dressed in a tshirt and hoodie, and announces that he just came back from surgery and upgraded to Vista. PC then turns around and asks for Mac’s opinion.

    Mac, stares at PC in disbelief, and tells him that he’s had that same look and features for the last five years. PC stammers and disagrees with him.

    PC then starts sneezing, and informs Mac that he still must have caught a virus. A guy comes in dressed as a Hollywood director, takes PC’s glassess off of his face, throws them on the door and stomps on them. When PC and Mac demands an explanation, he tells them that since PC’s glasses don’t protect high def movie content, he’s entitled to break them. PC stammers that he doesn’t watch high def movies, and Hollywood guy informs him that he can do that with Vista, read the contract. PC sadly stammers that he can’t read the Vista contract since his glasses have just been broken.

    PC then begins to sigh and softly weep: he still hurts from the upgrade surgery, he still has gotten sick on the internet, and the Hollywood type broke his glasses. PC states that he is now sorry that he went to Vista.

    Mac walks over to PC and consoles him with a pat to the back. Hollywood Guy walks over to Mac, asks if Mac has glasses, and Mac makes him leave the commercial. The scene cuts to an iMac with an unbroken pair of glasses in front of it.[end]

  12. Did anyone notice yesterday’s Gates retort regarding Mac vs. Windows innovation? He completely broadsided the the issue with what was less a response and more a non-violent threat:

    “Remember that Windows is where the investment is. It’s where the partners are. That’s why it’s the best.”

    Translation: Everyone’s buried so deep in Windows infrustructure, you have no choice now.

  13. 1. i press f10 for expose and the windows appear on my screen in a specific pattern
    2. i select a window and work
    3.. i press f10 for expose again and the widows are in a slightly DIFFERENT arrangement than before

    That annoys me; especailly when i’ve many windows open and am trying to get work done. I don’t want to hunt down the previous window. Otherwise, expose kicks ass.

  14. Teflon,
    I’m worried that they will switch. There are already too many switchers asking for the Mac to act more like Windows. I don’t mind the Mac getting more market share, but I don’t want it polluted by Window’s crappy user interface.

  15. “From what I’ve seen, however, it looks a lot like the current OSX. That, to me, is disappointing. I like visual change.”

    Unfortunately, most users just get confused by change. OSX will stay pretty much the same visually for quite a while.

  16. If you are implying that Vista may in fact be a better implementation of Mac OS X features, let’s just do a quick comparison of system requirements and what is accomplished with those resources.

    But I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were praising the iPod.

  17. If you are implying that Vista may in fact be a better implementation of Mac OS X features, let’s just do a quick comparison of system requirements and what is accomplished with those resources.

    But I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were praising the iPod.

  18. If you are implying that Vista may in fact be a better implementation of Mac OS X features, let’s just do a quick comparison of system requirements and what is accomplished with those resources.

    But I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were praising the iPod.

  19. The Windows Vista launch feels like a non-event. And it’s timed at the worst possible time of the year. At least MS will have some more time to release Vista SP1 before the back-to-school and holiday shopping.

    Apple needs to make a big splashy announcement about Leopard and show off all its features NOW, before the official release date. Since many Windows users get their new version of Windows when they upgrade their PCs, such an announcement will make them wait (if buying a new PC) and at least consider getting a Mac. Additionally, Apple can offer a free upgrade to Leopard program for new Macs purchased between now and Leopard’s release date, so that Mac sales are not adversely impacted by a Leopard “full preview” announcement.

  20. “If you go to cnn.com

    they have a quick vote, (along right lower side)

    Will you be updating your software to Vista??

    after my vote the results were

    yes, right away 6%

    eventually, no rush 78%

    I don’t use windows 16%

    I am impressed with the “I don’t use windows” vote”

    Interesting. I went to look at this, but it now just offers “Will you rush out to buy Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system? Yes/No”. No I-don’t-use-Windows option. Still, 97% answer NO.

  21. Okay,

    NBC is owned by Microsoft, right? MSNBC, right? So they set up an interview with Lord Gates, but this is supposed to be journalism, right? A real journalist would do the research and ask some hard-hitting questions, yes?

    So what do they do but put him in front of Meredith Viera (a journalistic deity, not unlike Geraldo Rivera) who admittedly is “computer phobic”.

    “Oh, Lord Gates, you’ve invented parental controls? Oh thank you Lord Gates, thank you! Oh, Microsoft is on the cutting edge of innovation? Oh, thank you Lord Gates, thank you! (drool, slobber)…

    NBC execs breath a sigh of relief. Bullet dodged. Jobs saved. Pensions secured. Lord Gates comes off looking like the mastermind of a competent corporation.

    Ya gotta love it.

  22. In 1995, Apple sued Microsoft for $1B after the release of Windows 95 for copying the look and feel of the Mac OS. They settled out of court and Microsoft paid Apple 750 million dollars in cash plus a 5-year guarantee that Microsoft will release an update to the Mac version of MS Office, among other things. In turn, Apple agreed not to talk about the settlements.

    I can smell another lawsuit brewing. Apple is much stronger now so as not give in to a buy-out.

  23. It looks like Gates should stick to charity work. With Bozo Balmer in charge of the factory, there’s not much Bill can do but try desparately to clean up the crap and spray air freshener.

    MW: subject. What Gates would like to have changed when O’Brien asked him about the obvious Mac OS X rip off.

  24. Having seen several of Gate’s appearances in his whirlwind Vista rollout — including The Daily Show w/Jon Steward — I have to say I kinda like the guy more than I did before. Fatherhood and philanthropy seem to have mellowed him and brought out a more human dimension.

    All the TV appearances are no doubt his last hurrah before bowing-out of Microsoft business for full-time foundation work.

    Still, I’m not excited about Vista and agree with all of the above that it is 35 dog-years behind OS-X.

  25. ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”tongue wink” style=”border:0;” /> Kinda difficult to explain the look isn’t there Bill.
    Thanks O’Brian for pointing out the obvious for those who don’t see it or get it. Maybe now more people might as this gets around all the TV networks. Copying OSX isn’t going to be the answer anymore Mr. Bill. Can’t wait to see the look on his face when Leopard comes out.

  26. Like Vista, this guy is a remarkable dud. These appearances aren’t a reflection of Gates’ maturity or mellowing with age. He stopped giving a shit years ago and it trickled down through Mediocresoft.

    The combination of poor posture, squirming, multiple “uhs” in every sentence and the inability to give a heartfelt answer to the “what’s in Vista and why should I buy it” question—even when he’s been asked it 20 times in the past 2 days—is shocking.

    Yawn.

  27. Bill Gates is a lying turd-faced scoundrel! I can’t believe he had the guts to answer “$99” when asked how much Vista would cost. And that was the least of it! He must think he’s talking to complete morons… er… Come to think of it, he’s right about that one.

  28. CNN Quick Poll (viewable at cnn.com):
    “Will you rush out to buy Microsoft’s new Windows Vista operating system?”

    At 12:19pm PST, the current voting results are:

    YES: 3% (1543 votes)

    NO: 97% (45734 votes)

  29. Microsoft won the OS war decades ago

    Perhaps, but not because of technical merit and the “win” didn’t occur decades ago. Besides, the war will never end as long as alternative OS’s can be found in operation.

    The only thing Microsoft won was the battle to deploy Windows on a massive scale by flooding the desktop space using the sale of PCs as trojan horses and everyone knows desktop sales eclipse shrinkwrap sales by a hefty margin. Especially on a platform where the OS receives a major update every five years.

    That Windows is the most used OS is undeniable but that can only be attributable to the ecosystem that supports Microsoft and not because Windows is truly modern OS as Gary Beach is implying:

    “Today will go down in computing history as the last big operating system launch for Microsoft,” said Gary Beach, publisher of CIO Magazine, a publication for professional technology managers.

    Either Beach is delusional or he is a master of sarcasm. I believe Microsoft’s next major OS release will compare favorably with OS X, not for its GUI, but its underpinnings. Microsoft’s radical departure will be borne not of inspiration or innovation, but from a groundswell of repudiation that could begin in the halls of government.

    Remember, it was almost a decade ago that Windows NT left the USS Yorktown dead in the water and it had to be towed back to port all because an IT administrator tried to enter a zero in a data field, causing the computer system to think itself to death.

    At least the original Yorktown, which was sunk during the Battle of Midway in World War II, wreaked havoc on the Japanese fleet before succumbing to the zero.

    We all know Vista, like XP is derivative of NT so sailor beware.

    In any case, Microsoft is going to be compared to OS X for years to come…

  30. “There’s whole areas that we’ve innovated…”

    Yep, that’s true. Like making insecure, shoddy software, forcing people to buy inferior products, stealing other people’s ideas and passing them off as your own, etc. Microsoft has been innovative in all these areas. You can’t take that away from them! Give credit where credit is due people!

  31. So is Apple going to lay down and not respond to these lies? Apple just doesn’t get how to make their point to the masses. No ads showing how great the OS is.

    MW-late, as in late or never with ads.

  32. Billy Boy is even copying Steve’s magic BOOM word in the CNN interviu. Thats significant ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” />))))))))
    and on thursday i will see the Vista presentation for Spain Live. Bhoaaaaaaaa

  33. What about Front Row? That’s the most comparable to Microsft Media Center. Maybe some differences, but still the most comparable product. I don’t follow MCE much, I think it did come out before Front Row. Maybe worth commenting on anyway, even if Apple didn’t beat them to it. Give Microsoft a little credit for coming out with a less good, more complicated product first. (I remember the key note comparing Front Row remote to MCE remotes).

  34. I think that no matter how “uncomfortable” Bill Gates seems that his company is much better then apple any day sorry to say. Besides did you ever think that those chairs could be extremely uncomfortable! Maybe he’s used to nice chairs 😀

  35. Guys, I just spent the last TWO FREAKING HOURS (that I’ll never get back, btw) and I gotta be honest…….NOT impressed….AT ALL! I know most of whats been done is under the hood, but, seriously, Vista absolutely sucks. It really is just an updated version of XP…..and not a very good one, at that. I used to be a huge Windows fanboy, but, I bought a Mac beacause I work in the entertainment industry and everyone uses Mac’s. Let me tell you, after I made the switch, Windows is just a huge joke. I will NEVER purchase Vista, or, any OS from MS ever again!! LONG LIVE LEOPARD!!

  36. Read this on a MS friendly blog, by a MS user

    WTF Microsoft? Make me proud to be a PC user!!
    Posted by efh777 (See profile) – January 30, 2007 12:05 PM PST
    I am reading the latest about Windows Vista. I remember the Windows ME issue…Same ol’ thing, just prettier. Then the problems started. We run Netware, and Novell and MS are having a pissing contest over SLED 10, so no Netware Drivers for Vista. WE used to get those with Windows 95/98. So we will not be adopting Vista, even thought I will be ordering 10 computers (at least) in 2007. I can pay Dell $10.00 to send me an extra copy of Vista…Probably use it at home… I continually study Microsoft Literature, but am seeing that Linux has many more options on security (SELINUX??). I don’t need pretty, I need a secure, solid running O/S. The DRM nightmare has only just surfaced. Waiting until the user backlash hits. Score one for the RIAA, and MPAA. To think I used to stand in line at Midnight for these releases. Come on Microsoft…Do something to make me proud.

  37. went to the local store to try out Vista ULTIMATE for about 45 minutes…it is striking how it tries to emulate OSX in so many ways..(IE7 even has a Google search bar in the upper right, just like Safari)…yes, it seems nicer than XP, but still falls short of features that have been in Tiger, Panther, and even Jaguar 4 years ago!

    the media center now has a FrontRow-like interface, and yes, it has DVR features that OSX lacks, but it seemed to me as confusing to use as any typical VCR interface…all powered by a large tower with oodles of cables…

  38. Is somebody going to e-mail Miles O’Brien the facts?

    Miles O’Brien was factual. The moron he was interviewing spewed the lies.

    CNN does not owe anyone a correction, retraction or anything, but, CNN can dig deeper and refute Gates’ falsehoods with good research—if journalists still did that.

  39. Indeed OS 9 had “Parental Controls”. And mentioning “Media Center” and “Tablet” as areas of most recent innovation was a handy way to avoid comparisons with OS X (current versions).

    @the guy with Exposé problems.

    That annoys me; especailly when i’ve many windows open and am trying to get work done. I don’t want to hunt down the previous window. Otherwise, expose kicks ass.

    Exposé uses algorithms which look at the size and location of windows on your screen to determine the best location and size to “tile” them when you press your F10. If you change either the size or location enough of any particular window, Exposé is going to plot the best locations and sizes once again, which may mean having to change the layout.

    So if you are using a small screen (let’s say 1024×768) and a large number of windows (let’s say 23+ of average size), then you may have trouble simply because the Exposéed windows will be quite small indeed. Look at the Exposé pref. pane and learn how to use the two modes (one for all windows, the other for only the active app.)

  40. `who gives a flying fuck what mac Os shit did 3 years ago?

    macIntosh is just as bad as MicroSoft in my book

    fuck both of them

    and fuck anyone who thinks it’s worthwhile defending them on the intranet

    time wasters

  41. All of these comments about this so-called “sheep mentality” are pretty funny, considering plenty of the stuff OS X “introduced” aren’t true Mac-based innovations. In fact, I’d say that the people who buy Apple-products are more the “sheep” you express such distaste with, and the “PC/Mac” ads just reinforce that image to me.

  42. Your statement is true in that folks will indeed flock to and support (casually to vehemently) their favorite (or most familiar to them) OS.

    I think the ‘sheep’ comment was in reference to the masses who will simply take BG’s comments at face value and truly believed MS invented or innovated the featues they did not.

    While Apple itself may not have created the ideas (all) as new, they were first in putting them many if not all of them, in the consumer desktop OS computing environment – something BG is stating MS has done – wrongly.

    :::shrugs:::

  43. Well, much of vistas stuff is similar to osx.
    But, media center in vista is purely Microsoft, and… well its good.
    there is nothing in OS X that even compares currently, and dont say front row, it dosnt.
    I happen to have a G5 power mac desktop, and a powerful PC laptop which I just upgraded to vista.
    I prefer OS X, but if apple was smart they would make something similar to media center.
    and if thats “copying” Microsoft then so be it.

  44. Well..I still personally enjoy working on/playing with PC’s. I maintain a Mac network at for a company, and I just don’t get why people want to die for Apple OS’s. They have a nice GUI and everything, but I just find it easier to get work done, and solve issues logically on a PC. It almost seems like a boycott of Windows simply because its everywhere. Sorta like a “I refuse to drink starbucks because everybody gets coffee there” attitude. I would go as far as to say that its appeal has much to do with personality. Most of the people at this Mac only building switched from PC’s because they became frustrated on them. Most of these people have issues with technology period. Alot of the “problems” with PC’s aren’t experienced by many users (impossible you say?). And alot of Mac users come off rather elitest to me. My general point however, was to really say that there are Windows users that use it not because work requires it, but because they actually prefer it. But who knows, when I want a OS that “thinks” it knows what I want to do, I may switch ” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />

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