“In the battle between Apple and Microsoft, Bertrand Serlet and Steven Sinofsky are the field generals in charge of competing efforts to ensure that the PC’s basic software stays relevant in an increasingly Web-centered world,” John Markoff reports for The New York Times. “The two men are marshaling their software engineers for the next encounter, sometime in 2009, when a new generation of Macintosh and Windows operating systems is due. Their challenge will be to avoid refighting the last war — and to prevent finding themselves outflanked by new competitors.”
“Many technologists contend that the increasingly ponderous PC-bound operating systems that currently power 750 million computers, products like Microsoft’s Windows Vista and Apple’s soon-to-be-released Mac OS X Leopard, will fade in importance,” Markoff reports. “In this view, software will be a modular collection of Web-based services — accessible by an array of hand-held consumer devices and computers…”
Markoff reports, “Mr. Sinofsky’s approach, he said, is meticulously planned out from the beginning, with a tight focus on meeting deadlines — a crucial objective after the delay-plagued Vista project — but with little room for flexibility. In contrast, the atmosphere inside Apple’s software engineering ranks has been much more improvisational.”
Markoff reports, “Mr. Sinofsky, 41, who joined Microsoft in 1989, is the senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live engineering group, a position he assumed a year ago after running the company’s Office team of programmers. Mr. Serlet, 46, Apple’s senior vice president for software engineering, left Xerox’s fabled Palo Alto Research Center to join Steven P. Jobs at Next Software in the late 1980s and has headed software development at Apple since 2003. ‘Under Sinofsky, the culture is, you plan and stick to the plan,’ said Steven Capps, a former Apple and Microsoft programmer who has designed operating systems at both companies. ‘At Apple you see what you’ve got.'”
The potential risk in the Microsoft approach, he said, is that “they’re like the test pilots who won’t pull up when they see the tarmac.” …After struggling for more than half a decade with Vista, its most ambitious development project ever, Microsoft has begun work on a reportedly less ambitious successor under Mr. Sinofsky’s leadership
Markoff reports, “Mr. Serlet’s programmers are planning to integrate Apple’s consumer products and its personal computers more closely with the Internet, according to several people briefed on the company’s plans. Indeed last week, at an industry conference, Mr. Jobs said that an infusion of Web services for Macintosh users was imminent.
“Apple is expected to add a networking capability to its next-generation iPod music players. In addition, the software for its next big product, the iPhone, is based on the core of OS X, the operating system for the Macintosh. The approach further blurs the line between the computer and other devices — as well the distinction between the device and the Internet as the place where programs and data reside,” Markoff reports.
More in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Jamie” for the heads up.]
Um. No.
This will happen, but most people want to OWN their computers, software and data, not rent use of them.
Will not take off in the consumer space for decades.
FTA: “The company has hinted recently that Mr. Sinofsky’s team may be trying to keep the PC operating system relevant by redesigning it to take full advantage of next-generation processing chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices that will have dozens of internal processors.”
That is one hell of a big challenge and Apple undoubtedly faces the same multicore/manycore challenge. Nobody has as of yet really figured out how to do this effectively and build a suitable development environment for that environment. This is indeed one place that one company can get a major advantage over a rival.
re:Bill Gates speaks about new videogame control system.
What a laff! He obviously thinks having cameras tracking you swinging the bat around your living room is a more accurate experience that using motion sensing controllers. First thing wrong withthis idea is that the rest of the world doesn’t have a “media room” the size of small house inside their actual house, unlike Mr. Bill. Secondly, all this camera tech would require more computing horsepower etc. Oh wait that is the point isn’t it.
I forget the MS is about elegance of design. It’s about using a piledriver to push in a thumbtack. And missing 3 out of 4 tries!!
wish i could edit: should say MS isn’t about elegance of design
Apple is organic; Microsoft is artificial. Apple is product-centered; Microsoft is deadline-centered. I think either of those are far better comparisons, especially to those of us who appreciate the glory of marching bands and loathe jazz.
Having all the apps on a computer may be a good thing…
BUT – has anyone actually realised that without some sort of internet connection you wont be able to do fuck all on the computer!
Without an internet connection a pc is just a worthless set of parts – You have more chance in getting work done using a slate and a piece of chalk stick!
…
So, the PC for the last 20 years has been….useless?
You can use it for other things than chat, web, mail or downloading porn, you know.
And I suggest you’d get more work done.
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@B-Sabre:
yes, but if all the apps themselves are online… then it’s useless unless it’s online. I think that’s the point.
Flying Cars. I want a Flying Car!
Chris:
No, Petey was suggesting that without the internet anycomputer was useless:
Having all the apps on a computer may be a good thing…
BUT – has anyone actually realised that without some sort of internet connection you wont be able to do fuck all on the computer!
He seems to be saying that even with all the apps on the computer, without the internet its useless.
A revamped model of Windows in 2009? Give me a break. Vista service pack 2 at best. MS is far too backward looking for that to take place. Apple has taken three successful plunges (68000 series to PPC, OS 9 to OS X, and PPC to Intel) and all MS can do is look into backward compatability. More bloatware will ensue.
B-Sabre:
Ah, I guess I was trying to translate what he was saying into something that seemed to make sense in relation to the article or… anything. But if that’s what he was saying then, yeah, that’s kinda silly!
“Microsoft has begun work on a reportedly less ambitious successor under Mr. Sinofsky’s leadership”
How much less ambitious can you get?
“Er, okay, for the next version of Windows, we’re going to, uh, include AlienWare skins for the UI. And maybe give away free fridge magnets, too. People like those. And once everyone is using our new touch-kiosks at bars and bowling alleys, they will surely need to have a fridge to match. One that tells them when they are running out of Schmidt. Our large-appliance strategy simply can’t be beat in the home-beer-inventorying space. I’m thinking that we might include a DRM system in a dishwasher too. That would be cool. Maybe we could have it automatically melt all the plastic in a user’s crockery library, and they could subscribe to a replacement plan so they would always have fresh, new tupperware. This would be great for out partners at Rubbermaid.”
-c
@ C1
Excellent
I’m on a roll today.
Another one smoking funny cigarettes. OSX Tiger is better than Vista as it is now and leopard will come out in October. We’ll see more about leopard next week at the WWDC. I’m sure leopard will make Vista look totally stupid and frankly pretty boring in comparison. 2009 Apple will have another trumph or possibly two or more since it takes Microsoft 5 years to make an OS that works with only some new features.
Four days, seventeen hours and 40 minutes.
What Macaholic said.
And to that, I’d add. Why would it be important to game play to have the ability to ‘pick up your tennis racket’?
Does Bill think that the ‘game’ will be more FUN if I can get all ‘McEnroe’ on my racket and watch Xbox5001®-generated, 3D splinters and strings flying in every direction?
Oooo, oooo. Look! I’m giving the finger to the ump, and now I can watch it in glorious, Surround-O-Vision Instant Replay™!
Next!
and like the article implies… desktop computing is going away anytime soon.
Not going to happen any time soon – or, at least, it’s not going to succeed. Remember the difference between renting music, and owning music? Yeh, like hell do I want to rent (either figuratively, or literally) my computer’s software/OS/whatever…
“Microsoft has begun work on a reportedly less ambitious successor under Mr. Sinofsky’s leadership”
How much less ambitious can you get?
LOL. I’d have to guess “less ambitious” really means “Realistic goals that we can achieve in this lifetime. No more Holy Grails!”.
MS needs to completely scrap Vista, make XP the official & final major Windows release, and stick a small team of drones in a dead-end hallway someplace to do service packs and other maintenance work.
The rest of the company can gawk & daydream at Mount Rainier, wondering how they lost the future to Google and Apple.