“I just sat through my second Steve Jobs keynote ever. (My first was MacWorld in New York in 2002.) What struck me at the June 11 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) event wasn’t the glitzy demos, the rockstar-like worship of Apple CEO Steve Jobs or the ‘I’m Steve Jobs’ parody video by the ‘I’m a PC’ guy. Instead, it was the excitement by the 5,000 WWDC attendees about many technologies in the forthcoming Mac OS X ‘Leopard’ release that already exist in Windows Vista,” Mary Jo Foley writes for ZDNet’s “All about Microsoft” blog.
“If you’ve seen Vista, there’s no way you could help but compare the feature-complete Leopard beta Jobs showcased with Windows Vista. And — surprise — Vista looked pretty darn up-to-date in comparison,” Mary Jo writes.
Mary Jo provides a list:
1. New Leopard Desktop: Not a whole lot different from Vista’s Aero and Sidebar.
MacDailyNews Take: Mary Jo’s timeline must have gone through the wash. Apple’s Aqua came first – way first, then Aero, Mary Jo. And Vista’s sidebar is Microsoft’s screwed up rip-off of Mac OS X Dashboard, not the Dock. Dashboard was released with Mac OS X Tiger on April 29, 2005.
2. New Finder: Many of the same capabilities as the integrated “Instant Search” in Vista (the subsystem that Google is trying to get the Department of Justice to rule as being anti-competitive). The new Leopard Coverflow viewing capability looked almost identical to Vista’s Flip 3D to me.
MacDailyNews Take: Mary Jo has timeline issues again. Spotlight was released with Mac OS X Tiger on April 29, 2005. Vista’s Flip 3D is an inefficient rip-off of Apple’s Exposé, previewed on June 23, 2003 and released as part of Mac OS X Panther on October 24, 2003. Cover Flow is simply a fourth Finder view option. It’s clear so far that Mary Jo probably shouldn’t be writing about technology.
3. QuickLook: Live file previews — just like the thumbnail preview capability available in Vista.
MacDailyNews Take: QuickLook allows users to view the contents of a file without even opening it. Vista’s “Live Icons” only shows thumbnail previews of files – something Macs have done for ages.
4. 64-bitness: Leopard is the first 64-bit only version of a desktop client. Vista comes in 32-bit and 64-bit varieties. And most expect Windows Seven will still be available in 32-bit flavors. Until 32-bit machines go away, it seems like a good idea to offer 32-bit operating systems.
MacDailyNews Take: Do they actually pay Mary Jo for this stuff? Leopard delivers full 64-bit and 32-bit compatibility in a single universal OS. Microsoft is many years behind.
5. Core animation: Not sure what the Vista comparison is here. The demo reminded me of Microsoft Max photo-sharing application.
MacDailyNews Take: Our mouths are agape at the abject stupidity on display here. The poor woman.
Mary Jo continues to plod on with her list, but it’s so insipidly stupid that we’re done wasting our time. In the end, Mary Jo asks, “So, Apple folks: What am I missing? I’m not trying to pull a Dvorak here and use this blog post for click bait.”
MacDailyNews Take: Which, of course, means that Mary Jo is trying to “pull a Dvorak,” but she’s so ill-informed that she can’t even approach that sewer-level standard of ignorant nonsense. This mess reads as if written by somebody’s mom, plucked at random by ZDNet out of some supermarket aisle, who’s clueless about technology past, present, and future. If she’s capable, which we seriously doubt after reading her article, she ought to be embarrassed, as should ZDNet.
Full article, Think before You Click™, here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “John W.,” “Eric,” and “Tomek” for the heads up.]
She’s obviously not familar with the current OS, and thinks that EVERYTHING she saw is new in the upcoming releas.
Is she for real?
I am pretty certain that she must be about THE dumbest person on the face of the planet.
ZDNet should allow for a rebuttal of some sort from someone that actually knows what the f**k they’re talking about.
Please excuse my wife. Once.
Hoo boy, next she’ll tell us the Finder is a rip-off of Microsoft Bob.
this is the funniest thing ive read in a long time, what is this person being paid for?
Wow, my cat knows more about computers than this journo. Hell, my cat can even code.
Wow.
Seriously.
Wow.
Mary Jo.. YOU’RE FIRED!
Wow. How much does she get paid for being an “expert”?
Just my $0.02
She is funny! – Umh, well, or how do you say that in English? – Ah yes, I meant: She’s a joke!
Obviously, she’s never used or seen a Mac since 2002 in New York.
Sadly, some will believe it all. Very sadly indeed.
Wait, what? Huh? Is she from some other non-tech magazine sitting in for a day? What is going on? Please, please, please let someone set this woman straight. And get her away from any keyboards! OMG I hope she reads this forum. But. She won’t.
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070526/inside-insiders-mary-jo-foley/
what a hack!
Actually, Mary Jo should carry on exactly where she is as should Steve Ballmer.
Nothing will guarantee Microsoft’s continuing irrelevance to progress in the field of consumer-oriented computing than having apologists like Mary Jo acting as the mouthpieces of Ballmer’s hectoring bombast.
If you take the view that “there are none so blind as those who will not see”, Microsoft and its apologists and fellow travellers must be bumping into the furniture on a regular basis: personally, I say let them carry on – let them ignore the technical prowess of the Mac platform and its growing market share until it’s too damn late.
Actually…
When I saw the Leopard screenshots on Apple’s site, and watched the Keynote, the new ‘glass’ dock and ‘dew grass’ desktop background immediately reminded me of Vista…
I say this because there’s an MS publicity shot somewhere that has almost exactly the same default background image as Leopard apparently will, coupled with all these transparent aero effects we’ve seen.
Perhaps it’s some weird psychological move to lull Windows users over to the better OS, who knows? (Or just complete coincidence).
Anyhow, Leopard does look interesting. Not the step up from Tiger one might have expected, but I suppose that’s where OSXI comes in, right? (For all these insanely great UI enhancements and stuff).
Wow. Those are some stultifying stupid claims. In fact, they’re just too stupid. I can’t believe that a technology writer could get so many of her facts this blindly incorrect. If this writer wasn’t pulled from writing columns about gardening to attend the WWDC, then I suspect it is deliberate FUD. An attempt to get all of the facts confused in hopes to befuddle consumers.
MDN, her email, please? I need to write her a letter…anyone else?
This mess reads as if written by somebody’s mom, plucked at random by ZDNet out of some supermarket aisle, who’s clueless about technology past, present, and future.
MDN-induced spit take! Diet Coke all over my keyboard! (You guys owe me a new one)
Mary Jo you Fool
Sure, you don’t like what she has to say.
However, her words act as a reflection of the ignorant masses.
Fact is when Vista becomes widespread and more people encounter it before Leopard, let alone Tiger, they will think Apple is the copycat in the many ways she pointed out.
I scoped the comments at a few different sites that covered the WWDC keynote and all I kept seeing is “Blah blah blah, just like in Vista? Where’s the innovation?”
The general public will think OS X Leopard is Apple’s response to Vista (those that don’t already, that is).
Maybe it was sarcasm
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whatta dumb bitch. she should stick to baking cookies and brushing her vajeen.
From Saturday Night Live News anchor desk, circa 1977:
“Jane, you ignorant slut!”
(Replace Jane with Mary Jo and you’ve captured my reaction to her ill-informed article. Btw, I really do hate that s-word, but in this case, I really can’t help myself.)