Top 10 features that Apple stole from Windows

“Steve Jobs once said that Microsoft stole Windows from Apple, but there has been plenty of idea snatching on both sides over the years,” John Rizzo wrote for InfoWorld last October in an article republished today by Computerworld that’s making the rounds.

MacDailyNews Take: We’d be remiss if we did not point out that Rizzo’s “but” does absolutely nothing to disprove Steve Jobs’ contention.

Rizzo continues, “Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard each contain features that originated in the other OS. Some features were stolen so long ago that they’ve become part of the computing landscape, and it’s difficult to remember who invented what. Here we give credit to Microsoft where credit is due.”

1. Finder Sidebar: Windows Navigation pane
2. The Mac Path bar: Windows Address bar
3. Back and Forward navigation buttons in folder windows
4. Minimizing to document windows into app icon
5. Screen Sharing: Remote Desktop Connection
6. Time Machine: Backup and Restore (Rizzo admits, “Apple didn’t steal Time Machine from Windows, just the concept of including backup capability with the operating system.”)
7. System Preferences: Control Panel (Rizzo calls Windows’ Control Panel “one convenient place,” thereby proving he’s never used Windows.)
8. ActiveSync and Exchange 2007 support (Rizzo’s run out of “thefts” already.)
9. Command-Tab: Alt-Tab
10. Terminal: Command Prompt

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Mostly a list of minor concepts and features, most of which can be disputed, as Rizzo himself does in many of his descriptions. Overall, this is quite a silly list that, if anything, proves just how little in Windows is worth “stealing.”

With bated breath, we now await Computerworld’s followup articles: “Top 1,000 features that Microsoft stole from Macintosh,” “Top 100 ideas Microsoft stole from iPod, iPod touch, and iPhone,” and “Top 50 concepts that Microsoft stole from Apple’s Retail Stores.”

See also: Rizzo’s “Top 10 features Microsoft stole from Mac OS X,” also from last October, here.

We covered this all the first time around here: Apple’s Mac vs. Microsoft’s Windows: The top 20 stolen ideas of the OS wars – October 12, 2009