Eye on Microsoft
About this Blog:
This is Shane O'Neill's blog about Microsoft's corporate strategy and its various software and services — the good, the bad and the ugly.
Windows 7 Based on Mac Design: A Gaffe for the Ages
True or not, a Microsoft exec's comment that Windows 7's design is Mac-influenced is an epic blunder and also a betrayal.
Let's play "Simon Says." Simon says Windows 7's design was based on the Mac OS. Ooops.
The Simon in question is Microsoft's partner group manager Simon Aldous, who in an interview with tech news site PCR said that the graphical interface of Windows 7 was influenced by the Mac.
"One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it’s very graphical and easy to use. What we've tried to do with Windows 7 — whether it's traditional format or in a touch format — is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics."
Does this guy work for Microsoft or Apple?
Looks like Steve Ballmer has some competition in the foot-in-mouth department.
Slideshow: Windows 7 in Pictures: The Coolest New Hardware
Slideshow: Windows 7 in Pictures: 10 Cool Desktop Features
Of course, others have said this before about Windows 7. The design of the new Windows 7 taskbar has been compared to the Mac OS X Dock since the first Windows 7 public beta. But those comments came from journalists and reviewers, whose job it is to make such observations.
In some ways it's refreshing for a Microsoft exec to be, you know, honest. I think Aldous had a momentary lapse of reason, and should get a slap on the wrist. He's human.
[ For complete coverage on Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system -- including hands-on reviews, video tutorials and advice on enterprise rollouts -- see CIO.com's Windows 7 Bible. ]
But still, Aldous's comments carry a lot of weight. He's admitted something that Microsoft has been denying throughout the development of Windows 7. This is a Mac lover's delight if I ever saw one.
Unfortunately for Aldous, his comments are spreading like wildfire around the Internet.
But is it true? Microsoft says no. The company quickly jumped into damage control mode and rebuked Aldous's comments on its Windows 7 blog.
Microsoft spokesperson and blogger Brandon LeBlanc writes: "Unfortunately this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7. I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed."
Sounds genuine, but the cat is already out of the bag. Whether or not the Aldous comments are true doesn't really matter now. There's a fine line between "being influenced by" and "stealing." The fact that he said it is all the ammunition the Apple faithful needs to confidently call Microsoft copy cats for years to come.
It's rare for a Microsoft soldier to slip like this. In my experience, they are all extremely circumspect and choose their words carefully. This is the way you have to be at any corporation, not just Microsoft. I've tried repeatedly to get someone from Microsoft to admit that Vista was a failure, and well ... good luck with that.
Aldous did, however, dismiss Apple in the interview (maybe to cover his tracks?), by saying, "We've significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform."
But that's too little too late. As the Microsoft blog post alludes to, Aldous is on the business side. He's not a design guy and was not involved in the creation and interface design of Windows 7. He's not in a position to say what he said.
Maybe Aldous's worst
Previous Post: Take My Windows 7 Please: A Resale TaleNext Post: Windows 7 Themes: Your Desktop Will Now Be Sponsored by Coke
Most Discussed Posts
Cloud computing has emerged as one of the most significant game changers to hit the technology landscape in the past 20 years. With this massive expansion of the cloud, the perception of the IT organization is shifting from a utility player to a change agent. This eBook breaks down five ways progressive organizations are using cloud-based IT Management solutions to help drive innovation and become more strategic, including: adding visibility and analytics, speeding up time-to-value, lowering costs, improving prioritization, and providing a blueprint for future cloud deployments.
Read the white paper to see how IBM helped Citigroup deliver new services and enhancements to their 200 million customers faster.
There are 3 ways to modernize legacy applications: rewrite completely, acquire packaged solutions or migrate existing code. This paper explains why it's best to migrate and how IBM® Rational® software can help.
Accommodating specific lines of business can result in a hybrid ecosystem of applications and servers. The resulting complexity of this architecture makes for an environment that is costly to maintain and difficult to change when addressing new challenges.
This whitepaper will help you to define a mobile device passcode policy. Security managers must attempt to reconcile two opposing goals. They must: 1) create a passcode policy that is strong enough to protect the device if it is lost or stolen, while: 2) not annoying users with needless length or complexity.
This whitepaper, authored by The Radicati Group, looks at the key reasons organizations should consider moving to a cloud-based archiving solution. Email archiving solutions enable organizations to store, monitor, and collect electronic data exchanged by their users to comply with internal policies and regulations.
ATERNITY will showcase a 30-minute demo on how Fortune 500 companies are leveraging its award-winning FPI Platform to deliver a user-centric approach to Proactive IT Management.
For businesses to move forward and tap into the ever-expanding universe of Internet users and network-enabled devices, it's critical to learn how to make the transition to IPv6. Learn the critical steps your organization must take to make a seamless transition-and keep your business world connected.
Learn how IT teams can protect against spear phishing tactics. Harry Sverdlove, chief technology officer of Bit9 offers a frank discussion about spear phishing - the most common technique used in today's advanced attacks.
Learn how to build a solid business case for your migration to Red Hat Enterprise Linux so you can run leaner, innovate faster, be more flexible and own the New Now.
Social media isn't about you; it's about everything around you. As you consider how your customers want to communicate with you, social media is something that can't be ignored. But what should your strategy be? Is social media "just another channel?" What kind of a plan makes sense for your contact center and for your customers? Join our experts as they share their insight and research results.
Hardware tokens were a popular method of strong authentication in past years but the cumbersome provisioning and distribution tasks, high support requirements and replacement costs have limited their growth. The additional log-in steps that hardware tokens require and the resulting user frustrations have limited adoption and make them impractical for larger scale partner and customer applications.
Sponsored Links
