Microsoft’ exec admits Windows 7 look and feel a knockoff of Apple’s Mac OS X

[*LTD*]

http://www.pcr-online.biz/features/328/Microsofts-new-vision

In an interview published today, PCR spoke with Microsoft's partner group manager, Simon Aldous, who offered this admission about Windows 7:

The interesting thing is, [Windows 7] is basically the next version of Vista... 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.

Aldous, perhaps realizing that he might have just been a little too honest for a Microsoft employee, then added:

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, for instance.

Note to MS: don't do interviews. Your Apple is showing.

 

[IntelliUser]

Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHA!
Could be laughing forever.

 

[edesignuk]

I don't really see what's wrong or shocking about this "admission".

OS X looked a lot nicer than Windows did for a long time. Microsoft realised that people do care/like things to be pretty and shiny. So they went with the flow and did what they needed to do. Window 7 now looks much nicer.

 

[arkitect]

I hope for his sake the Redmond windows (no pun intended) are bullet proof, because I have a feeling Ballmer is going to be throwing him through one next time he sees him…

 

[*LTD*]

I don't really see what's wrong or shocking about this "admission".

OS X looked a lot nicer than Windows did for a long time. Microsoft realised that people do care/like things to be pretty and shiny. So they went with the flow and did what they needed to do. Window 7 now looks much nicer.

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

He just admitted the competition is "fantastic." I don't know about you, but he just did Apple's marketing for them. And he was asked about Windows 7.

It seems that every time an MS employee speaks (especially Ballmer - the CEO, even more scary), they make Apple look great. Even the Laptop Hunter ads admitted subtly that Macs were the most desirable product.

 

[maxfan1]

Why shouldn't someone say that a competitions product is fantastic? I don't really get the MS sniping.

MS is just showing what a classy company they are. I use Apple products but the way they keep on bashing MS just gets on my nerves.

 

[whooleytoo]

I hope for his sake the Redmond windows (no pun intended) are bullet proof, because I have a feeling Ballmer is going to be throwing him through one next time he sees him…

Could you imagine an Apple exec ever making such an admission? You'd have men in black breaching into the room through the windows and air-conditioning vents before the sentence was finished..

 

[kernkraft]

It takes more than one to have competition.

He just admitted the competition is "fantastic." I don't know about you, but he just did Apple's marketing for them. And he was asked about Windows 7.

Don't confuse the subject of competition with competition itself! Apple loves 'the act' of competition so much that they repeatedly limit consumer choice, whether we are talking about the iPhone's network and software limitations, non-activated hardware options to boost sales of other Apple products; or Apple's own hardware's exclusivity to OS X.

Even the Laptop Hunter ads admitted subtly that Macs were the most desirable product.

Several of the 'Get a Mac' ad also admitted that for office applications, Windows is better. Not MS Office, Windows.

 

[rhett7660]

Why shouldn't someone say that a competitions product is fantastic? I don't really get the MS sniping.

MS is just showing what a classy company they are. I use Apple products but the way they keep on bashing MS just gets on my nerves.

Yeah because MS has never bashed Apple.... Jzzzzz

 

[KingYaba]

In other news, Simon Aldous was unceremoniously fired from Microsoft today...

 

[kate-willbury]

can someone please list some things that windows 7 apparently stole from mac osx? i have a feeling NO ONE can actually do this without making random crap up. i use both and hardly see any similarities really.

 

[Nermal]

Could you imagine an Apple exec ever making such an admission? You'd have men in black breaching into the room through the windows and air-conditioning vents before the sentence was finished..

I remember Phil Schiller saying something to the effect of "and this new battery lasts five years, which is longer than the computer itself lasts". OK, so my new computer will die before five years. Great

 

[jaw04005]

Could you imagine an Apple exec ever making such an admission? You'd have men in black breaching into the room through the windows and air-conditioning vents before the sentence was finished..

Steve Jobs, himself, actually admitted Apple copied ‘Fast User Switching’ from Windows while he was introducing it. Although, he did say Apple’s version of it was better.

I remember Phil Schiller saying something to the effect of "and this new battery lasts five years, which is longer than the computer itself lasts". OK, so my new computer will die before five years. Great

That’s not what Schiller said.

"That means a typical notebook user will get about five years of life before they see diminished charge in that notebook battery. That's incredible because that's longer than a typical notebook life. So, most customers may never need to change the battery in their notebook because it will last that long. And when they do we have a great recycling program in our stores if they want to take advantage of it.”

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/0906paowdnv/event/index.html?internal=ijalrmacu

 

[notjustjay]

It seems that every time an MS employee speaks (especially Ballmer - the CEO, even more scary), they make Apple look great. Even the Laptop Hunter ads admitted subtly that Macs were the most desirable product.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's not always going to be "us good, competitor bad!" -- and in fact if companies are being honest it usually isn't that way. (If either company was selling something truly bad, market forces would have ensured that they didn't last long.) Many companies will admit the competition is strong. Often the message is "We're just as good as the competition -- but cheaper!"

Illustration: the Subaru Impreza -- billed as "the Japanese car the Germans wish they'd made".

 

[Nermal]

That’s not what Schiller said.

"That means a typical notebook user will get about five years of life before they see diminished charge in that notebook battery. That's incredible because that's longer than a typical notebook life. So, most customers may never need to change the battery in their notebook because it will last that long. And when they do we have a great recycling program in our stores if they want to take advantage of it.”

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/0906paowdnv/event/index.html?internal=ijalrmacu

I didn't have the exact quote, but it struck me as the wrong thing to say when he said it. It was a while ago now and I couldn't remember it word-for-word

But still, I interpreted "five years ... that's longer than a typical notebook life" as "this new system lasts less than five years". I can't be the only person that did... can I?

 

[BongoBanger]

So basically he's saying they took the best bits of OS X and put them on a better and more stable platform?

Sounds about right.

 

[cjmillsnun]

So basically he's saying they took the best bits of OS X and put them on a not so good platform?

Sounds about right.

I've corrected that for you.

Windows isn't as bad some like to make out, however it is not a better platform than UNIX.

 

[cjmillsnun]

I didn't have the exact quote, but it struck me as the wrong thing to say when he said it. It was a while ago now and I couldn't remember it word-for-word

But still, I interpreted "five years ... that's longer than a typical notebook life" as "this new system lasts less than five years". I can't be the only person that did... can I?

The weak link in most notebooks is the hard drive. You will be surprised how many people will junk a 3 year old notebook because of a dead HD.

 

[BongoBanger]

I've corrected that for you.

Not from the interviewees point of view. Actually not from mine either come to think of it.

I still suspect he's going to be eating chair for a while though.

Oh yeah and OS X isn't UNIX. Just thought I'd point that out.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Why shouldn't someone say that a competitions product is fantastic? I don't really get the MS sniping.

MS is just showing what a classy company they are. I use Apple products but the way they keep on bashing MS just gets on my nerves.

Windows 7 is easily the best version thus far. That said, Microsoft is a lot of things. However, classy has never been, and is not, one of them.

I've corrected that for you.

Windows isn't as bad some like to make out, however it is not a better platform than UNIX.

Agreed. UNIX is about as rock solid as a platform can be currently.

I didn't have the exact quote, but it struck me as the wrong thing to say when he said it. It was a while ago now and I couldn't remember it word-for-word

But still, I interpreted "five years ... that's longer than a typical notebook life" as "this new system lasts less than five years". I can't be the only person that did... can I?

3 years is the typical notebook life. So when he said that I knew exactly what he meant.

... OS X isn't UNIX.

Really? Then what's running when you open up the terminal? OS X runs on the mach kernel which took "pieces from FreeBSD and NetBSD's implementation of UNIX" (Wikipedia). It's basically a fork of UNIX. Of course it's quite a lot more complicated than that but that's the basics of it.

 

[Richard1028]

You macheads are drooling over nothing. The title of the article is way off base and misleading.

All the MS exec is doing is recognizing that Apple is a valid competitor and says nothing about copying any part of it.

Carry on fanboys...

 

[jaw04005]

You macheads are drooling over nothing. The title of the article is way off base and misleading.

All the MS exec is doing is recognizing that Apple is a valid competitor and says nothing about copying any part of it.

Uhh …

"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.”

I really don’t know how much clearer Aldous could have been.

Really? Then what's running when you open up the terminal? OS X runs on the mach kernel which took "pieces from FreeBSD and NetBSD's implementation of UNIX" (Wikipedia). It's basically a fork of UNIX. Of course it's quite a lot more complicated than that but that's the basics of it.

Not only that, Apple’s went through the trouble of actually having Mac OS X certified as a Unix distribution by the body that governs the Unix trademark and “controls the official Unix definition."

http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/certificates/1190p.pdf
http://images.apple.com/macosx/technology/docs/L416017A_UNIX_TB_FF.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGroup

 

[Dybbuk]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU

I suppose it's OK when Steve Jobs does it, though.

 

[Sun Baked]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHA!
Could be laughing forever.

C'mon it is as stable as a drunk beginner learning to ride a unicycle.

As soon as they fall over, they are really really stable.

 

[jaw04005]

Apparently, Microsoft PR found out about article.

"An inaccurate quote has been floating around the Internet today about the design origins of Windows 7 and whether its look and feel was “borrowed” from Mac OS X. 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. If you’re interesting in learning more about the design of Windows 7, I suggest reading this AP story with Julie Larson-Green as well as these WSJ (membership required) and Fast Company articles. And here is one of many blog posts on the E7 blog discussing the design process of Windows 7.”

http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/wi...-designed-the-look-and-feel-of-windows-7.aspx

Ouch. Someone is in the dog house for awhile.