Oh boy, when will Microsoft get an idea of its own?
They saw the success of the Macintosh GUI [Yes, Apple got it from Xerox but Xerox had done nothing with it for years -- it was a useless technology as far as Xerox was concerned]; they purchased DOS for a song (relatively speaking); they didn't create the spreadsheet, word processor, or presentation application... What they're good at is copying other people's and companies' ideas and using their market power to steal the business -- of Netscaping the competition. It always gets me angry when I see that TV ad about how Microsoft fosters the imagination of young students, allowing them to be whatever they want to be. Perhaps they should create an ad explaining to students the virtues of theft: without other people's ideas to steal, there would be no Microsoft. It is Apple who has always been the innovator, who invents new technologies, who understands the importance of design, who changes and challenges the way people perceive computers, who makes high-quality products that (though more expensive than those in the PC world) work they way they're supposed to...
I read something a while back that said Microsoft's philosophy about new products and ideas is to "deprecate, investigate, then imitate." It's a philosophy that has obviously served them well, to the detriment of innovation and fair competition. If Bill Gates didn't have to worry about antitrust issues, I'm sure he would have been much more "aggressive" about putting Apple out of business.
I bought an iPod because I love Apple and its products, because radio--even satellite radio--lost its appeal for me, and because it allows me to take my music--an important part of my life--with me wherever I go. The Zune is simply another example of Microsoft attempting to capitalize on another company's success by throwing tens or hundreds of millions of dollars at a product. Regarding the Zune, I will never buy hardware made by Microsoft.
Whew, felt good to get all that off my chest.
mashny
