Well, you are simply giving Jobs credit for being there first - and he was. No question about it. I remember playing with an Apple II in 1978, when I think Gates was still in school. Yes, it was astonishing at the time, being able to manipulate pictures on the screen whereas a few years earlier, in 1975, the computers I was using were glorified adding machines on typewriters. So Gates came along later - terrific. He assembled some fine talent of his, and they haven't done half bad.
He assembled some fine talent of his, and they haven't done half bad.
I'm an XP user. My wife has an iBook, but my desktop and notebook both run XP (albeit skinned and tweaked to look like OSX).
I like the Apple style, but I find it hard to give up open architecture.
I'm reminded of the Stephen Wright joke about how he owns the ax Washington used to cut down the cherry tree. Although he had replaced the handle...and the head...it still occupied the same space.
My current computer is just like that. I don't go into the store and buy the whole box, I replace what's broken, and it runs on parts that I've bought in each of the past eight years.
One other thing on Microsoft innovation: I've had a chance to try Office 2007 and, while at first I was very irritated and skeptical, I must say now that it is an amazing new UI.
Google Video of "Pirates of Silicon Valley"
It's amazing... the casting is uncanny. Balmer is particularly uncanny.