Posted on 03/08/2005 12:06:04 PM PST by r5boston
Nearly a decade ago, just a few months after Microsoft shipped Windows 95, I asked Bill Gates if it was a conscious decision in the development of that product to give Windows more of a Mac look and feel. Of course I knew he'd say it wasn't, but I couldn't resist asking. "There was no goal even to compete with Macintosh," Gates proclaimed. "We don't even think of Macintosh as a competitor."
That was a crock, so I pressed the issue a little. I asked him how he accounted for the widespread perception that Windows 95 looked a lot like Mac 88, and whether the similarity was just a coincidence. I didn't expect a sobbing confession of mimicry, but I thought it would be cool to see how he'd respond. Surprisingly enough, Gates shifted gears and became more forthcoming.
(Excerpt) Read more at macworld.com ...
One more reason why I find it hard to get indignant over software piracy.
The idea was first envisioned by Vanaver Bush in the 40s, extended by Douglas Engelbart (inventor of the mouse) in the 50s and 60s, and most of his engineers went on to work at Xerox PARC to continue it more, where they developed the Alto and Star.
Later, Apple offered Xerox a chance to invest in Apple for letting them take tours of PARC to see their GUI technology. Apple already had an OS almost finished, but they took the basic idea of movable windows, but added a lot to it to make it actually work, like double-clicking icons, dragging, pull-down menus, a menubar, and a trash can. It's this fully-usable, finished product that was copied by Microsoft.
So, yes, Engelbart, Xerox, Apple and Microsoft did build on the ideas of others. But of all the players, the credit should go like this:
Swordmaker, I think you are the only one that is using ad hominem attacks. Remember this one:
Swordmaker: Are you truly as ignorant as you appear
The MacCrybaby's are the ones throwing the rocks and spewing personal insults.
That's disingenuous. The average battery life is a lot longer than the iPod warranty.
My Gen 1 iPod (5 GB) is still working on the original battery. The battery issue is overrated hype.
That's what I was talking about. All those off the shelf parts were useless to make a PC with unless you had the BIOS. That was IBM's stranglehold on the hardware until Compaq broke it.
Yep, we're all really worried about voiding an expired warranty.
Building in the battery was a design trade-off, not a shortcoming. By doing so, they were able to make the unit smaller and more durable than the competition, since battery holders, covers and latches take space, and they also have a habit of breaking. The tradeoff for these benefits is a slightly more effort required to replace the battery.
That's a problem I can live with. The competition's crappy interface and user controls that don't let me pick one song out of several hundred really fast is something I can't live with. Perfect integration with iTunes, the audio program I switched to a few months ago (only because it's the best, I didn't own an iPod), is also a plus.
How many shares of each are outstanding?
So it's Bush's fault! :-)
Sorry. I have owned a Mac (I still own one - an old one). I was factory trained on the Apple II and Apple III product lines and I was also trained on the Apple Lisa. I used to drive a VW van with Apple stickers on it (and I was a Democrat at the time so I perfectly fit the Apple demographic). I used to be a big fan of Apple. But when they went to the one-computer, one-company, one-fuhrer 1984 model they totally lost me (and market share). I worked in the Microcomputer industry back in the early 1980's wild west days - I enjoy working on different platforms. During the 1990's I tried to justify purchasing a Mac (just for the fun of having another platform) but the Mac was inviable in the business community so there was no way to justify it. When my company first launched its web product I tried to get a Mac so we could be certain our product worked correctly on that platform but I could not justify it because in our market - the financial community (Brokers, FA's, investors) the Mac was statistically nonexistent (less than 1% of users).
You don't have to be a computer illiterate to use a Mac, but it helps
Show me an 80gb Nomad for $175 or a 40gb Nomad for $150, a 2gb Nomad for $75 or a 1gb Nomad for $50. That's what you're going to have to come up with to validate your statement above. The Ipods are: $350 for the 40gb, $300 for the 20gb, $150 for the 1gb, and $100 for the 512mb.
You're lying through your teeth when you say you can get a Nomad with twice the storage for the half the price. You'd be lying through your teeth if you said you could get a Nomad with the SAME storage at half the price.
Alas! The missing link! For years I've subscribed to the theory that it's Bill Gates' goal to rule the world. But I never could put my finger on main piece of the 'secret plan'.
But thanks to you, it's solved.
Gates plan is to so completely mimic the Mac, that the entire world becomes computer illiterate zombies, unable to do our own computing and forced to kneel at the Microsoft throne.
Viva la Gatesware!
While I agree that Apple makes wonderful products... I think it's safe to say that Microsoft is not on the ropes or anywhere near them. Until the day when Apple makes mass-software that people are using in offices, banks, homes, etc... Microsoft is safe.
By the way, I support the evil Microsoft.
Ah, yes, it also reminds me of the Ford vs. Chevy debates of my youth.
What I get a kick out of it's the cool aid drinkers that defend a company that advised John Kerry and has Al Gore on it's board.
That's probably why they make such cool products, they're locked into that metrosexual thing.
I think it's 'hip' to say that you like Jobs and hate Gates...
LOL! Always is.
[puts on best John Cleese voice] ... You're weird.
I can't stand either of them.
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