Go Ahead, Microsoft, Flatter Apple Again

BusinessWeek Online ^ | OCTOBER 17, 2001 | Charles Haddad

[CheneyChick]

Mac heads shouldn't get too upset when they see how closely Windows XP apes Apple's OS X. In the long run, imitation can only help Jobs & Co.

Even though Windows XP won't be officially released until Oct. 25, I can hear the Mac faithful howling already. Once again, Mac heads are accusing Microsoft of building its latest PC operating system on innovations pioneered at Apple. And, quite frankly, they have a point. New XP features such as Windows Movie Maker, My Pictures, and the revamped Windows Media Player strike me as awfully similar to Apple's iMovie, Image Capture, and iTunes software.

[CheneyChick]

OK, Gang, I'm not posting and running.... I'm trying to get ready for a friend's wedding. I'll be back to check on this later. One of my points is being proved, PC users are grumpy. Ha ha. You would think that I would get some appreciation for starting a non-Anthrax thread, but noooooo.

Cheers, CC :)

[bwteim]

To: bwteim
That's where I lifted that product review...:o)

I must be psychic!

[Sabertooth]

And I can completely work around MS Office with AppleWorks and MacLinkPlus, if I needed to.

[bwteim]

OK, Gang, I'm not posting and running.... I'm trying to get ready for a friend's wedding. I'll be back to check on this later. One of my points is being proved, PC users are grumpy. Ha ha. You would think that I would get some appreciation for starting a non-Anthrax thread, but noooooo. Cheers, CC :)

You are going to leave tea and coffee drinkers in the same room with Linux users????

[Sabertooth]

"You would think that I would get some appreciation for starting a non-Anthrax thread, but noooooo. "

Anthrax is a bacteria.

PC users prefer viruses.

[zog]

--can't you run windows software on a mac using virtual PC?

[avg_freeper]

MS Office on the mac (mac:office) works like a dream!

A bit expensive though when compared to Appleworks.

Unfortunately I am a creature of habit and need (ok, wanted) Excel.

[Vermonter]

Gotta jump in here. We need to get a bump list for Mac users to find these kinds of threads.

I jumped to Mac's in 1984 after using a DOS (Apple ][) based machine. My wife and grade school daughter were thrilled with the GUI and I had to spend much less time explaining arcane DOS commands.

I have owned nothing but Macs ever since and can still run some of the software I used on that first Mac on the G4 macs I have today.

I have NEVER had to reload the system software to correct a problem. How many PC users can say that?

Plug and Play? first available on the Mac..... when you control the hardware and the OS, you pretty much can enforce that

Nothing's ever first on a Mac? Firewire, USB: they don't count?

Minor software glitches, sure, but very rare and easy to deal with

I've heard nothing but nightmare stories from PC users and have no desire to switch.

As others have said, I can do everything I need to do with my Mac's

Flame away :-}

[TheMole]

Q. Who is the biggest producer of software for the Macintosh?

A. Microsoft.

Q. Who was the biggest producer of Macintosh software 15 years ago?

A. Microsoft.

[Sabertooth]

Don't get me wrong, I've got MS Office for Mac, and use it all the time. My point was, I don't have to if I don't want to.

[birbear]

Further, I've got Virtual PC, a Wintel software emulator. I can run ANY Windows program on my Mac. Graphics-heavy programs are admittedly a bit slow, but it's really not a concern for me.

Cool.

Has anybody ever thought and wondered for a moment, why you need a "Wintel" software emulator for your Mac, but yet, nobody ever seems to need a "Mac" emulator for their PC.

FWIW

[2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten]

Knew they had the BSD kernel in there, knew the plan was to let "advanced" users interact with the BSD, but didn't know that it made it to "prime time".

[TheMole]

You got it. Apple's claims to innovation have always been grossly exaggerated. In the early 1980s they used Xerox's development of a graphical interface with point-and-click for the Macintosh, and then sued Microsoft for doing the same thing.

[Doe Eyes]

Microsoft: Sales (ttm) $25.7B Income available to common (ttm) $6.42B

Apple: Sales (ttm) $5.36B Income available to common (ttm) -$37.0M

You may hate Gates, but he is a hell of a business man.

[Sabertooth]

Has anybody ever thought and wondered for a moment, why you need a "Wintel" software emulator for your Mac, but yet, nobody ever seems to need a "Mac" emulator for their PC.

I'm totally aware that having a less widely used OS will isolate me unless I make adjustments.

So I have Virtual PC (essentially giving me two computers in one box), MacLinkPlus Deluxe, MS Office for Mac, and Stuffit Deluxe.

FWIW, it's a good thing PC users don't require a "Virtual Mac," because their machines couldn't pull it off.

That being said, MacWindows would be a good investment for Windows users. It's a great translating engine that is the reciprocal of MacLinkPlus.

[Billy_bob_bob]

Go to an OS X Mac, go to Mac help, and enter "entering commands" (or "commands" or "terminal"). It will come up with a few matches, pick "entering commands". This will make a menu available that can start a terminal session. The window comes up and says "Welcome to Darwin". It is a real BSD shell, can do everything you expect UNIX to do. I am beyond impressed with OS X so far, and it makes my Windows ME machine look really, really sick by comparision.

[Lizzy W]

GIVE ME THE TITANIUM
AND NOBODY GETS HURT!

[Vermonter]

GIVE ME THE TITANIUM AND NOBODY GETS HURT!

Got one, love it :-}

[HAL9000]

I'll probably go Mac next time I buy a new computer.

Get an iMac or an iBook with Mac OS X 10.1. It's rock solid and runs great.

I'm constantly amazed at people who think it is necessary to put up with the low-quality crap from Microsoft - the virus-infested software, abusive licensing procedures, invasions of privacy, etc. It reminds me of the Soviet Union.

Apple also has some interesting thing coming soon. They're announcing a new Digital Hub Music next week, and the PowerPC G5 benchmarks for 2002 look great (especially compared to Intel products).

[Lizzy W]

OMG, can I move in with you?