Does Mac OS and Windows Convergence Threaten Innovation?
The More They Change, the More They Become the Same
- 2003.06.20
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Many people stay with one computer from day to day, and when faced with a different operating system, they tend to be somewhat afraid of it, since its "new and different." There are others out there who don't know the difference between Windows, Mac OS, or any other operating system, and assume that all computers work the same way.
These days they are close to being right. I remember when Mac OS 8.5 came out - with its application switcher and extensive use of contextual menus - remarking that "the Mac OS and Windows are starting to get very similar." Of course, that was before Windows XP and Mac OS X, which share not only the little duck user icon but one of the desktop pictures as well.
It wasn't always that way. When I started using computers, PCs were still being sold with DOS, and schools all used Apple IIes. We had a Mac Plus - and if you knew how to use that, great. You could successfully use a Mac 128K and a 512K, but nothing else.
You knew DOS? Fantastic, but you still had to learn the Mac OS and the Apple II's ProDOS system.
Windows 3.0 tried to close the gap between the Mac OS and Microsoft's hard-to-use (but very fast, once you learned it) DOS. It contained icons, but you still needed to know about directories and which drive A, B, C, and D were.
Microsoft understood that the best way to sell its software was to try to sell what was already being sold successfully. Menus worked in the same way as on the Mac, and there were windows for documents and Program Manager groups. The Windows 3.x control panel was set up in a similar way to System 7.
Windows 95 brought things even closer. The desktop was now completely visible (you didn't have the Program Manager blocking it), and icons could be placed on the desktop - just like the Mac. The "My Documents" folder allowed users to sort through their files as they would on a Mac.
Windows 98 improved on that, bringing the Internet Explorer browser into the file exploring tool and allowing users to browse files just as they would browse the Internet. The start menu was somewhat like the Apple menu; you could access all main system tasks and applications from it.
The great innovation with Windows 95 was the taskbar, and I have yet to see anything quite as good. It was great because you could see what application was running by both its icon and by the words.
Apple must have been quite jealous, because it "borrowed" the taskbar idea for the Mac OS 8.5 application switcher. Sure, it was vertical - but simply do a shift-option-click on the resize box and you've got something that looks quite a bit like the taskbar. I often use it while I'm at my G3 running OS 9.
Apple also borrowed something else from Windows 98 for Mac OS X: the "file explorer" idea, with back, forward, and toolbar buttons. Of course, Microsoft responded by making theirs in Windows XP look more like the one in Mac OS X (doesn't it sound like two kids trying to copy each other's drawings?).
Then of course there's the new Windows XP interface. Looks quite a bit like Mac OS X. I guess the taskbar innovation really wore Microsoft's software developers out, so they decided to borrow a few more ideas from Apple. Even the names - when you think about it, Aqua (water) and Luna (the moon) are complete opposites. Microsoft apparently just had to use something in nature, and since water was taken, they figured they'd use that dry sphere in space.
If the Mac OS and Windows keep getting more and more similar, how long before they end up being the same thing? If both start getting too similar - sure, it will be easy for the consumer to use any computer, but will innovation be the casualty?
Recent Apple Archive articles
- iPods, notebooks, and other modern electronics more readily replaced than repaired, 12.07. Whether it's an intermittent failure or a broken display cable, more often than not it's cheaper to replace a broken electronics device than repair it.
- Options for replacing your older iPod, 11.19. Whether you've run out of space on your old iPod or want features it doesn't have, here are your options in new and used iPods.
- Could the $200 'green' PC with gOS Linux become a threat to Apple?, 11.14. The low cost, low power Everex desktop comes with a customized version of Ubuntu Linux, has a Mac-like Dock, and sells for $400 less than the Mac mini.
- Leopard different, a bit buggy, but worth the upgrade, 11.02. Leopard on a Power Mac G4 and a MacBook Pro: It runs well on both computers, but each has some odd bugs, and some of the changes are a step backwards.
- More in the Apple Archive index.
Links for the Day
- Mac of the Day: 'Yikes!' Power Mac G4, Aug. 1999 - The only Power Mac G4 with PCI graphics was built on a modified G3 motherboard.
- Group of the Day: SuperMacs is for those using Umax SuperMac clones.
- November 21 in LEM history: 00: OS upgrades, downgrades - AltiVec vs. Pentium III - 01: Saved by the clones - Computer of the future - 02: Apple Education: Let's get to it - 03: Panther lets Macs and PCs work together, - Lombard SCSI bug - 05: 3 survivors from the 1970s - Real world battery life inadequate - Windows to Mac file transfer with Zip disks - $99 alternative to Microsoft Office - 06: Parallels 1.0 far more polished than beta
Recent Content on Low End Mac
- Just Right: Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear MacBooks, Charles W. Moore, 'Book Value, 11.20. Some people like small and light notebooks, others prefer huge desktop replacements, but the best value tends to be in the middle.
- Virtualization Shootout: VMWare Fusion 2 vs. Parallels Desktop 4, Kev Kitchens, Kitchens Sync, 11.20. Both programs do the same thing, but one runs Windows XP smoothly alongside Mac apps, while the other bogs down everything but Windows.
- Apple Caves to Hollywood with DRM on iTunes Videos, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 11.20. HDCP on the new MacBooks means that you may never really own those videos you buy from the iTunes Store.
- Leopard Runs Very Nicely on PowerPC Macs, Simon Royal, Mac Spectrum, 11.19. Some claim that Mac OS X 10.5 is so optimized for Intel Macs that it runs poorly on PowerPC hardware. That's simply not the case.
- No High Definition iTunes Video for You, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.19. The October 2008 MacBooks are preventing users from viewing some high-def iTunes content from being viewed on their external displays. Poor form!
- Every Working Computer Is Useful to Someone, Allison Payne, The Budget Mac, 11.19. Whether it's a PowerBook 1400, G3 iMac, or Power Mac G4, it could be all the computer someone needs.
- 3 WeatherBug Options for Apple Users, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.19. Have instant access to current local weather conditions with a Dashboard widget, iPhone app, or Firefox plugin.
- Anticipating Macworld: Nehalem, Snow Leopard, and Updated Desktops, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 11.18. Intel's Core i7 CPU has to make it way into the next Mac Pro, nVidia GeForce graphics will drive the iMac and Mac mini, and 'Snow Tiger' will unleash the animal within.
- Love My Refurb MacBook Pro, Eudora Forever, and the Lightest AA Batteries, Charles W. Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 11.18. Also questions about nVidia GeForce 8600 problems in earlier MacBook Pro models and importing Eudora mailboxes into Eudora successors.
- More links in our archive.
Recent Deals
- Best Power Mac G4 and AGP Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used 400 MHz, $50; 733, $100; 800, $199; 1.25 GHz, $300; 800 MHz dual, $200, 867, $300; 1 GHz, $350; 1.42, $400.
- Best iBook G3 Deals, 11.20. Used 300 MHz clamshell, $150; 366, $199; 800 CD, $180; 600 CD-RW, $240; 700 Combo, $290; 900, $369; 14" 600, $360; 900, $449.
- Best Power Mac G3 and PCI Video Card Deals, 11.20. Used beige 300 MHz, $25; blue & white 350, $80; 400, $90; 450, $105; PCI video cards from $15; shipping additional.
- Best iMac G4 Deals, 11.18. Used 15" 700 MHz Combo, $243; 800 MHz, $280; 1 GHz, $380; 17" 1.25 GHz SuperDrive, $400; 20", $549.
- Best MacBook Air Deals, 11.18. New 1.6 80, $1,150 after rebate; 120, $1,744 a/r; 1.8 80, $1,794 a/r; 1.6 128 SSD, $2,150; used 1.8 64 SSD, $1,500; new, $2,200 a/r; 1.86, $2,398 a/r.
- Best Mac OS X 10.0-10.3 Deals, 11.18. Mac OS X 10.0.3, $30; 10.1, $20; 10.2, $60; 10.3 CD, DVD, $100; CD, $119; 10.1 Server, unlimited users, $58; 10.3 Server, unlimited, $150.
- Best iPod nano Deals, 11.17. Refurb 3G/4 GB, $79; new, $114; refurb 8 GB, $99; new, $125; 3G/8 GB, from $134; 16 GB, from $189. Prices include ground shipping.
- Best Titanium PowerBook G4 Deals, 11.17. Used 1 GHz with SuperDrive, $478 plus shipping.
- Best Xserve deals, 11.17. Used G4/1 GHz, $999; G5/2 GHz, $1,288; new 2.0 4-core Xeon, $1,900; refurb 3.0 4-core, $2,599; 2.8 GHz, $2,499; 3.0 8-core, $3,499.
- More deals in our archive.
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