Ever since the release of Windows 7, I’ve been pointing out some of the new features (such as the updated toolbar) that are blatantly similar to features in Mac OS X (the dock, in this case), but I never expected this.
In an interview the other day, Simon Aldous (Partner Group Manager, Microsoft) admitted that Windows 7 was built to somewhat feel like the Mac operating system.
Windows vs Mac OS (Source: http://9gag.com/gag/2152/ )
He said… And this is verbatim…
What we’ve tried to do with Windows 7 – whether it’s traditional format or in a touch format – is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We’ve significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it’s built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance.
First off, I call foul on that last statement — Vista technology being more stable than the Mac platform? Please. Even if you work at Microsoft, that just sounds ludicrous to anybody who keeps up with technology.
Looking past that, I laughed out loud when I first read this quote. This is a Microsoft employee, DIRECTLY SAYING that Mac OS X inspired the Windows 7 look and feel.
Somebody’s getting a talking to.
Of course, Microsoft quickly retracted his statement.
They said…
An inaccurate quote has been floating around the Internet today about the design origins of Windows 7 and whether its look and feel was “borrowed” from Mac OS X…
Unfortunately, this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7. I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed
It’s really up to you to decide — was this man finally coming clean and telling the public the truth about what we already knew, but was officially unconfirmed, to just have Microsoft shut him up, or did he legitimately trip up and provide the interviewer with inaccurate information without knowing it?
I think, by this point in the article, it’s obvious which decision I’m sticking to, but I’m really curious about what you think, so leave a comment with your opinion on the whole situation.
