The TechNow

We all know Microsoft copies from Apple, and possibly vice-versa, don’t deny it. Apple copies from Microsoft, Microsoft copies from Apple. Don’t try and oppose it, fanboys. It’s plainly obvious and even said by a Microsoft Gold Partner: “Does Windows 7 borrow from OS X? Of course it does,” said Dave Sobel, CEO of Evolve Technologies, a Fairfax, Va.-based Microsoft Gold partner. There you go, now on to the content.

How do I justify copying? Many say that it is plagiarism, blatant copyright infringement, anti-competitive, evil, and without justification. However, I beg to differ. The essential thing that people don’t realize is that it’s not copying. It’s enhancing. Apple comes up with the ingenious idea of a dock, where one can launch applications quickly and easily from the bottom bar. Windows 7 enhances that by merging the dock with the start bar. Now Apple has to come up with something even better to counter that.

You see, this cycle repeats itself with hundreds of different technologies. It’s a constant game of catch-up between the two Operating Systems. And who wins? Us. Yes, us. We get constantly lower prices on our operating systems, whilst getting years of progress in the span of months. Look at the price of Snow Leopard. $35 for a totally rewritten Finder, faster and better usability, and an even more awesome wallpaper.

So what I’m saying is that this ‘copying’ isn’t ‘copying’, it’s called progress. Companies have been doing the same thing for years without being under attack from consumers like the computer industry is today. Let it go, it helps us more than anybody else. Don’t try and keep Apple away from Microsoft, and don’t try and keep Microsoft away from Apple. Both are great companies, and both utilize the others’ technologies.

This post was written by j.dhanani, and he/she may not represent the opinions of this website or it's owner.