Thought this little editorial, from Business Week, would stir up the blood.
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.
All are part of Apple's new operating system, OS X, released in March. All comprise the heart of Apple's digital hub strategy, in which a computer serves as Grand Central Station, moving digital data across platforms and among various devices. It's a strategy, of course, that Microsoft also claims as its own.
The real question isn't whether Microsoft has copied Apple innovations, but whether it matters. I'm going to hate myself in the morning for saying this (and I know plenty of others will hate me, too) but I just don't see how it matters in the long run. It's a venerated tradition of American business to ape the successful innovations of a competitor.
If Pepsi comes out with a popular new soda, you can bet your bottle cap Coke and other beverage makers will match it in a few months. Just look at how all the other TV networks copied CBS' Survivor. Few viewers cried "ripoff" and refused to watch the copycats. In our capitalist culture, mimicry is the highest form of flattery.
News source: BusinessWeek Online
