I purchased a new notebook from the recent computer fair. It was a trade-in from my old Acer notebook. The trade-in reduces $420 from my purchase and I am able to bring home my new notebook cheaply at $980. Good deal! It comes with the latest Windows Vista pre-installed.
!~~/stories/macnwin/macosx.png|MacOSX|macnwin~~! !~~/stories/macnwin/winvista.png|Windows Vista|macnwin~~!
Upon the first look, I find it similiar to MacOSX. Upon using it, I found similiar features.
| Windows Vista | MacOSX |
| Windows Sidebar Gadgets | Widgets |
| Windows Calendar | iCal |
| Windows Mail | iMail |
| Windows Search | Spotlight |
| Windows Gallery | iPhoto |
My first thoughts were, cool! Finally, Windows users are getting what Mac users are having!
This apparently upsets the Mac community. The video from the WWDC 2006:
To me, I don't bother. Yes, Mac iBook is sleek and well designed. It has a innovative team behind its developement. The marketing strategy is great too. However, innovation comes with a price. A price which many normal computer users would not want to pay for.
Putting the issues of copying and ripping off each other's features aside, we look pragmatically on the consumers' point of view. For us, we need a computer to:
- Help us with our work
- Obtain/share information
- Communicates (email, instant messages)
As long as the machine is able to fulfill these functions, any machine will do. Of course, another factor would be the consumers' budget.
Windows is buggy, Windows is not as sleek as MacOS... but hey, I am able to get a Notebook running on Windows to do my homework, fulfill my duties at work, surf the internet and communicates.
Looking at the features, I would say, as a normal consumers, we are not too concern about who copy from who. As long as the system we are using comes with improvements, we embrace it. Nothing is perfect in this world. Problems, bugs and mistakes are common in programming. When a bug is discovered, fix it. When there is an accumulated fixing, issues a new sub-version. When new features are implemented, release a new version.
As for copying and ripping, I feel that it is more of taking references. How do we improve our own programe? By taking references from the features of our competitors products and making improve from it. This is a common practise in programming. Dive into the open-source community and you will experience it. Ideas aren't stolen; they're simply employed. Microsoft technically did nothing wrong. The only fault, I feel, lies in not properly improve what they have emulated.
Windows Vista and MacOSX serves two different community. Personally, I find Windows Vista an improvement over Windows XP. It is now more user-friendlier than before. MacOSX Widgets or Windows Gadgets, they are just extra programs which are not new. MacOS gets to implement it first. So? Do we need to stress that Windows users are using Mac's past technologies?
We Windows users are happy with the improvements. Yes, Windows does have its share of problems, bugs and viruses. With the proper maintainance and good computing practise, all these problems can be reduced. On the other hand, I think the innovative guys at Apple needs to be humble. Sure, your innovative ideas gets implemented into your competitors' products. But there is no need to be sacarstic. If you are good, the market will know. No need to blow your trumpet in such a way. There is no right or wrong in the choices of operating system. You like the system, you use it. There is no need to comment about other people's choices. If MacOS is better than WindowsOS, then stop crying thief and reach out to the masses like how WindowsOS does. Let us experience MacOS so that we can decide if we would like to switch. 
There is no point arguing over who copy from who and who is better than the other. It is a waste of time.
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