Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer has confirmed that they indeed get their ideas from the Macintosh

Q: Some Microsoft critics say that many of the features in “Longhorn” already exist in other operating systems. How do you respond to that?

A: I don’t hear that from enterprise customers. They don’t look at the Mac. They just don’t. Some people will say some of the features are kissing cousins to features they’ve seen elsewhere, and that is true. I’m not apologetic about the fact that we should, in a way that doesn’t offend anyone else’s intellectual property, study and learn and benefit from the work others have done.

I honestly like his answer. It makes perfect sense to me. It even reminds me of Bill Gates words to Jobs in the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley which suggested that on a consumer standpoint, in general, it doesn’t matter whose has the better technology, but who can provide the better value.

And of course being a Mac user now, I can easily say that Apples have the better value… but is that really true? I don’t think any person who can actually afford a Mac is in any position to say that they are better value, because bottom line is that most of the “good stuff” they have are expensive… sometimes too expensive for the general population.

And with regards to the whole copying bit, I honestly don’t mind, and I find it really pathetic that OS users try to use that against MS. I did hate it when MS first launched gadgets as if it were their idea though. I have no problem if you copy it, but please don’t be arrogant enough to claim it as your own. So it’s good that Ballmer at least had the balls to own up to it and speak his mind.

For me, only these things are worth despising MS for.

1. Security
2. Stability
3. Monopoly

You can bash MS all you want when it comes to those because they’re both true and important… but having unoriginal interface features? Come on! Don’t we have greater issues to address?

Simple scenario is the shift from commandline to a desktop UI. Are these people honestly saying that OSes shouldn’t implement the metaphor just because they’ll be copying Apple… or Xerox for that matter? Same goes for the mouse, multitasking, windowed navigation, cascading menus, and practically any common feature you see across OSes nowadays.

If it’s something that is genuinely useful and not merely a novelty feature, I really don’t see why others can’t follow suit. Wether it be improving on them, or simply copying them.

• I like it when competing OS users say stuff like “Well, <OS1> has been doing that already for the past x years” – This shows the maturity, that they know they’re better, but don’t mind becoming a guiding light to others in the spirit of global innovation.
• I don’t like it when OS users say stuff like “Those <OS2> bastards should stop copying <OS1>!” – This reeks of insecurity. If you’re so damn good, then just let them copy, and just outdo them like you always do!

Because I [would] like all OSes to improve. I don’t want any single OS driving itself to the ground just because it refused to put in a feature that was unanimously deemed very useful – just because the other thought of it first.

If a car company has perfected the technology which uses water as fuel, and can rollout the cars commercially… I think I’d like to see the other brands start taking their cues from that company, and do it too… rather than be stuck with one choice.

So generally, I’m glad that Apple is in the forefront of interface innovation. But I’m also equally glad that Microsoft, if not creating their own innovations, is at least taking it’s cues from the best in the business, and bringing those same features to the “general public.”

My two cents.