Some of the things that the author claims Apple "innovated" on here are ludicrous. The original Macintosh OS was not an innovation so much as it was an imitation of Xerox research into GUIs, for example. The original iPod was a fairly modest set of improvements to prior digital media players, such as the Rio Diamond (which was much more original). Perhaps most strikingly, the iPhone was a fairly incremental step from many preexisting ideas like the Treo and Tungsten lines from Palm, or even the old Windows Mobile line.
Mind you, I don't see it as a problem that Apple and Microsoft have both by and large profited from imitation, as that's what drives the industry forward. Someone has a good idea, and builds it on top of an established base of other good ideas, imitated from others. Standing on the shoulders of giants, so to speak. What I mind are the contortions of historical revisionism one has to go through to paint this picture of "Apple innovates, Microsoft imitates."
The claim that Microsoft does nothing except imitate others is blatantly false; it would have been much more interesting if you had delved into the cases where they didn't imitate, or tried to identify the reasons why they're content to merely follow the market leader in these cases. The post's tone also overshadows the actual content to an unnecessary degree.
It's fair to call out Thurrott, but if you want to do so, you should try to at least rise above his level.
>>The claim that Microsoft does nothing except imitate others is blatantly false
Sure, Microsoft tried to build lots of tablets without copying anyone. How did that go?
Edit: To be fair, I'm just reviewing Microsoft's old OLAP invention MDX, since I might want to suggest using it as part of a solution (in a different problem domain). So far, it seems quite neat (I have only read, yet).
[+] [-] cgranade|14 years ago|reply
Mind you, I don't see it as a problem that Apple and Microsoft have both by and large profited from imitation, as that's what drives the industry forward. Someone has a good idea, and builds it on top of an established base of other good ideas, imitated from others. Standing on the shoulders of giants, so to speak. What I mind are the contortions of historical revisionism one has to go through to paint this picture of "Apple innovates, Microsoft imitates."
[+] [-] kevingadd|14 years ago|reply
It's fair to call out Thurrott, but if you want to do so, you should try to at least rise above his level.
[+] [-] berntb|14 years ago|reply
Sure, Microsoft tried to build lots of tablets without copying anyone. How did that go?
Edit: To be fair, I'm just reviewing Microsoft's old OLAP invention MDX, since I might want to suggest using it as part of a solution (in a different problem domain). So far, it seems quite neat (I have only read, yet).
[+] [-] spqr|14 years ago|reply
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