14 DAY TRIAL // Steve Ballmer was the second Microsoft CEO in the whole history of the company and was replaced by the current chief executive Satya Nadella last year, but somehow, he still makes the headlines every once in a while.
This time, Ballmer’s approach while he was the CEO of Microsoft is being discussed once again, as many compare it with the new direction of Apple, the Cupertino-based fruity company that’s under fire permanently since the Monday WWDC 2015 event.
During the conference, Apple unveiled several new products, some of which are said to be just too similar to those belonging to rivals. The best example is the multi-tasking feature that will be available on iPads running iOS 9, which looks a lot like the similar option available in Windows 8 since its debut in 2012.
This feature allows users to run two windows side by side and comes with options to resize them with just a simple drag, and the very same behavior has been used by Microsoft since Windows 8 came out.
“Apple is like Microsoft in 1999”
That’s why analysts believe that Apple has evolved from an innovator to an imitator, and in statements that have reached the web lately, Tim Cook is often considered the new Steve Ballmer.
“Is Tim Cook the new Steve Ballmer? That was my main takeaway from WWDC. All they did was copy a bunch of other successful products, and it sure looked like Microsoft in 1999 -- or 2005, for that matter. Social networking for music -- didn't Apple already do that with Ping?” Cody Willard, chairman of Scutify and Futr, was quoted as saying by Benzinga.
Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, said a similar thing, explaining that many of the features that Apple presented on Monday already exist in Windows.
“The thing is, Apple's always been more of a fast follower in many ways, except at the beginning. A lot of features that the Mac OS [has] kind of showed up on Windows first. And it goes back and forth,” he told the same publication.
Obviously, judging by the amount of criticism that’s swirling around the web these days, many users think exactly the same thing, so all these statements come as little surprise.
So what’s your take on this? Is the new Microsoft the old Apple and the new Apple the old Microsoft? Post your thoughts in the comment box after the jump.