14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s Simon Aldous has been talking through his hat, the Windows maker claims, when the company's partner group manager stated that Microsoft tried to “create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics” for Windows 7. As reports circulating on the Internet say, Aldous appeared to admit that Microsoft had looked at Mac OS X for inspiration. Microsoft vehemently denies this.
Via Neowin, the full quote from the respective interview has been reproduced below.
One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use. What we've tried to do with Windows 7 – whether it's traditional format or in a touch format – is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We've significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance.
As the same report reveals, the people in Redmond immediately issued a counter-statement revealing that Aldous' comments were not only “inaccurate,” but downright “uninformed.” In a post on the Windows Team blog, Microsoft blogger Brandon LeBlanc stated the following:
An inaccurate quote has been floating around the Internet today about the design origins of Windows 7 and whether its look and feel was “borrowed” from Mac OS X. Unfortunately this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7. I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed.
Softpedia note
While Microsoft cannot possibly admit Windows 7 mimics Mac OS X, the Redmond giant can’t hide the obvious – a great deal of people (and vocal ones, may we add) have given their verdict: Windows 7 does look like Mac OS X from quite a few perspectives. However, as this editor has stressed over and over again, there is a thin line between copying a product and using universally intuitive solutions for graphics, functionality, etc. There’s a limit to how much things can be changed just to be different from each other, yet still work for the customer. Do share your own opinion in the comments.