14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's Windows is hell, and Apple is simply delivering trapped users a glass of water. That is the perspective Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO delivered on stage at the fifth edition of D: All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, California. Steve Jobs has taken his fair share of swings at rival Microsoft and a good deal of them involved the Redmond Company's Windows operating system. One of the most famous comments belonging to Jobs and targeted at Windows was made back in 1996: "The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste, they have absolutely no taste."
Neither Microsoft's alleged lack of taste nor Jobs swipe managed to stop the Windows platform from becoming the ubiquitous computer platform that it is today, dominating the operating system's market with a share of over 93%. However, this does not change the fact that Windows is hell. Walt Mossberg, a Wall Street Journal technology columnist interviewed Jobs on stage, and the discussion revolved around the enormous success of Apple's iTunes. According to Stave Jobs, in excess of 300 millions items of the software have made their way onto Windows.
"We've got cards and letters from lots of people that say iTunes is their favorite app on Windows. It's like giving a glass of ice water to somebody in hell," Jobs explained and generated laughs from the audience.
And of course that Jobs' latest comment is just an excerpt of the ironical and superior position the Cupertino-based company has adopted in respect to Microsoft and Windows. The Get a Mac ads are a clear representation of how Apple sees Windows.
Meanwhile, Windows Vista is enjoying enormous success, after it has passed the 40 million licenses sold milestone. The same cannot be said about Mac OS X Tiger, an operating system which has enjoyed steady but minimal growth or about Leopard. Apple has postponed its next version of Mac OS X until October 2007.