Why is Windows Vista so similar to Mac OS X?

The last Consumer's Electronic Show in Las Vegas featured a presentation by Microsoft's founder Bill Gates, presenting features of the Windows Vista operating system, planned to debut on the end of this year.

The most remarkable feature of Window Vista for Apple Mac users is how similar it is to what we already have with Apple Mac OS X. Consider the following list of "new features"

* Widgets: the new version of Windows has little applications that are almost the same as a Mac OS widget. They have similar transparency and floating options.
* Task bar update: Mac OS X has a task bar that updates its content automatically.
* Search: The new windows will have a search facility similar to what Mac users have with spotlight. However, this is not new even to Win users: you just need to install Google desktop search.
* Image view and retouch software is incredibly similar to iPhoto, in its main view, in the way toolbar are layed, etc.
* Finally, the new music service announced with MTV is a copy of what iTunes is providing for more than three years.

Conclusion: by the end of the year, windows users will have a system that has features similar to Mac OS X Tiger. Of course, by that time the new version of Mac OS X (Leopard) will be arriving and what else will MS be able to copy?

Technorati tags: Apple, Windows Vista

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