As the Apple Turns: Scene 2862: XP: It's All About The Duck (2/14/01)

XP: It's All About The Duck (2/14/01)

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Well, if that's the case, then Apple got its valentine from Microsoft a day early-- in the form of a big, wet kiss known as Windows XP. Yes, Bill Gates finally took the wraps off of his company's next operating system, and we admit that until that momentous occasion, despite the similarity of "XP" to "X,", we still weren't entirely convinced that Microsoft was just planning to clone Mac OS X outright. But if we were still unsure that Microsoft planned to capitalize on Mac OS X's look, feel, buzz, and feature set, any lingering doubts evaporated in a puff of smoke as soon as details about the XP unveiling started to emerge.

Some of the "borrowed" elements are extremely subtle. Faithful viewer The Professor noticed that on Microsoft's Windows XP preview page, Microsoft showcases a yellow flower in the "My Pictures" screenshot. Now take a look at the screenshot of the Mac OS X desktop featured on Apple's site. Well, glory be; a yellow flower. Fancy that. "Just a coincidence," you say? Well, perhaps-- but heck, Microsoft's rip-off artists haven't even limited themselves to Mac OS X for "inspiration." How else can you explain the duck? Faithful viewer Gene Willickers was the first of many, many people to write in about the duck. Take a look at the first screenshot on the very same Windows XP page; doesn't that multiple users login screen look an awful lot like Mac OS 9's? More specifically, doesn't the duck icon that "Connor" has chosen to represent himself seem intensely familiar?

Small details, we know, and taken by themselves they wouldn't amount to much evidence. But it's all the little things taken together as a whole that make Microsoft's copying of Apple so clear. After all, why unveil this new OS just a month before Mac OS X is slated to ship? Why the drastic change in naming conventions to something with an "X" in it? Why a new, "streamlined" interface? Why name said interface "Luna," a word suspiciously close to "Aqua"? Why is the "Recycle Bin" now in the lower right corner of the screen? And, most importantly, why the same duck? We could go on and on (and we often do).

And, in case we thought we were just being overly paranoid (as if there is such a thing), faithful viewer Barry Hamill pointed out that even Windows developers can see right through Bill's plan. A ZDNet News article about the Windows XP launch quotes an anonymous developer as saying, "This is so sad. They're just lamely trying to copy Steve Jobs' Apple presentation-- right down to the guy having a black shirt and black pants. It's almost like Windows ME 2. Or as Apple might call it, Windows Me Too." Burn!!

SceneLink (2862)

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The above scene was taken from the 2/14/01 episode:

February 14, 2001: Microsoft unveils Windows XP-- and yes, the similarities to Mac OS X (and even 9) are remarkable. Meanwhile, John Dvorak blames Apple for the current computer sales slump because the Mac was the first "unfun" computer, and Ridley Scott (Mr. "1984" himself) racks up a dozen Oscar nominations, while the AtAT staff is once again left out in the cold...

Other scenes from that episode:

2863: Fun Like A Prostate Exam (2/14/01) Evidently times are tough for John Dvorak, because the crusty pundit who belts out tired commentary for PC Magazine has once again decided to promote web traffic by falling back on his long-standing crutch: cheap controversy...
2864: And The Award Goes To... (2/14/01) So this year's Oscar nominations are out, and every year it's the same old thing: AtAT gets snubbed. Yes, once again, the Academy has refused to bestow our little production with even one single nomination...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...


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