Breathing freely

This TUAW post starts by saying:

Here at TUAW, we welcome all those yearning to breathe free of Windows

Which made me laugh since it reminds me of the inscription at the foot of the Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free

The post, although short point to a ComputerWorld article by Scott Finnie entitled: “Why Microsoft Should Fear Apple”. Its a pretty good look at the Microsoft/Apple status quo. The articles main point is that Microsoft has to act instead of just copying Apple’s innovations.

There was a time when people jokingly described Apple as Microsoft’s advanced software lab. Anyone who follows operating systems — please, be objective if your knee-jerk reaction is to disagree — has to realize that Microsoft has imitated literally hundreds of features and behaviors of Apple’s OS X. Yes, there are some advantages that originated with Microsoft (such as file icon thumbnail previews). But OS X is clearly leading the desktop OS parade. Everyone is copying Apple — and with good reason.

He puts all of this down to one main reason:

The Mac is a closed hardware/software system. The OS isn’t forced to contend with a vast variety of hardware, and the hardware is carefully vetted so that it works perfectly with the software. Apple controls the horizontal; it controls the vertical. The hardware and software are a matched set.

I agree completely with that. Microsoft has too many hardware combinations to worry about instead of concentrating on Software. Microsoft are starting to change this.

First, their much rumored Surface platform will have  Microsoft hardware and software.

Second, the Xbox and the 360 are proof of what Redmond could do once freed from hardware compatibility constraints.

Third, in terms of a new consumer-level product on the scale of an OS/hardware combo, Microsoft is working with industry partners to bring Windows Home Server to market in specially built machines.

Ok, number 3 isn’t really  something you can compare to Apple, but its close. And if memory serves, Microsoft tried to do something similar with the UMPC thing – which turned out to be a disaster of epic proportions.

So, yes, Microsoft is innovating. The question is, is it fast enough?