Just this week, as Microsoft was completing its latest round of corporate musical chairs, Steve Ballmer said they were going to try, once again, to create user interfaces that were easier to use, in the same fashion as Apple. That, of course, was just their latest attempt to graft the Mac look and feel onto their products.

Lest we forget, Windows has always been basically a Mac OS knock-off. They got away with it, because Bill Gates managed to hoodwink ex-Apple CEO John Sculley into licensing Mac technology. So Apple’s pathetic efforts to sue Microsoft into submission years ago got knocked down in the courts time and time again.

So rather than invent new operating system technology, Microsoft prefers to to make their bloated, buggy imitation more Mac-like. So much for the world’s largest software company’s constant claims that it only wants to continue to innovate.

Unfortunately, they need to choose their words with greater precision. There is a distinct difference between innovation and imitation. Maybe someone should hand Ballmer a dictionary.

Story continued in this week’s Tech Night Owl Newsletter.

This article was posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 6:30 PM and is filed under News and tagged with: Apple Ceo, Apple Employees, Apple Store, Bill Gates, Commentator, Gateway, Iphone, John Sculley, Mac Os, Mac-like, Microsoft, New York Times, Night Owl, Npd Group, production ramp, Quarterly Financials, Record Sales, Retail Outlets, Ron Johnson, sales momentum, Scotty, Star Trek, stephen baker, Steve Ballmer, Steve Jobs, Stock Price, Stockholders, technology, Ted Landau, Wall Street, Zune.