Among clones, Mac OS X still stands out. Vista a copy!

Video on New York Times...
But the video didn't extol the virtues of Vista for very long. Mr. Pogue's mission in the three-and-a-half-minute clip was to settle an argument that’s been brewing for about as long as the OS has been in development:

A lot of people are complaining about Windows Vista, and claiming that Microsoft does not deserve as much credit for innovation as it's taking. They say that Windows Vista is just a rip-off of Mac OS X, the Apple operating system. … I think all the complaining about Microsoft ripping off OS X is just sour grapes by the Apple fans. And in today's video, I intent to prove it.

But what followed wasn't filled with his usual astute observations and shrewd commentary. Instead, it contained some rather juvenile, but good-natured ribbing:

Apple's search menu is in the upper-right corner of the screen; Microsoft's search box is in the lower-left corner of the screen — not the same thing at all!

He continues his obviously tongue-in-cheek treatise with a few more examples: Widgets versus Gadgets; and Apple Chess' marble board versus Windows' porcelain one.

Microsoft is not a big old copying machine just sitting up there in Redmond watching with no ideas of its own. I think we've established today that Windows Vista has an identity all it's own — 'V' for Vista, baby!

The video ends as Mr. Pogue crosses his two index fingers in the shape of a "V," only to be trumped by the image of a Mac OS X disc superimposed over his "V" (which also looks suspiciously like an "X").

Of course I chuckled, but it got me thinking. I mean, this is no homemade You Tube spot; this is one of the New York Times' most accomplished technology writers.

Even Mr. Pogue's accompanying column — while praising the security and overall feel of the OS — stops short of calling it an overwhelming success, and still adds a few jabs:

Now, before the hate-mail tsunami begins, it's important to note that Apple has itself borrowed feature ideas on occasion, even from Windows. But never this broadly, boldly or blatantly. There must be enough steam coming out of Apple executives' ears to power the Polar Express.

Now, I'm sure Vista will sell well, but this is the first real test for the company. Since XP hit shelves in 2001, Apple has emerged as a digital media powerhouse and has switched processors to Windows-friendly Intel. And if what is arguably the best — and certainly the most anticipated — Windows release in Microsoft's history can draw such criticism from a Yale graduate, Emmy award-winning author, maybe there's some truth to the idea that Apple can start making a noticeable dent in Microsoft's armor.

Originally Posted on iVirtua a while ago...