Thoughts on Apple and Microsoft

I was going to write about when people started to hate Microsoft, but I came across something more interesting… the supposed reason why people hate Microsoft.

Many people say that one of the main reasons people don’t like Microsoft is because of the size of their dominance. “People simply don?t like big monopolies”. On the contrary though, Apple’s iPod owns a huge amount of market share for digital audio and video players, yet they are still absolutely loved by almost all. Many people find it exciting that they are so big.

I believe that it’s because of perfection. Microsoft can’t be bothered with perfection. Instead they focus on copying the latest features, and getting something out the door. The focus on simplicity and elegance, is simply not there. With Apple the ease of use is there, the perfection is there, the focus on usability is there. I don’t believe the people who work at Microsoft want to build the best thing possible. I don’t believe they are inspired to do so. I don’t believe they have the drive to. I believe that the employees want to get their job done, and that’s it. At companies like Apple or Google, the employee’s goal is to create something great, something perfect, something that has a great ease of use. And that’s why we love them.

One example that comes to mind: When Microsoft launched their Live search, it was supposed to be a Google killer :)… you couldn’t middle click on links to open them in a new tab. Did Microsoft not care that just about every Firefox user uses this in their everyday use? The quality is just never there with Microsoft. It took them years to realize that tabs give a superior ease of use and that people that browse everyday can save a considerable amount of time by using Firefox. Microsoft’s lack of simplicity and usability is why I personally don’t like Microsoft. They don’t try to make things usable. They try to make them for idiots.

One final reason that could have a lot of effect is that Apple doesn’t disclose what it is releasing and when they are releasing it until it is ready (most of the time). Microsoft always disappoints all of their customer base.