Steve Jobs summed up his opinion on why this is: The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste, they have absolutely no taste, and what that means

Steve Jobs summed up his opinion on why this is: The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste, they have absolutely no taste, and what that means is -- I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they they don't think of original ideas and they don't bring much culture into their products. And you say, "why is that important?" -- well, you know, proportionally spaced fonts come from type setting and beautiful books, that's where one gets the idea -- if it weren't for the Mac they would never have that in their products and so I guess I am saddened, not by Microsoft's success -- I have no problem with their success, they've earned their success for the most part. I have a problem with the fact that they just make really third rate products. (from Triumph of the Nerds)