4 ms·

His greatest mistake was allowing UX and quality of the windows platform to descend into the plague that it was for the better part of 2 decades. I can't imagin

His greatest mistake was allowing UX and quality of the windows platform to descend into the plague that it was for the better part of 2 decades. I can't imagine a world where my phone were as unreliable and vulnerable as, say, windows Vista.

TwoBit 7y ago
You are getting downvoted, but there's truth in what you say. Microsoft's idea of a phone OS was always simply a port of Windows. If fact their early efforts failed in part because they insisted on making it a port of Windows.
- pier25 7y ago
  > they insisted on making it a port of Windows They rushed it and used Windows CE when they realized they were too far behind.
- JudgeWapner 7y ago
  it's also telling how Gates' phrasing implies a false dichotomy where there's Apple's platform plus room for only one other competitor. The only reason it's that way now is because of abuse of patent law and other anti-competitive business practices. We could just as easily live in a world where there are 6 proprietary mobile OS vendors plus several open source versions built on easily-interchangeable interfaces (thanks to FTC-mandate) all vying to be #1 among onsumers by offering the best UX and features. To me, his language indicates he can't even comprehend a world where MS has to compete on a level playing field by developing a superior technology that users prefer.
rossdavidh 7y ago
I would say that, even if windows Vista had been great as a desktop/laptop OS, making a mobile phone OS that is based on a microcomputer OS is a mistake, not likely to go well. Apple did not try to make ios a clone of Mac's OS.
- scarface74 7y ago
  iOS is based on MacOS. Sure the UI parts were rewritten from the ground up. Apple’s whole goal now is to unify the parts that have become divergent.
  - rossdavidh 7y ago
    The UI is what I meant, but sure, the underlying mechanisms might be the same. If they do, in fact, unify ios and Mac OS UI, I expect that one or the other will no longer work as well. Given their current priorities, it seems more likely that their Mac OS will suffer, rather than ios.
    - scarface74 7y ago
      I would have agreed with you before WWDC. But most of the old school Mac developers are saying that both SwiftUI and Catalyst (aka Marzipan) give you all of the tools you need to make a great Mac app and that the TV app that was built using Catalyst is indistinguishable from the podcast and music apps that are regular old AppKit apps.

TwoBit 7y ago

You are getting downvoted, but there's truth in what you say. Microsoft's idea of a phone OS was always simply a port of Windows. If fact their early efforts failed in part because they insisted on making it a port of Windows.

pier25 7y ago
> they insisted on making it a port of Windows They rushed it and used Windows CE when they realized they were too far behind.
JudgeWapner 7y ago
it's also telling how Gates' phrasing implies a false dichotomy where there's Apple's platform plus room for only one other competitor. The only reason it's that way now is because of abuse of patent law and other anti-competitive business practices. We could just as easily live in a world where there are 6 proprietary mobile OS vendors plus several open source versions built on easily-interchangeable interfaces (thanks to FTC-mandate) all vying to be #1 among onsumers by offering the best UX and features. To me, his language indicates he can't even comprehend a world where MS has to compete on a level playing field by developing a superior technology that users prefer.

rossdavidh 7y ago

I would say that, even if windows Vista had been great as a desktop/laptop OS, making a mobile phone OS that is based on a microcomputer OS is a mistake, not likely to go well. Apple did not try to make ios a clone of Mac's OS.

scarface74 7y ago
iOS is based on MacOS. Sure the UI parts were rewritten from the ground up. Apple’s whole goal now is to unify the parts that have become divergent.
- rossdavidh 7y ago
  The UI is what I meant, but sure, the underlying mechanisms might be the same. If they do, in fact, unify ios and Mac OS UI, I expect that one or the other will no longer work as well. Given their current priorities, it seems more likely that their Mac OS will suffer, rather than ios.
  - scarface74 7y ago
    I would have agreed with you before WWDC. But most of the old school Mac developers are saying that both SwiftUI and Catalyst (aka Marzipan) give you all of the tools you need to make a great Mac app and that the TV app that was built using Catalyst is indistinguishable from the podcast and music apps that are regular old AppKit apps.