So it's absolutely true that Apple does introduce big new UI features. The real difference is, Apple introduces these big new features as additional features,

So it's absolutely true that Apple does introduce big new UI features. The real difference is, Apple introduces these big new features as additional features, not as major changes. So, to take your Dock example: Apple didn't yank the Applications folder at the same time that they introduced the Dock. A decade later they introduced Launchpad, and did not simultaneously yank the Dock. In fact, the Dock still works pretty much the same it did back in the '90s, when it only existed in NEXTSTEP. And the Applications folder is still there and still working pretty much the same way, too. I don't bother with Launchpad, personally, because I prefer the old way of doing things. . . and unlike Microsoft, Apple's totally fine with letting me do that. To compare with Windows: When the Start Menu came out, it completely replaced the Program Manager. Over the course of the Start Menu's life, it got rearranged a few times - not a crisis, but obnoxious. Even just switching between XP and Vista, I occasionally find myself hesitating for a moment trying to remember where $widget got moved to. And again, when the Start screen comes out in Windows 8, it doesn't just get added for the benefit of people who want to use it. . . it replaced the Start Menu, so now less-savvy users have to re-learn how to use their computers yet again, and I have yet another source of friction when switching back and forth between versions of the OS.