“The difference between Microsoft and Apple can be largely
explained by two factors. One is structural: Apple’s OS X is based
on Unix, which has a different architecture from Windows, and may
be inherently easier to upgrade. The other is that Microsoft is a
victim of its past monopolistic success: any new version of Windows
has to be ‘backwards compatible’ with the thousands of programs and
hardware devices built to work on earlier versions of the operating
system. Apple has much less of a ‘legacy’ problem in this
sense.“The really interesting comparison is with Linux, a product of
comparable complexity developed by an independent, dispersed
community of programmers who communicate mainly over the
net…”
Eye on IT: Response to John Naughon…
“Hi John.
“A few suggestions for you to ponder:
“1. You state:
“Whatever other charges might be levelled against Microsoft,
technical incompetence isn’t one. If the folks at Redmond can’t do
it, maybe it just can’t be done.“Do you have any real proof or basis for this concept…?”