[Liskiller]

Although Mac fanboys and Windows zealots don't like to admit it, the fact is that both Windows 7 and Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard contain features that originated in the other OS. Some features were stolen so long ago that they've become part of the computing landscape, and it's difficult to remember who invented what.

See InfoWorld's slideshows:


Top 10 features that Apple stole from Windows


1. Finder Sidebar: Windows Navigation pane


2. The Mac Path bar: Windows Address bar


3. Back and Forward navigation buttons in folder windows


4. Minimizing to document windows into app icon


5. Screen Sharing: Remote Desktop Connection


6. Time Machine: Backup and Restore


7. System Preferences: Control Panel


8. ActiveSync and Exchange 2007 support


9. Command-Tab: Alt-Tab


10. Terminal: Command Prompt

Top 10 features that Microsoft stole from Mac OS X



1. Taskbar makeover: Dock look and feel


2. Jump lists: Dock menus


3. Aero Peek: Exposé


4. File previews


5. Gadgets: Widgets


6. Sticky Notes: Stickies


7. Saved searches: Smart folders


Network shares automatically appearing in left sidebar


9. RSS feeds


10. Windows Disc Image Burner: Disk Utility

[PurplePeopleEater]

Good points, but some are not necessarily stolen and some came at the same time, like Terminal, that is part of the UNIX architecture Apple didn't steal that

You also forgot the hugely resizable icons, MS "stole" from Apple, your definition of "steal" will definitely differ from mine. Since I believe Apple had it first (did leopard come out before Vista?) and Ms didn't really steal it, they "included" it.

[CommonSense]

Good ideas are always adopted into other products. If it's good and the idea wasn't patented, well that sucks. It's all about marketing. If users like the Stickies from Mac OS X, well then you can bet the next version of Windows will have some sort of Stickies.

[yanike]

Nice topic but incorrect. Especially the time machine and sidebar. Some features didn't come from Microsoft and Apple. Some were taken from Unix and other small developers. OSX and Windows wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Xerox's System. Every great idea in tech today are stolen ideas.

[PurplePeopleEater]

yanike, on 19 October 2009 - 03:48 PM, said:

OSX and Windows wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Xerox's System. Every great idea in tech today are stolen ideas.

+1

You go the words I couldn't make out

This post has been edited by PurplePeopleEater: 19 October 2009 - 07:51 PM

[vajlent]

Who cares anyway...

[Ace Starr]

vajlent, on 19 October 2009 - 07:54 PM, said:

Who cares anyway...

See! The 'cross-stealing' is so rampant, that it has come to that really.

[vD3stroyiR(666)]

OP makes no sense because I've seen some of those features on a Mac before they were on PC. Expose and Dock Menus for instance. More like what PurplePeopleEater mentioned actually.

This post has been edited by vD3stroyiR(666): 19 October 2009 - 08:06 PM

[adrynalyne]

yanike, on 19 October 2009 - 07:48 PM, said:

Nice topic but incorrect. Especially the time machine...

Right. Time machine was a concept stolen (and improved upon) from Shadow Copy, which was an MS first.

[fille87]

Liskiller, on 19 October 2009 - 07:28 PM, said:

4. Minimizing to document windows into app icon

What? OSX doesn't do that

[adrynalyne]

It most certainly does.

[hydroman]

is infoworld.com high on crack or somefin?

[Jawadkho]

Yh but its not like Apples stops they probably use it against Microsoft.

[Genius314]

Isn't the Win7 taskbar more like the one that was in Windows 1 and 2, rather than Mac's dock?

The terminal wasn't really anyone's ideas. It was a more of a "leftover" for when operating systems started moving from command-line to GUI.

And controlling a computer remotely wasn't invented by either. It was invented by hackers.

[USG Ishimura]

Quote

controlling a computer remotely wasn't invented by either. It was invented by hackers

LOL