Apple's Windows 7 Renovation Effort
By Rob Enderle
TechNewsWorld
05/11/09 4:00 AM PT
I just finished a deep dive on Windows 7. I installed the Release Candidate (RC) version on three machines, and I now have a good grasp of the product, the launch and the surrounding ecosystem. This is the best-prepared Microsoft has ever been since I started covering the company and, to a large extent, it owes a lot of its success to Apple.
The Mac vs. PC ads served as a better motivator than any Microsoft manager could have, keeping an incredibly complex company focused on the items Apple signified were the most damaging, until there weren't any left to focus on.
In addition, Microsoft has gone beyond Apple in areas like virus protection, in that it now is building its own free antivirus product, while Apple seems to be emulating the Microsoft of the '90s and ignoring the problem.
Until now, Apple has been blessed, because Windows has been more vulnerable and more prevalent. However, after Windows 7 launches and users get free AV, Windows will be more secure -- on paper, anyway -- and the virus writers will likely switch their focus to Apple. Given that Apple vulnerabilities are demonstrated every year at the Black Hat conference, this probably won't end well for Apple. Still, it played a major part in propelling Microsoft's aggressive move to improve Windows.
For some reason, this reminds me of the joke about the two guys running from the bear. One stops to put on running shoes and his soon-to-be-ex-buddy says, "What are you doing? You'll never outrun the bear." To which he responds, "I don't have to outrun the bear -- I just have to outrun you." The virus writers are the bear, and Microsoft is putting on the running shoes. In the end, Apple made Windows 7 better -- and I bet it will regret this a lot, come October.
