Remember the articles that were flooding the internet a few weeks back about how Microsoft used Mac OSX as a template for their UI in Windows 7? Well, depending on what source, this was found to be a complete fabrication by a member of Microsoft that had nothing to do with developing the new OS. Needless to say, it made Mac fans around the world giddy with Microsoft jealousy and PC users feeling kind of betrayed that their OS might have been shaped to fit a Mac-mold. In the end, Microsoft vehemently denied that they used the Apple OS as a mold and I imagine that the Microsoft employee is probably designing packaging labels somewhere in Antarctica, if he is still employed by Microsoft Corp. Personally, I wanted to get to the bottom of the conspiracy and find out what really happened with the development of Windows 7. Why did they change the taskbar to the Superbar? Why did they make almost everything “one-click away”? Did Windows 7 really takes its cue from another operating system?
I began my search looking for articles and news dated after this whole fiasco, then realized that I needed to dig deeper and find out what caused Microsoft to change the way Windows worked. What I found out was simple. Microsoft knew that, while Vista was still profitable and while Vista had many great innovations and ideas, the OS had become too complicated and too much of a labyrinth for the average PC user. This was obvious and well-known and needed to change.
The Story of Windows 7 goes way back, but the transformation of Windows 7 starts with one specific person, Julie Larson-Green. In case you have never heard of her before, she is the reason that Office 2007 was so successful. Her brainchild was the Office 2007 Ribbon interface, which simplified and brought to the forefront, tasks which most users did not know existed in Office applications. We can now find that basic interface in Windows 7 applications like Paint and WordPad. Ms. Larson-Green’s major, sweeping idea was simply to listen to the users, find out what they want, figure out what makes things simpler for them and then implement it in the software. She figured out how to take a powerful application with many features and create a system that made it simpler to use. There are those who dislike the ribbon interface and I am one of them, but I realize that it’s not the ribbon interface that changed the way Windows works, but rather redoing the mindset of those creating Windows to emulate the users of Windows and that was her major contribution.
The success of Office 2007 led to Microsoft and Steve Sinofsky reassigning Ms. Larson-Green to help them with their “Vista problem”. Microsoft started monitoring average PC users, with their knowledge and began to find out what users use, how they use it and how to make it easier to find and use it. Windows had become a behemoth, mountain of code that was becoming lighter and easier to use. What we have now is Windows 7. Largely being praised for its features, new look, ease of use and compatibility. Windows 7 may have taken an idea or two from Mac software, but let’s be honest and say that Mac has taken its fair share of ideas from Windows over the years (Finder Sidebar: Windows Navigation pane, The Mac Path bar: Windows Address bar, Screen Sharing: Remote Desktop Connection, Time Machine: Backup and Restore, Command-Tab: Alt-Tab…the list goes on and on). That’s what happens in this market. It’s a copy-cat industry, with each company applying its own twists and features until we have the great operating systems that we now have.
Did Microsoft Windows 7 copy Mac OSX? In a few small ways it did, but the larger problem with Vista came from ignoring the users and people who actually use the software and Larson-Green helped Microsoft find their way back to what put them on top.
Things looked pretty bleak for Microsoft after Vista, but the story of Windows continues on with Windows 7 gaining market share quicker than any operating system in history. As we speak, Windows 7 is around 5% and quickly rising. Julie Larson-Green is now being tapped to help with Windows 8 and you can either blame or praise Office 2007 for that.
