Microsoft and Apple are the developers of three of the most popular operating
systems in the world (Windows, iOS & Mac OS X), yet their approaches to
building the infrastructure that powers laptops, tablets and phones couldn’t be
more divergent.
Microsoftrecently published a blog postthat addressed specific issues
that Windows 8 developer preview users had with the start screen.
The Windows 8 team specifically tackles the complaint that the new Windows 8
start screen, which uses the app-style metro interface, isn’t
effective at organizing apps (it was originally organized alphabetically) and
doesn’t display enough apps on one screen (it originally displayed about 20
apps). Microsoft dives deep into the UX issues of start menus, even calculating
how many apps Windows 8 can theoretically fit onto one display at different
monitor resolutions.
In the end though, Microsoft concluded that its users were right about the
Windows 8 start menu and made two important changes to it as a result. First,
it now supports folder-style organization of apps. Secondly, Microsoft is
making the start screen denser, meaning that more apps will be visible on a
single screen.
Microsoft’s approach lies in stark contrast to Apple‘s
approach to OS development. The notoriously secretive company doesn’t like
unveiling products until they are polished. It doesn’t publish detailed stats
about how people are using its products. And it rarely makes dramatic changes
based on user feedback.
It’s an approach that has worked just fine for Apple (more than fine, in fact). Steve Jobs and his team have
been able to develop products and features that users wanted long before users
they even knew they wanted them.
“It’s really hard to design products by focus groups,” Steve Jobs told
BusinessWeek in 1998. “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until
you show it to them.”
This is why you won’t find an Apple blog that details user behavior in iOS.
This is why Apple only gives developers a few months to play with new versions
of Mac OS X before they get released to the public, while Microsoft will
release a new version of Windows to developers more than a year before its
official debut.
Both companies are wildly successful with their operating systems. Windows is
still the world’s most popular OS, while Apple keeps selling iPhoneand iPadsby the
millions. But we’re about to see what happens when these two opposing
philosophies to development butt heads. Microsoft is preparing for war against the iPad, and Windows 8 is its weapon of
choice.
