Microsoft PR nightmare – Partner Group Manager states that Windows 7 is based on ‘Mac Look and Feel’

Microsoft currently has a PR nightmare on their hands. A Microsoft ‘Partner Group Manager’ in an interview with PCR magazine when asked about how Windows 7 is a more agile has been quoted to have replied: “One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it‚Äôs very graphical and easy to use. What we‚Äôve tried to do with Windows 7 ‚Äì whether it‚Äôs traditional format or in a touch format ‚Äì is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics.”

No-one is surprised that anyone from Microsoft is admitting that they copied from someone else, since Microsoft is not exactly known for innovation – they’ve never been known as an innovator in technology. Remember we’re talking about the company that internally promoted their ’embrace, extend, extinguish’ strategy as they approach to annihilate their competitors. What is interesting is the length Microsoft is currently going to to deny Windows 7 was based on the look and feel of the Mac. Read for yourself over here at the Windows 7 blog, “How we really designed the look and feel of Windows 7”, and quietly think to yourself, “uh huh, right”.

EU officially block Oracle buyout of Sun

The EU’s European Commission has blocked Oracle’s buyout of Sun over concerns with the future of MySQL. Admittedly, due to the overlap with Oracle’s database business and the MySQL open source database there is reason for the concern, but Oracle’s response is that you cannot control something that is open source – the community is in control. That might be so, but as part of the buyout you’ll be acquiring a number of full time MySQL employees, right? I assume there must be some employees left after they were initially bought by Sun? Isn’t there a Professional Services group? I wonder what Oracle plans for these guys?