Jason Dunn
03-09-2006, 10:00 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/08/switched-on-the-contractor-and-the-architect/' target='_blank'>http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/08/switched-on-the-contractor-and-the-architect/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Ephemeral concerns about running Windows aside, Apple’s entry onto the Intel platform may have many potential switchers scratching their confused crania. Is Apple’s design prowess simply attributed to designing "the whole widget" as the company says? Is it as simple as minimalism or even restraint? Those are all factors, but a stronger influence is the difference of philosophies and perceived roles between Microsoft and Apple...Apple, on the other hand, is the industry’s architect. It understands what people want, generally, but it fuses those requirements with its own sense of design and direction. Its approach reminds me of a Chicago DJ my wife once described to me who, instead of playing requests that people that people said they wanted, would play what he deemed they needed to hear."</i><br /><br />This article very accurately nails the primary differences between Apple and Microsoft, and why one appeals to the smaller market, and one to the mass market. Very interesting reading.