Apple and Microsoft - Different approaches to developing the next-generation desktop OS

Following yesterday’s unexpected release of the OS X 10.8 developer preview (code-named ’Mountain Lion’) we’re now in a position to see the different approaches being taken by Apple and Microsoft in how they are developing their next-generation operating systems. And one thing is clear: Apple is benefiting from having a mature mobile platform.

Let’s take a look at the two approaches and see how they differ.

Microsoft’s approach to Windows 8

Let’s face it. Windows hasn’t changed that much since the release of Windows 95 nearly 17 years ago. Back in 1995 Microsoft seriously revamped the user desktop and added a set of user interface elements that have persisted to this day, many of which have become iconic. Elements such as the Start Button (or orb), the Start Menu, and a desktop on which users can store files and folders all make up what people think of as ‘Windows.’

While Microsoft has tweaked and refined this design with subsequent releases, the user interface paradigm largely remains unchanged in nearly two decades, right up to the release of Windows 7.

ZDnet has the rest of the story HERE!