Windows Mag Says OS X’s Aqua Giving Microsoft "Panic Attacks"

Talk about a confused operating system strategy. Microsoft has been rolling out variants of their Windows OS with Swiss-like precision and regularity over the last year or so, and the whole thing is starting to become quite a mess, even at Microsoft. An article in Windows 2000 Magazine takes a look at Microsoftis OS strategy, and especially at their .NET initiative.

All of Microsoftis efforts are gearing up for the omnipresent .NET, a Microsoft-only vision of online, centralized computing. Apparently, however, Microsoft is starting to feel some heat from the press being generated by Appleis OS X interface, Aqua. This has been brought to light over the last week with a number of comparisons between the forthcoming Windows XP "Luna" interface and Appleis still evolving Aqua. Apparently Appleis new OS has the Microsoft group more than a little worried. According to the Windows 2000 Magazine article:

Blackcomb will be a major release featuring significant changes. However, sources close to Microsoft told me that the companyis programmers are having "panic attacks" about Mac OS Xis new Aqua UI. Particularly troubling to Microsoft is Macintoshis new intuitive Finder (i.e., the Mac version of the Windows Explorer shell), which features several panes that simplify drilling down through subdirectories. Microsoftis UI team is suddenly playing catch-up-with-the-Mac again, and we probably wonit see the fruits of their labors until Blackcomb arrives.

You can find the full article at the Windows 2000 Magazine Web site.