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Microsoft gives up trying and starts blatantly copying…

theappleblog.com — This is way more than “inspiration” here. This is some kid at Microsoft going to the Apple site, saving the image to the Microsoft server, and then bragging to his boss that he just whipped up the icon. Pathetic

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  • mamasu4u, on 10/12/2007, -74/+18Haha, I guess the MS designers are getting lazy these days...
    • ThinkBox, on 10/12/2007, -61/+19This article should be dated 1984
    • saggygrandma, on 10/12/2007, -56/+5Where have I heard this title before, no wait I mean when was the last time I.... actually fk it how many times have I heard this title before!
    • canon123, on 10/12/2007, -36/+203Too bad neither Apple nor MS designed it. It was done by a 3rd party.


      Nothing to see here, move along.
    • kalleanka, on 10/12/2007, -25/+213WOW.... Another I-hate-company-X-and-want-to-trash-it-blog that has done no research whatsoever.

      I have marked this article as inaccurate:

      Read the third comment in the blog:

      "I’m not sure if this is the case, but previously when I would here someone stated that “those icons are Mac-ish” or “Windows stole those icons”, I figured out that neither group designed their own icons and most of the work was done by the same company, IconFactory. Since this single company is creating for both OSes, we have reason to believe that both will look similar and neither is copying."

      Now take a look here:
      http://iconfactory.com/design/clients

      Seems both Microsoft and Apple are their customer. I don't doubt for a second that they have given/licensed/whatever the same icon to both companies, and hence neither company have "stolen" the icon. Microsoft employees are highly paid and skilled professionals and I doubt that "some kid at Microsoft" stole the image and then "bragged to his boss".
      Marked as inaccurate.
    • ozid, on 10/12/2007, -9/+37@shrimpdesign

      maybe in some "ploy" to earn extra money for less work, iconfactory sold the same icon to more than one person.

      it might sound crazy to you, but businesses generally do things like this. "respectable" or not.
    • drakethegreat, on 10/12/2007, -21/+3kalleanka: You can't prove it inaccurate anymore then the article can prove it accurate. Just being clients of the same 3rd party doesn't imply the 3rd party made it. Its definitely possible, but its also possible that that isn't the case.

      Also its odd that Microsoft changed the icon when this page started getting really popular. If they had licensed it then why change it? It looks even worse in this situation to do something of that sort if they truly didn't copy it.
    • nox327, on 10/12/2007, -14/+9Here you go, IconFactory.com created the globe icon, which Apple used. I am sure they also created the computer one, since it looks almost the same.

      http://iconfactory.com/assets/freeware/agua/preview.png
    • drakethegreat, on 10/12/2007, -19/+4" freeware/agua/preview.png was not found"

      Nice proof... Even if you had proof of this icon its not the same. Microsoft still switched out the icon twice in a few hours. That doesn't raise alarms on your end?
    • nox327, on 10/12/2007, -12/+25Did you even look at the IconFactory website. It clearly states Freeware.

      http://iconfactory.com/freeware/preview/agua
    • nox327, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14Who said it was Aqua, I never said that, but what I am saying is that the globe is exactly what apple has on their website, next to the icon is question.
      Compare:
      http://www.apple.com/server/macosx/
      and
      http://iconfactory.com/freeware/preview/agua

      the globe is very similar, which means that Apple worked with IconFactory to create some of their icons. That is all I am saying
    • zybch, on 10/12/2007, -16/+28Why has this hit the front page AGAIN.
      Its very obvious that this is just a photochop job done by some talentless apple lover.

      Don't believe me? Check out the bottom of the so-called copied icon and notice how the 'chopper' hasn't cropped it correctly and there seems to be a bit of the bottom missing!

      If this isn't a prime example of some lunatic fanboy like Daniel Eran trying to make MS look evil and apple like a saint I don't know what is.

      Just take a look at all the comments by people who use the old 'M$'. Sure, I'll trust their opinion about this matter, coz using $ instead of 'S' is just so mature and smart!!!
    • firepowered, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3Well, like they say:

      If you cant beat 'em, copy em!
    • ozid, on 10/12/2007, -11/+8shrimpdesign, get your nose out of apples ass for a second. even if both companies used the design, it's neither of their fault. your opinion of the apple-brown-noser who originally posted the picture doesn't make it true. and for the record, it does look like a PS.
    • 0o0Moylan0o0, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4Well we all know that Macs are better than Windows.. NOTTT!!!!
    • yaosio, on 10/12/2007, -14/+10The Microsoft site had it first.
    • dBLiSS, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Rather bias headline though, even if it were true that they stole the icon, I hardly see one icon meaning the downfall of MS or them "giving up". I can see it now, MS fires all its employees and closes up shop. With their last ounce of "gust-oh" they steal an Apple icon.

      Right, I'm no fan of MS, nor do I use their OS unless I have too, but this is a lame blog, with no research done.
    • adame, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4I think this was a mistake by Microsoft. If they had just purchased the icon they would have no intention of removing it (it has been replaced twice since this story went platinum). You can digg me down, but you can't digg down the truth!
    • WoWKodos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17The Iconfactory has posted an official statement regarding this matter. You can read it here:

      http://iconfactory.com/home/permalink/1754
    • 23r17i05o42n, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2Haha, Microsoft can do nothing but copy and steal. You PC weenies are pathetic for defending them. What a bunch of losers.
    • d0b33, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1thanks WoWKodos....

      mwahahhaha @ ms fanboys

      please everyone digg down
      canon123 + kalleanka

      Disclaimer: I eat fanboys for breakfast...


    • MacParrot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Maybe you should change your diet?
  • 4U55l3NlNJ4, on 10/12/2007, -35/+4classified as micro-soft-core piracy
  • autoy, on 10/12/2007, -12/+31The original article from John Gruber's fireball is always a better read:

    http://daringfireball.net/2006/12/microsoft_workgroup_manager_icon
    • redwire, on 10/12/2007, -15/+10The icons have been changed since both that and the story's articles were posted.

      But all the same a interesting story.
  • estvir, on 10/12/2007, -19/+44Microsoft != A single designer but than again, you guys are horribly desperate so I guess it'll fly. :o
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3Microsoft = a groveling horde of bureaucratic losers that can do nothing right without Chairman Gates, their malevolent mastermind, micromanaging their every move.
    • interrogate, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12"Microsoft = a groveling horde of bureaucratic losers that can do nothing right without Chairman Gates, their malevolent mastermind, micromanaging their every move."

      Otherwise known as a "company".
  • avihappy, on 10/12/2007, -34/+8I understand borrowing concepts, that is part of the industry. Ripping the icon right out of Apple's site?

    EDIT: MS removed the icon.
    • Marshalrusty, on 10/12/2007, -9/+25Either that or this was just an attempt to badmouth Microsoft.

      After all, the article isn't exactly on an objective site...
  • badtz, on 10/12/2007, -32/+10They copy many other things, why not the icons too?
  • DucksofAnaheim, on 10/12/2007, -49/+27You didn't hear a peep from the Apple zealot community when other portable music players came out. Nobody panicked when the Dell DJ Ditty came out. The Samsung "YEPP" barely got noticed, except for the fact that it played OGG/Vorbis files.

    But the Zune has the Mac community terrified. Apple's loyal lemming have started an Astroturf campaign (i.e., a staged grass-roots movement) to discredit it.

    Fact is, people are switching. Nearly everyone who bought a Zune has previously used the iPod.
    • zeptobyte, on 10/12/2007, -16/+45Now I find it hard to believe that *all* 12 of them were originally iPod users.
    • Makr, on 10/12/2007, -15/+7Because everyone owned an iPod. it's like buying cars, unless you're super rich you probably bought a used car. then getting a brand new one. people switch.
    • Judge373, on 10/12/2007, -8/+19Ummm, how about a reference for this bold claim? I'll believe it when I see some proof.

      BTW, an Astroturf campaign is a fake grass-roots movement, which would mean that Apple staged it, not "Apple's loyal lemming" (sic). Any "campaign" started by "Apple lemmings" would, by definition, be legitimately a grass-roots campaign.

      Also, from everything I've seen, all the negative press and articles about the Zune have come from a large number of neutral sites or newspapers, such as the WSJ, Engadget, etc...are they all Apple lemmings too? The Apple sites just enjoy linking to the negative reviews :-)
    • coldfusion055, on 10/12/2007, -20/+10Right you are. I've had two iPod's that ultimately reached the frowny face of death and had buggy playback issues. I rip all my own mp3s from cds, so I was able to slap all my music onto my new Zune with the less-than-fantastic Zune software, but the device performs beautifully and seemingly sounds better than an iPod.
    • SeanClarity, on 10/12/2007, -20/+13And nearly everyone who bought a Zune, won't make that mistake again.
    • flamingmb, on 10/12/2007, -15/+11if you think the zune has apple people scared you better think again. The zune had a lot of hype and then it faded away. It never posed a threat to the ipod. Your comment sounds like your desprerate, trying to hold out on your delusions of the zune becoming bigger than the ipod.
    • ST0N3, on 10/12/2007, -9/+10i believe there was an interview quoted quite a few weeks back that said that the new ipod is more than enough reason for "the steve" not to be worried about the Zune.

      And have you USED it?! it's terrible.
    • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -9/+10@coldfusion055

      And at the same time you added DRM to your legally bought music and you payed 1 dollar to Universal when you bought your Zune :)

      If the DRM and 1dollar issue didn't exist, I would by a Zune today.
    • Quix, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12"But the Zune has the Mac community terrified."

      Ahhh, no matter how many times I hear that joke, it's funny every time.
    • 8bit_Hero, on 10/12/2007, -7/+11@ MrViklund and all others in the dark

      Zune does not place DRM on songs that you load on the player (if you download from the zune marketplace, they have DRM but so does the iTMS). It marks songs that are "received" with their 3x3 time frame. it's pretty simple. once the 3x3 is up it deletes the track and saves the track history.
    • MacRae, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4@ DucksofAnaheim

      I've seen this comment before: Apple loyals have ignored other music players only to be "frightened" by the Zune. I think that the larger amount of attention paid to the Zune is not out of fear of the product, but rather because it is the first product that directly challenges the iPod on every level. From the player to the software to an online music store, MS has attempted to deliver the whole experience. Naturally this has garnered more attention for the product. These other players did not make so big a splash because none of them really have challenged Apples' full strategy. This first foray into direct competition , in addition to the hype MS generated for the product (iPod Killer et all.) has made it more talked about on the web.

      In addition, since it is Microsoft bringing it's formidable presence to bear, this has made the Zune more noticed in the mainstream media which in turn has created more fodder for the linking bloggers out there.

      It is humorous to read the number of articles out there that seem to confirm one thing: not good enough.
    • 8bit_Hero, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11@ MrViklund

      in regards to giving universal $1
      I'm happy to! It was obviously a MS move to shake up stuff. With a big player like MS in the game now Apple better be worried. they are the market share leader but MS is going to try to get as much as possible. With Apple actually having to compete with another company means that they will have to innovate even more and in the end that's a plus for everybody.

      BTW: all this Apple fanboy and MS hating is stupid. it's funny when they talk about MS being the bad guy when Apple currently has the DAP market locked down with iTunes. MS/Zune haters cry "DRM" but isn't it Apple that is unwilling to let anyone play along with itunes or iPod?
    • ArnoldTPants, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5MrViklund
      "And at the same time you added DRM to your legally bought music"

      Umm, no. Just to let you know: the fanboys make up rumors because they are afraid people will buy the Zune if they know the truth. Why do they care what mp3 players other people buy? They are idiots.
    • TheReport, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7"But the Zune has the Mac community terrified"

      Last time I checked the Zune got huge hype and expectation from Microsoft then when it did the less than a splash debut Bill Gates, you Microsoft zealot's Overlord himself came out and praised the iPod saying that the Zune was more of a "modest" competitor. This coming from a man who wants to rule the world. OH NO, iPod users are shaking in their pants!!!!! /sarcasm
    • TheReport, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"No, Universal wanted the $1 fee because it feels it's entitled to punish paying customers to make up for piracy. Microsoft had no sway in the DAP and online music market, so they had to bow to Universal's demands"

      to top it off last time I checked Jobs refused to raise the 99 cent price when the industry tried to force apple to ask more from their customers and have pretty much called the industry greedy and will probably more than likely deny giving any kind of percenatage to companies like Universal from their iPod sales.
    • tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7"But the Zune has the Mac community terrified"

      Terrified of WHAT? What is the threat? Why am I terrified of what someone else purchases (aside from nuclear material)?

      Would diversity in the market mean that I won't be able to use the gadgets and tools I prefer?

      Call me crazy, but doesn't it stand to reason that diversity in the market would allow me to use the gadgets and tools I prefer at a lower cost and with new features driven by competition?

      Name any single thing any Apple user has to fear by competition.
    • Avalontor, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1@tobyjoe

      you mean like market share of their Mac OS?
    • tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5"you mean like market share of their Mac OS?"

      First, how does diversity in an MP3 player market limit market share of OS X?

      Second, call me crazy, but doesn't it stand to reason that diversity in the market would allow me to use the gadgets and tools I prefer at a lower cost and with new features driven by competition?

    • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@ 8bit_Hero

      The 3x3 time frame is DRM to me. And if you are sending a Creative Commons files Microsoft is breaking the license when adding DRM. And, I don't think Apple have to be worried. This is yet another unfocused move by Microsoft. They can't stand see other companies making money so they just feel that they have to step into this market. Apple is competing with other players all the time and have done so since iPod was launched. The difference is that iPod have succeeded, the other players have not. Zune can do allot, but "do allot" can't compete with iPod. There are plenty of players out there that can do 10x what Zune can't but iPod still dominates.

      And. You can't really compare the iPod with the Zune. Of course people will make the comparison because iPod is so dominant but Zune is not an iPod killer, it's another type of device. iPod is a Music player, Zune is a Multimedia player and if they are aiming for the iPod they are missing their market with light years.

      Finally. Apple doesn't allow anyone to play along with iPod/iTunes, but Micrsoft won't allow anyone to play along with Zune either so they are just as bad as Apple if you want. And Zune won't support PlayforSure, what the hell is that. ust that scares me off. If I had bought some PlayforSure I would have been pissed right now. Nono, it will take allot from Microsoft to convince me about their dedication and they are bound to lose a tones of money stepping into this market.

      Conclusion. Microsoft is really a company with focus problems desperately trying to find new revenue streams. Zune won't be anything big for a company of Micrsoft's size. Screwing their partners over in the process isn't a good thing either.
    • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@ ArnoldTPants

      Ok. Apparently Zune does not add DRM to Mp3-files you transfer from your computer. But saying that people would say so just because they don't want people to buy a Zune is just BS. Maybe they are misinformed too. But none the less, the 3x3 frame is DRM enough to me and makes the feature useless since you can't use it to transfer legally bought music or Creative commons files to another Zune device. As I said before. If the Zune had come without the 3x3 frame and the 1dollar issue, I would have been interested.
    • tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4@ducksofanaheim

      http://digg.com/apple/Apple_s_number_of_new_to_Mac_buyers_growing#c4227614

      Seems you're pasting this around the site, eh? Too bad it doesn't hold water.
    • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@ tobyjoe

      That is actually true. Steve announced that they had allot of first-time Mac costumers last MacWorld.
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4"But the Zune has the Mac community terrified."

      Zune, the brown *****-brick of a music player, has the world laughing at it AND Microsoft.

      Disclaimer: I am not part of the Mac community. I don't particularly like Apple much either. At least they TRY to innovate! MS, in comparison, is a giant parasite like the IRS. None one in their right mind is a "fan" of MS.
    • tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"That is actually true. Steve announced that they had allot of first-time Mac costumers last MacWorld."

      What is actually true? That Apple users would somehow have something to fear from a more competitive marketplace? What does having a lot of switchers have to do with that? I'd hope for Apple's sake that there were a lot of switchers, given the very pricey switch campaign.
  • bluah, on 10/12/2007, -22/+18Diggers hate Microsoft.

    That is, unless they own a 360. Then all of the sudden Microsoft is awesome and Sony sucks and none of the PS3's will be sold at launch.
    • JeffH, on 10/12/2007, -13/+9Yup. Diggers could be at least a little more discrete about it. The icon was up for about 2-3 hours before being replaced, but obviously Microsoft is the devil along with everything they do.
    • GawtMilk, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Seriously. A designer uses a 3rd party icon and Microsoft is to blame?

      If I contract a design company / designer for a logo, I'm not going to run around my competition's small, back-sites (who the hell uses Mac OSX Server?).

      Not only that, the fundamentals of OSXS, if used by Microsoft, would have many people in this community crying. They edit open source code and repackage it in a black box for $500?
    • t3hX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1>They edit open source code and repackage it in a black box for $500?

      1. OS X does NOT sell for $500.
      2. It's not JUST "edited open source code" - there's a HUGE layer over the top of it - carbon, cocoa, classic, aqua, quartz etc.
      3. It's not a "black box" - all the edited source code is still available.
  • gregharmon, on 10/12/2007, -8/+23Yeah, there is no chance that there could've been another source of the icon - such as stock art.

    The designer could have went to the Apple site and ripped off the icon, or he could have used the same stock art CD or website that the Apple designer used .... we don't know.
    • heyitsme23, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9funny that the "stock art" would include the shadow character that almost all icons related to the address book in mac have.
    • Judge373, on 10/12/2007, -15/+14This icon has been in Mac OS X for at least a year now, and the style, color, composition, etc... are very obviously that of an Apple designed icon. How could it possibly be "stock"? Furthermore, have you ever seen Apple use stock icons for an individual application? In this case, it's the icon for an entire suite of applications, the Apple Workgroup Manager. Furthermore, the icon is consistent with OS X in that it utilizes the black figure icon which apple uses to represent individual user accounts. Also, Apple is obsessed with good design and visual appeal, and I would gather would never use "stock icons" in their software, or on their marketing website. All this evidence makes your supposition that it's a "stock" icon dubious, at best. Frivolous and poorly thought out, at worst.
    • hawkxor, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9@judge:
      In fact, Apple doesn't exactly make their own icons; my understanding is that the source of this icon is a 3rd party designer, who Microsoft also commissions from - although I find it hard to believe that he would sell the same icon twice.
    • joshuakuhn, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19Wow, effing no one even reads article or article's comments... Both companies icons were most likely designed by the "IconFactory" or some other company doing that full time...

      Think about it... A few thousand once and have all your icons or $30,000+ per year for someone fulltime. Hmm, Which would you choose?
    • cooldudevamsee, on 10/12/2007, -10/+3May be they mirrored apple site and then started to replace the stuff one by one.
    • Judge373, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5Okay, I've read the article a few times, and I don't see anywhere where it says that it's an icon factory icon. Are you reading this is the comments?

      Also, I still insist that the icon is made up of other icons used by Apple, namely, the dark silhouette used to symbolize individual users in the Apple address book, if I remember correctly.

      An icon consisting of an amalgamation of other Apple icons = original Apple icon. Is that so difficult to grasp?

      Show me somewhere else where this icon or the silhouette icon is used, and you might be right. Otherwise, it's Apple.
    • astrosmash, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8It's not a stock art. It's based on icons that have been used in OS X going back to at least 2001.
      http://computing.fandm.edu/training/osx/images/prefsnew.jpg

      The "man" silhouette is the one Apple uses to represent user accounts. The colors are the two "Blue" and "Graphite" color schemes in Aqua,
      http://computing.fandm.edu/training/osx/images/prefs_myaccount.jpg

      And the second icon on Apple's page is the same blue globe they use for network preferences.
      http://computing.fandm.edu/training/osx/images/prefs_internet.jpg

  • kristin364, on 10/12/2007, -13/+2HA somebody has already "fixed" the issue over at Microsoft...
  • magicaltrout, on 10/12/2007, -13/+11i understand that microsoft has copied much bigger things but dude, it's just an icon. it's not like microsoft is stealing your first born.
    • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15Yes, that's right and I don't think Apple really care. But it's highly embarrassing for Microsoft and the developer that created the page. I guess he thought that the Icon looked Vista-like, I mean OSX like... :)
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3"it's not like microsoft is stealing your first born."

      I hate apologists.
  • Brian48216, on 10/12/2007, -7/+23Has it ever occurred that maybe...just MAYBE, both Apple and MS got their icons from iconfactory or some company that just has icons hangin out for them to use?

    • floppyparty, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3Exactly!

      Seriously, those icons are so cheap, why would any large company spend time to creating an icon when it is not directly related to branding?
  • MrViklund, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Well, hum :)
    I think that the one that created that site for Microsoft had to talk to his boss about a few things when this was discovered :) Ok, it's just an icon but anyway. I can see why this issue is a deal.
  • TrueVox, on 10/12/2007, -8/+9Also, it's entirely possible that it's just from one of IconFactory's stock icon sets that they both used. I'm not saying that's fact, just a possibility.
  • evilspoons, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13It sounds to me like they simply bought the same icon from the same source.
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Apparently that icon has been in MacOS for like forty years. Read the comments above (if they haven't yet been buried by MS shills), there is a link to it.
    • Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Apple and Microsoft do not use freeware icons. They use custom designed icons that they have exclusive rights to.
  • mugenkeiji, on 10/12/2007, -10/+8Copying an icon = lazy.
    Caring enough about a person in a company, in which one has no particular interest, copying an icon from another that it requires description with a vituperative 'pathetic'! = truly pathetic.
  • hereisandy, on 10/12/2007, -14/+8Any chance apple stole the icon from Microsoft? Any proof who used it first? Mac fanboys please don't digg me down too fast.
    • epistemological, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9To my knowledge apple has been using that icon since os x server 10.1 in 2002. I find it hard to believe apple would not create there own icons or at least buy the soul rights to ones.
    • aaronm67, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4sole != soul

      And why would you assume they would create their own icons or buy the rights to the icons? They wouldn't really have a lot of reason to, particularly if it is against Iconfactory's TOS to sell the rights to the icons.

      And if you think Apple creates all of their own icons. They don't.
      http://iconfactory.com/design
      Apple has used them in the past, just like Microsoft and Ubuntu apparently.
  • Puwwy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13Wow do i love it when fan boys trying to discredit one thing or another. Unless a big scandal occurs where Microsoft sells an iPod and calls it a Zune then please post on Digg but don't post some little icon to try and discredit Microsoft because you don't like their products.
  • BGog, on 10/12/2007, -9/+12Did it ever occur to you that they may have gotten the icon from the same graphics library. You know web designers don't ALWAYS draw every graphic by hand. There are libraries of thousands of images for every occasion.

    Oh and just in case you didn't know, Santa was your dad.
    • heyitsme23, on 10/12/2007, -10/+6hmm, the problem with that is that the icon includes the shadow character from the address book on OSX.
    • Quag, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11It's on the net so it must be true!
    • astrosmash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's not stock art. The "man" silhouette is the one Apple uses to represent user accounts. It's very recognizable (to OS X users).
  • killerzax, on 10/12/2007, -18/+3All I have to say is while you Apple and Microsoft fanboys sit and argue about little puny icons, us Linux users slowly but surely steal the market from beneath your feet. But please do continue, it'll keep your guys' minds off this :)
    • arthurbarnhouse, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18From one linux user to another: Please shut the hell up.
    • Boondoggle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1good luck with that.

  • Celeron, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1http://duggmirror.com/
  • vtlunchbox, on 10/12/2007, -7/+3there are just icons but that still is a hack way of running a business
    • Quag, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6I don't forsee anyone actually important at Microsoft behind this deed. I'm sure it was just a lazy content producer tired after all of the general crap that tends to happen to Mircosoft. This hardly was an issue of business leadership.
  • broomett, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Wow...less than 12 hours after everyone DEFENDED Google for blatantly copying Yahoo and now this...Digg isn't even trying to hide its hypocrisy now.
    • arthurbarnhouse, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"digg" isn't a single entity. digg users are only hypocrites if that individual says contradictory things from article to article.
    • Tiak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I was going to post something similar, but then I realized, I don't give a ***** about either occurance.
  • ziadoz, on 10/12/2007, -4/+6Or perhaps both Apple and Microsoft contracted the same people to do icons for them, hence they are 'almost' identical. Either way, who cares? Apple take other peoples stuff and claim they innovated it all the time.
  • trunkster, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4Haha Microsoft changed it, now it's three computer icons like the one of the right. Somebody is going to have a bad day at work tomorrow.
  • 8bit_Hero, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6@ MrViklund

    in regards to giving universial $1
    I'm happy to! It was obviously a MS move to shake up stuff. With a big player like MS in the game now Apple better be worried. they are the marketshare leader but MS is going to try to get as much as possible. With Apple actually having to compete with another company means that they will have to innovate even more and in the end thats a plus for everybody.

    BTW: all this Apple fanboy and MS hating is stupid. it's funny when they talk about MS being the bad guy when Apple currently has the DAP market locked down with iTunes. MS/Zune haters cry "DRM" but isn't it Apple that is unwilling to let anyone play along with itunes or iPod?
  • dys2k6, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1pics or it didnt happen
  • MacRae, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4It would really behoove all those arguing the "common source" argument to read the original daringfiregball.net article on it. You can clearly see that they simply took the Apple Icon and resized it (it looked really bad). All of Mac OS uses that same shadow to represent a user, it is not some random 3rd party designer that both companies happened to contract. The Icon is completely consistent with MacOS.

    I am not saying that the original icon was designed by Apple, just that it wasn't taken randomly from some scrapbook of icons. It has been around for a while and regardless of who actually designed it, it was designed for Apple as seen by the consistent "User" shadow.
  • coffinf33der, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8its just an icon, who cares.
    • Judge373, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1THAT'S NOT THE POINT! mehemehermeme....FREUNDLEBEN!
  • Picard102, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12Inaccurate fanboy stupidity. Dugg down as such.
  • ZackS, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Buried as inaccurate. The icon was made by iconfactory and sold to both Apple and Microsoft. Why are people... you know what. I'll stop this sentence here. This conversation never goes anywhere productive.
  • Saiing, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10>This is way more than “inspiration” here. This is some kid at Microsoft
    >going to the Apple site, saving the image to the Microsoft server,
    >and then bragging to his boss that he just whipped up the icon. Pathetic

    This is way more than "fanboyism" here. This is some kid in his bedroom
    going to the Microsoft site, saving the image to his PC and then bragging to
    Digg users that he has a real story. Pathetic.
  • lotuseater, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Where did you get this ***** about a "bragging designer kid"? It is really quite sad to get so worked up and angry over the corporation which rivals the company whose products you choose to consume.
  • joesnow, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3well, apple is the product of old microsoft money being thrown at it in the late 90's anyway, (i.e. if microsoft hadn't have reinflated the sinking ship it wouldnt still be floating), so doesn't that make everything microsoft's anyway? i guess that's too obnoxious though lol
    btw i personally disagree with most things microsoft related, but, at the same time couldnt give any less of a ***** about whether or not MS used the same icon on their huge-ass website that mac did on theirs, boo hoo, what a cool coincidence, big deal, big woopie, nice find...BUT... nothing to be controversial over, unless someone specifically finds some sort of license agreement where that icon isn't public domain anyway, most of these arguements of one way or the other are sortof hot air.
    /end-rant ^_^ yay
    i run OSX & Linux @ home ^_^
    the legitimacy of this entire post is at the mercy of someone's obviously edited screenshot now anyway, who knows if it ever was true at all..who cares?
  • reverb, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Blog dupe. Digg the original story here: http://digg.com/apple/Microsoft_Borrows_An_Icon_From_Apple
  • inobla, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7This is atrociously lame. More zealot propaganda carried out and dugg up by blind sheep fanboys on their campaign if ignorance.

    They're getting worse than the front-door vulture missionaries on my street that won't go away...you know, the folks that don't listen when you tell them, "Tried it, used to be one, didn't like it, found something better, I don't buy into the crap,.." etc.

    But I'm sure everyone who clicked to digg this crap article felt a nice artificial swell of pride....
  • mattclare, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Looks like Microsoft has changed it:
    http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/products/windows-vista/default.aspx

    Click the "buy" tab.
    • DonPMitchell, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I doubt if they changed it. I believe the image in the article is a photoshop fake. This whole story was a fraud, and only a couple people have bothered to go and check the actual page.
  • Avalontor, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I cannot see why anybody would think Microsoft would use the Apple-like icon on their page.

    When you see the page as it is now it shows a single user and a multi user choice and the multiple icon is a group of the single use icon. How hard is that to figure out.

    The Apple-like icon doesn't fit.
    • zpjet, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2well it was there yesterday dude. i saw it. i guess microsoft campaigns are prepared on macs and a lazy designer used an icon from server package rather than asking for a ms one.
    • Avalontor, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Yes, I understood the icon was there, nowhere in my post did I say it wasn't. My point was that maybe Microsoft didn't put the icon there but some hacker type did. Really Vista has icons already, why have an icon that doesn't match the rest of them. Did anyone see the page two weeks ago?
  • diggaiden, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3I took a look at daringfireball's comments regarding the entire issue...while I normally respect what Gruber has to say (most of the time he's rational and doesn't come across as too fanboyish), his comments about this entire thing are pretty childish.

    Commenting on the replacement icon, Gruber writes:
    "Judging by the appalling anti-aliasing (look at the edges of the front two displays against the blue screen of the back one), it would appear this replacement icon was rather hastily assembled."

    "Appalling anti-aliasing"? IT'S A FREAKING SMALL GRAPHIC. You won't really notice the jaggies unless you're running in 800x600 or, heaven help you, 640x480.

    If he wants to complain about how the page looks, complain about the amateurish layout, or the fact that it looks like it was whipped up in FrontPage. Not the icon. 99% of the folks looking at it won't notice the anti-aliasing, but WILL notice those crappy tabs floating in space.
    • Dolomite, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3uhhh.. did you even bother at looking at it???? The anti-aliases jumped right out at me too.. and i am by no mean a pixel-phile.
    • zpjet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2well, already the cd icon of the buy button looks weird... but obviously they had 64 px version and upscaled. um, next time they should take the icon directly from the resource - it's 128 px there...
  • Dolomite, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5LMAO, wherever the ICON came from... its kinda funny that Microsoft would use the SAME EXACT ONE that Apple uses!
  • sirdaz, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3So desperate to kick up a fuss against two rivals, your head starts to make up stories, and jumping to conclusions.
    IT IS DESIGNED BY THE SAME COMPANY
    M$ has most likely taken the image down now, as they don't want any bad PR. If they had right or not to use it.

    While your at it, why don't you write an article on how the same letters of the alphabet are used? I bet apple/m$ designers were too lazy to think of there own alphabet too, right?
    • astrosmash, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Even if it was a stock icon (which it isn't) Apple has been using it for years. It's an embarrassing faux-pas for Microsoft to use the same icon, especially given the history of the two companies as rivals. And as soon as Microsoft discovered they problem, they replaced the icon.

      It's funny. Laugh. I don't understand why you Microsofties are so bloody sensitive about stuff like this.
  • mntpng, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Microsoft has history of crummy stuff like this. Anyone remember the reverse switch marketing page Microsoft had? It had a made up person who claimed to have switched from Mac to Windows. It was done in a real life testimonial format but they used a stock photo and they got caught red handed. The whole thing was just all made up. It makes this icon snatching look like a minor thing.
  • inkhead, on 10/12/2007, -14/+9*******I can personally attest to the FACT that not only did an Apple employee create that Icon, they own the copyright on it. I know the individual in question.

    Apple created this icon, not a stock company. Apple has hired people who worked at stock icon companies in the past, but ONLY as full time employees and never as a contractor or stock icon. This icon has been around for a long time. This is blatant copyright infringement.

    This icon has been used by Apple for at least 3 years for their OS X Server Admin Tools.
  • Gizza, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4How come whenever MS try to make something look good ppl cry MacOS X copycat. Are Microsoft not allowed to try and make their OS look good and have 3D effects?

    Ppl like that in a Mac, only makes sense that MS would do something similar in Windows.
    • tobyjoe, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4RTFA
    • OBKenobi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"How come whenever MS try to make something look good ppl cry MacOS X copycat."

      Well, it seems like MS's idea of looking good is to copy OS X. Or is it just a bizarre series of coincidences that practically everything MS does is a grotesque, senseless imitation of Apple?

      MS has no taste.
  • bj00rn, on 10/12/2007, -5/+8You Apple fanboys kind of make me regret that I just bought a new Mac... Extremists of any kind make me cringe, and Apple has its kind obviously...


    • Septimus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8I agree. I really dislike the Mac community because of, I'm guessing, the minority, but they are louder than the majority.

      I just use mine without trying to convert people....

      As to the article. F**king lame.
    • enjayenel, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5It's not that complicated. That IS in fact the application icon for Workgroup Manager that comes with OS X Server (or can be downloaded at http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/serveradmintools104.html to be used to remotely manger OS X Server from OS X Client). The icon for an Apple developed application is being used in a different context on a MS web page. If i were to guess as to wether Apple buys icon designs or creates their own, I would guess that they make their own.

      http://iconfactory.com/freeware/preview/agua doesn't have that icon in that set.
    • astrosmash, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6Microsoft uses an icon that Apple has used for years in its server products, then quickly changes it when they figure out what they've done. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, it is funny, especially given the history between the two companies. That's it. What's the problem?

      I don't understand why the MS people are so sensitive about it.
    • ShrimpCrackers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I have to agree, the first time I brought a Mac, it was second hand on Craigslist. He asked what other computers I was using and for what, so I stated that I was using my dual processor PC rig for Maya. The seller gave was so smug and said "Why?!?" followed by a look as if I were stupid.

      Thing is afterwards all I saw on that laptop was word documents and nothing else was installed. Basically he used that Mac for was for word processing and I was actually putting my PC to heavy use but somehow he felt he had the ability to judge what I am to do with what I've got.

      Even when I brought out my ultra portable Sony laptop that had Ubuntu installed in it, I'd would get snide comments at TekServe (getting the Apple laptop repaired), especially when I was messing with the terminal. Some extremists laughed at how, "That kid is still using DOS!". Thing is, Sony and Apple both have their laptops made by Quanta and again, I was using Ubuntu!

      That and other consecutive experiences gave me a horrible impression of the general Mac community.
  • narzy, on 10/12/2007, -8/+7buried for being absolutely inaccurate.
    • enjayenel, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Sorry narzy, but it's not inaccurate. It's an icon for an Apple only application that Apple provides for their OS X Server application tools called Workgroup Manager. The Microsoft webpage is using the Apple Workgroup Manager icon as a graphic to symbolize volume discounts.
  • jamble, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7*yawn*

    All digg seems to be these days is fanboy rubbish. I think Kevin Rose should have taken the reported $60m and sold up ages ago as now all he's left with is a swanky blog where every article is mac fanboy rubbish and the comments on the articles are even worse.
    • enjayenel, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1you should try harder to not contribute then.
  • hayden.evans, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2hmm don't care too much bout the icon but did anyone notice that scrolling doesn't even work properly on their "evaluate" portion of their web site?...
  • splinecl, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3God how boring. Why is there always this MS vs. Apple crap on this site. How old are you people. Why can't people get it into their heads, that different OS's cater to different people with different needs. Just use what is right for the job at hand. This is almost as stupid as people fighting over which programming language is the best. Just use what is right for the job and shut up.

    And all the M$ crap...as if Apple was giving their systems away for free :) Both companies are in it for the money. The only people who can say M$ without being hypocrits are Linux/BSD users.
    • Almadiel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Generalize that to X vs. X, it is rare that any product or service is strictly better than any other. If a company is not bankrupt, it means that someone finds their products useful. You as an individual will certainly think one is better than the other, but it is highly egocentric to think that your preference is shared by everyone, or worse that your preference is somehow more "correct", that if only everyone was as smart as you they would see the light. It is much harder for people to actually consider the potential pros and cons of a product and make substantive arguments for or against them.

      Even assuming Microsoft did steal this icon, does that make their product worse or less useful? Supposing they did steal, they would end up paying for it in legal fees and that would be the end of it. As a user of their products, that has nothing to do with me.
  • csquidmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Yes, thats exactly it, Microsoft just "gave up", and ripped off Apple. Of Course, why not? Hey we need to draw more people, so lets leach on the Apple design/web 2.0 design/ a really nice clean concept of dimension that is over three years old. Oh sure Apple "owns" the idea of adding the "aqua" effect to applications and nobody else is allowed to use it without giving it up to Steve for his ingenuity, but we will do it anyway. Because we are just a bunch of concept pirating Nazi's!

    What the hell is wrong with you? It's a clean design and a foggy image as well. Good design is good design. If Microsoft has ripped off Apple then so has half the net.

    Never occurred to you that they might actually have a marketing team that realizes what looks good right now?

    They are a business, and just like Apple, they are in the business of making money from technology. This goddamned holy-war of Mac v.s. P.C. or more prominent, Mac v.s Microsoft is so third grade! Get the FU*K over yourselves! Buy what you want and what you need. The computer is a tool, not a politician! Digg is less and less appealing every day that I see one of these posts.

    For the record, this is all coming from a Mac user. I've used PC's and Microsoft wares in my life. They do what they are built to do, and have buggy issues. Guess what, SO DO SOME MAC WARE'S. Thats the thing about tech, sometimes it just ***** up on you.

    I use a Mac because it does what I need and what I want, it serves MY purposes. The MS ware I have used has been at various job's. Now that I freelance, I really have no need for MS ware. I don't use it and don't need it. I have friends in different industries that effect all of us that wouldn't know what to do without MS. Thats great! Let them continue to make new ATM's and database software for the stock market people.

    I'll stick with my gig of entertaining the lot of you after you punch out and want to decompress.

    All I'm getting at is that there are more important things, as well as far more amusing things, that should be making the front page. Otherwise, Digg will be known for what it is, a link site for geeks like us. Wouldn't it be better to turn this into a link site for everyone about things that matter and or entertain?

    Graciously awaiting my Digg down or my burry.

    Trust me I'll be crying my eyes out when it happens.

    • t3hX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1digg
      burry

      It was a rather bad joke... or was it?
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