A portal to……..

Pamela A. Bolton

CIS 125

Network Workstation

Fall Quarter 2009

A portal to …….. past, present, future.

A portal to …….. technology, internet, software, cars, home, mobile devices, games, business point of sale systems, and every aspect of our lives is a user (you) interface. A comparison of Microsoft user interface versus the Apple user interface will show a competitiveness of one-upmanship for their entire history – I guess that’s business.

A portal to ……..past

The original computers relied on complicated and typed commands to control computers (command line interface) which are still be utilized today. The introduction of the mouse and development of the graphic user interface (GUI) provided the needed impetus to move computers to more ‘non’ computer user type market.

A portal to ……..present

This new functionality, graphic user interface (GUI), created advantages by providing ease of use, by visually creating familiarity (throughout multiple applications), by providing consistency in handling tasks, and by overall efficient usability. User interface design requires a good perspective of user needs, intuitive, adaptable to changing user needs and flexibility for user to design certain aspects to fit particular needs. In comparing user interfaces, I need to emphasize (where is the most value derived). With enhancements such as desktop publishing, Excel, Pagemaker, menu bar, reduced software interface flexibility, program manager, file manager, start menu and backwards compatibility, Apple and Microsoft hip hopped back and forth vying for their share of the computer industry. Through this vying to be the top dog, both companies began developing their own business markets. The critics are out in full force with the comparing of everything the companies market. Apple efforts were concentrated on making his system friendly and aesthetic and Microsoft concentrated on power and technicalities. Graphic user interface places a huge responsibility on the visability and usability of the products, whether Microsoft or Apple. Microsoft took the responsibility seriously by creating these official Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines (or "UX Guide" for short) are to: establish a high quality and consistency baseline for all Windows-based applications; answer your specific user experience questions; and make your job easier! Microsoft agreed to continue developing Microsoft Office and other software for Apple over several years. Microsoft also purchased $150 million of non-voting Apple stock, helping Apple in its financial struggles at the time. Both parties entered into a patent cross-licensing agreement. The enormous number of software applications and hardware devices that run on Windows is both a strength and a flaw. Few software companies have the skills required to build sophisticated consumer applications that can be installed and run flawlessly across millions of machines. Much of the software installed on Windows PCs is badly written and hard to use, and it damages the Windows brand. Unlike Apple who was able to create a brand new GUI based operating system, Microsoft has maintained backward compatibility which makes their products more complex. The constant changes in the graphical user interface tend alienate customers, whether they be Microsoft or Apple, but I’m a firm believer in change. Quote from (Ramsay Clark, “Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix.”)

Through this research on the topic of Microsoft user interface versus Apple user interface, I did a test drive on an Apple. Evaluating the pro’s and con’s of each, I’ve decided I’ll stick with Microsoft. I’ve been using the Windows environment with operating systems and application software for about 30 years. Whether you utilize Microsoft or Apple, graphic user interface is here to stay. What role do you want graphic interface to play in your life, is it out there, if not create it!

A portal to ……..future

2057 – The City. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6979560348655713314#

References.

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/05/apple-vs-microsoft-a-website-usability-study/” Apple vs. Microsoft – A Website Usability Study

http://www.guidebookgallery.org

Lisa GUI Prototypes: http://home.san.rr.com/deans/prototypes.html

History of Windows, Apple, Apple OS etc: http://en.wikipedia.org

History of the GUI: http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/gui.ars

GUI Gallery: http://toastytech.com/guis/index.html

GUI Gallery: http://www.guidebookgallery.org

Personal Computer Market Share: http://www.pegasus3d.com/total_share.html