__/ [ Chris Dunaway ] on Friday 15 September 2006 21:23 \__
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>> New Zune Software Eerily Similar to Democracy Player...
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | Take a look at the new Zune player software. Notice anything strange?
>> | It's the fact that the interface is a blatant ripoff of the open
>> | source Democracy player. Microsoft once again has to take other
>> | companies ideas and turn them into their own. Almost the same basic
>> | scenario of Mircosoft ripping off the iPod with Zune.
>> `----
>>
>>
http://yourdailydose.wordpress.com/2006/09/15/new-zune-software-eerily-similar-to-democracy-player/
>> http://tinyurl.com/gdjmy
>>
>> To be fair, it also looks firly similar to SongBird and iTunes and AmaroK
>> can be skinned to look similar.
>
> I don't much similarity except that both have their playlists on the
> left and content window on the right. The Democracy player has a menu
> alont the top with is not present on the Zune interface. It also has a
> couple of buttons on the bottom left which are not present on the Zune
> interface.
>
> Are you prepared to call all products that use a similar arrangement a
> ripoff of Democracy? It's simply an efficient and logical design. I
> doubt that Democracy was the first to use that particular layout.
I put a question mark in the subject line because I partly
disagree with the author of that blog post. I even listed
other applications that could be argued to suit the same
allegations. These are just 2 candidates and Microsoft is
perhaps just a scapegoat.
There are clearer cases where Microsoft ripped off a user
interface. For example, early builds of Office 2007 used
Brushed- and Aqua-type widgets, which was grossly obvious to
one's eye. Other cases involved the tango icon set in
MTV/Urge, which I believe Microsoft has by now
snubbed/beyrayed with Zune /et al/. And there are other
examples that go as far back as the eighties, including
ripoff of Apple (through Xerox PARC). It's amazing that when
someone implements a frame-based UI these days, people deem
it a Windows copycat, only due to prevalence of that
platform and its arrival to people's home. Granted,
Microsoft is also an easy victim to pick on, owing to its
scale and shady past. This shady part -- among several of
its distinct characteristic -- involves observing the
competition, then copying to eliminate it through
prebundling.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
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