Nosce te ipsum

You have to love Microsoft’s tenacity in attempting to innovate:

In the next version of Windows, still in its early stages of development, and in the soon-to-be released new version of Mac OS X, users won’t have to know where a file is stored.

Since Apple has already released (effectively) its Spotlight technology both the SDK and the user interface. While it’s not on shelves, that’s only weeks away, and developers have had nearly done copies for months. Microsoft, on the other hand, is still a year or more away—which means sometime in the future, which may never happen given their past targets. Given that, we can assume that the technology is effectively equivilent, since Apple will have time for at least 3-4 minor releases and perhaps another major release before Longhorn ships.

The Longhorn preview Microsoft gave reporters last week revealed that with the new OS, the software giant is introducing composited graphics for the desktop, something Apple has had since Mac OS X’s debut.

Yeah, more leading innovation. While Apple releases Core Image (which can also work with video) that leverages the GPU, Microsoft is still trying to catch up to Apple’s ideas from 5 years ago. Way to lead the industry! Nimble as Jabba the Hut.

“You can imagine videos on top of videos and even translucency,” said Jim Allchin, head of Microsoft’s Windows unit.

Some of us can do more than imagine it! I can do it right now.

In one application of the new technology, windows that are maximized or minimized spring to life in a way similar to the “genie effect” through which Mac OS X windows are sent down to the Dock.

More innovation?

Microsoft also plans to reshape icons within Longhorn. Instead of being a static graphic indicating the type of document a file is, an icon in Longhorn will be a smaller representation of the first page of a document. In its preview pane, today’s Mac OS offers that for some document types, such as PDF files. However, its implementation is not as universal as what Microsoft is proposing.

Proposing isn’t doing. Talking about isn’t shipping. Microsoft can talk about all it wants, but until it ships, it’s nothing but vaporious FUD and marketingware.

Allchin said Microsoft plans to go further [with search] than Apple has with Tiger.

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