Sleepless in Seattle

When Apple launched the Mac, Microsoft didn’t have Windows

Apple says Microsoft’s Windows shamelessly copied the Mac; Bill Gates says he was inspired by different software long before. But there’s no doubt that when the Mac launched with its GUI, Microsoft’s only OS was the text-based MS-DOS. Its first GUI, the half-baked Windows 1.0, didn’t arrive until 1987 and Microsoft didn’t really get it right until Windows 3.1 in 1992. Windows 95 made the PC cool, arguably eclipsing the Mac, but Microsoft fell into a design rut that it didn’t escape until the launch of Windows 10 in 2015.

Apple didn’t steal the GUI from Xerox, but it did poach a good few Xerox team members.

The Macintosh popularised the graphical user interface, unlocking all kinds of creativity.

Big Sur was the biggest Mac interface revamp since Mac OS X. There was a lot of loud criticism of its new look.

Microsoft’s graphical user interface (GUI), Windows 1.0, came late to the party. And it wasn’t very impressive.