Microsoft's philosophy is, "A computer on every desk in every house and office running Microsoft software". Microsoft is more concerned and concentrated on developing software. On the other hand, Apple's philosophy is; "Make computers accessible to everyone and easy to use". Apple is more concerned with producing hardware along with developing software. We cannot ignore some similarities in terms of licensing, operating system production, and sole proprietorship, but there are significant differences than similarities.
Sole Proprietorship: Microsoft and Apple have hit the top level in the world of computer technology since they were founded. Microsoft was founded in April 4, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and Apple was founded in Los Altos, California on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were the founders and entrepreneurs of the two companies who started their businesses as sole proprietorships and the businesses gradually grew to multinational corporations. Both started their careers almost at the same time within the same industry with different philosophies. Bill Gate is an opportunity seeker while Steve Jobs is creative thinker and technological leader.
Operating System: Microsoft is best known for its products such as Microsoft Windows operating system as well as Microsoft Office series. On the other hand, Apple is well known for the products like personal computer as "Macintosh", media player such as iPod, cell phone such as iphone and operating system such as Mac OS X. Both companies are producing user friendly operating systems as a wide range of their products, considering the percentage statistics of consumers published on http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_os.asp website, 87% of the market is occupied by Microsoft Windows OS, 8.9% is using Mac OS X, and 6% is using other products such as Linux and mobile based OS.
This is because Windows OS has got more compatibility with more of the software being released in the computer market than Mac OS X and other open source operating systems like Linux. This feature and flexibility of Microsoft products has added to its productivity and user friendliness. Most of the users prefer to use Windows than Mac, because it encounters software
compatibility issues every minute.
Licensing: There is no huge difference in term of licensing. Both companies release licensed products in the market which has restricted the codes and technology being used to develop the software. End users do not have the authority to edit the software according to their needs. In order to do so, the end users can order the vendor to develop the software according to their needs. The end users can only get a license for using the software, not editing the software. The only authorized sources of edition are the vendors that have developed the software who are Microsoft and Apple.
Planned Obsolescence: In order to keep the consumer purchasing a product, most companies use a tactic called planned obsolescence. (It is an industrial tactic of deliberately designing a product with a limited life so that the product becomes obsolete after a certain period of time). The products being released in the market by Apple seem to be produced under some certain types of planned obsolescence. For example, the original ipod released in April, 03, 2010 had no 3G wireless connectivity.
Moreover, the other features which were expected on the ipod by the consumers were a camera for video chat and a USB port for data synchronization between devices, the missing technology features on the ipod were already being used on the other products. Three weeks after the original ipod release date, the Apple ipod containing the Wi-Fi + 3G hit the markets in the United States. This indicates a clear well planned obsolescence for better profits at the right time. While Apple could release both versions at the same time, but in order to keep the consumers waiting for the unique features on the next version it did not do so.
On the other hand, Microsoft releases new operating systems every few years, but this does not mean following the planned obsolescence of Apple by excluding essential features of products. In addition, Microsoft is including certain new features to its products considering the demand of time and enhancing the product features according to consumers' claims regarding the product. For example, windows 98 was lacking the features such as universal plug and play and system restore, but Microsoft included the features in Windows Millennium Edition released in September, 2000.
Consequently, Microsoft cares about the value of its products in the market while Apple cares about the quality of its products in the market. Microsoft's replacement of products in the market is being done on the basis of negative criticism regarding the product's performance. For example, Windows XP dominated the operating system market for almost five years, but in 2007 Microsoft released
Windows Vista as a replacement to Windows XP which did not last too long due heavy graphics and software compatibility issues. Considering the reviews from customers, Microsoft promptly released Windows 7 to replace Windows Vista and maintain the consumers' satisfaction.
Cost efficiency is another huge difference between Microsoft and Apple products. Microsoft products are compatible with most of the other vendors' products such as Dell, Sony, Toshiba, and HP which makes it easier and possible to be installed on these computers. For example, one can get a usable and functional computer of windows supported for $600 while a comparable Mac would be two or three times more expensive than a computer with Windows supporting features. The reason behind this difference is, the protocols being used by Apple. There are certain protocols being used on Mac that limit its compatibilities with other computer products and increase the cost of the Apple products.
Apple products will always remain expensive, because they are not compatible with the open source applications and software. So as to utilize any Apple product such as iPhone, the consumer is compelled to purchase all the required applications from Apple and even for an application update. There should be certain application updaters such as iTunes and Apple based browsers on the system to get the updates. Otherwise, it is not possible to get the updates via the Internet. These certain criteria have added to the uniqueness and cost of the Apple products.
The server based operating system is another reason why 90% of the market is occupied by Microsoft in comparison to Apple and Linux. Microsoft is not only producing client based operating systems. It produces server based operating systems such as Windows Server Standard, Enterprise and Business editions. This particular class of products has added to the number of its consumers and the market demand of Microsoft products. In Contrast, Apple has remained limited to Mac OS X, and some other minor software.
Microsoft and Apple are considered as the two major vendors that regulate the world of computer technology. There are few computer desks in the houses and offices on which Microsoft Windows is not running. According to the statistics published on http://www.manhattangmat.com/forums/all-over-the-world-80-percent-of-the-people-use-a-computer- t9117.html, "All over the world, 80 percent of the people use a computer, 60 percent access the internet and 40 percent are having a computer at home." These two companies are the major competitors having different strategies of regulating the markets and maintaining customers in the world of computer technology.