While you can hardly blame Microsoft entirely for this one, you’d think they’d at least notice that the featured Dictionary application on their official Windows Phone page had stolen its icon wholesale from the competition. Could we get a slow clap, please?
[via Craig Hockenberry’s Twitter]
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
16 responses to “Microsoft Inadvertently Promotes OS X Software As A Featured Windows Phone App”
omg
So typical, so lazy, so pathetic.
Heh, funny at best.
Except:
1. It’s a THIRD PARTY APP. Get your facts right.
2. What’s the problem? Apple didn’t have any problems stealing the Cydia app Wifi Sync icon and using it in iOS 5.
I’m a devout Mac user, but if you’re going to imply MS had anything to do with this, you’re on crack.
Unless you really expect whomever’s in charge of adding apps to the marketplace to check every single icon submitted?
I’m pretty sure I can take a look on the AppStore and find hundreds of apps that “borrow” assets from elsewhere.
Apple’s Wifi Sync icon combines Apple’s Wifi icon with Apple’s Sync icon. Reusing your own assets is not theft.
Along with Wifi sync came Volume button to take pictures and notification center (stolen from other cydia tweaks), the ability to use GPS on calendar/alerts and the split keabord on Ipad (both shown from WP7 mango before iOS5 release). Ohhh what about iMessage? BBM, whatsapp, text+…
Good bye good old creative days Mr. Jobs.
You’re kidding right? Apple was going to obviously build a new notifications system, one way or another. They built the most convenient way to display notifications, they didn’t steal anything. That’s like saying Apple is stealing from Microsoft because they use square monitors as oppose to what other options…triangle monitors?
Same go es for volume button. By request, people wanted a physical button for taking photos, so Apple used the most convenient way possible.
Also, I can tell you by experience of using both of the softwares, BBM and iMessage are EXTREMELY different. Yet the same thing applies here: consumers wanted a platform-to-platform based messaging system, and Apple provided one. They built there own. If BBM wasn’t around and consumers still wanted iPod-iPod messaging, Apple still would of done it.
It’s not stealing. If anything, it’s innovating.
In another blog post, Apple is patienting using your fingers on a touch screen. I assume they will be accusing Android of stealing their design from them. All tech companies borrow, steal, take creative license from each other. Some can get away with it, others get kicked.