Check this guy out:

He claims the Windows 7 Taskbar is copied from the Mac OS X dock. He even includes an edited image featuring the same Adobe icons he has in his dock to try and make it seem even more similar. Apart from that he also makes numerous mistakes and wrong assumptions about how the new Taskbar works, and does the standard everyone is copying Apple line, which is completely and utterly false yet it something the Apple fanboys repeat ad nauseum.

Here's a little time line for graphical user interface (Hat tip to ToastyTech for the screenshots).

1973:
Xerox PARC create the Alto - the first computer to use a mouse and a graphical user interface (no Taskbar yet).

1979:
Apple employees visit Xerox PARC to check out the Alto, after seeing the Alto they begin work on a graphical user interface for their Lisa computer (no Taskbar yet).

1981:
Xerox introduce the Star, featuring overlapping windows, double-clicking and dialog boxes (still no Taskbar).
Microsoft begin work on Interface Manager, later to be renamed Windows (still no Taskbar).

1983:
Visi Corp releases Visi On, the first GUI for IBM PCs (no Taskbar).
Microsoft introduce Windows (no Taskbar).
Apple release Lisa (still no Taskbar).

1984:
Apple introduce the Macintosh (still no Taskbar)

1985:
Geos released for Commodore 64 (no Taskbar)
Amiga Workbench announced (still no Taskbar)
Microsoft release Windows 1.01. The first operating system to have something resembling the Taskbar, an area of the screen reserved for iconized programs. See below:

1987:
Apple release the Macintosh II, featuring colour graphics at last, if I was a fanboy I'd say they copied colour graphics from Windows, but I'm not (no Taskbar though).

1989:
Acorn Computers release Arthur (the forerunner to RISC OS). Featuring something resembling the Taskbar, its been so long since I've used RISC OS I've forgotten the name for it.

1995:
Microsoft release Windows 95, creating the Taskbar we all know today, featuring a Start button to start new applications, and a tray for running applications to sit in.

1998:
Microsoft release Windows 98, which allows shortcuts to programs to be placed in the Taskbar (called Quick Launch).

1999:
Apple release Mac OS 9, which features a slide out "dock" along the bottom of the screen.

So no I don't accept that Microsoft copied the Taskbar/dock whatever you want to call it from OS X.

He could of quite easily shown the Taskbar with text labels, and without the Adobe icons which were edited into the picture he used.

Or the new Taskbar configured to look like the existing one:

He also claims because the Taskbar items also have menus that they've also been copied from the dock. Newsflash: The Taskbar items have always had menus which have always been customisable by the applications running, now there is additional APIs to plug more information into the Taskbar.

But of course if this guy told you the truth he wouldn't have an argument would he?

I must say I am getting slightly irritated by O2, and their complete and utter lack of a product roadmap. As many of you know I've been after the HTC Touch Pro since before it was announced.

Catherine has had the HTC Touch Diamond for nearly two weeks (from Orange). Which when I was in Newport this week obviously checked out quite extensively. The short review: Much better than I had expected.

The Touch Pro, is essentially the Diamond, with a hardware keyboard, microSD slot and bigger battery, which should be released September time. My concern comes about from the complete and lack of information coming from O2 on the Diamond. They announced a new phone in their XDA lineup yesterday, called the Mantle (HTC P6500). But nothing on the Diamond, zippo, zilch.

What do I think is going on? They don't want to release the Touch Diamond because they've got contracts with Apple stating they have to shift X-number of iPhones, they don't want the Touch Diamond eating into potential iPhones being shifted, considering how low the iPhone's sales have been (despite the hype) they don't want to take any chances.

Newsflash O2: Apple will stab you in the back, like they've done to every partner in the entire history of the company.

Hopefully we won't get a repeat when the HTC Touch Pro is around the corner, it is less of a direct competitor. But if O2 don't make any announcements within a couple of weeks after another carrier releases it, it will be increasingly difficult for me to stay with O2. I'd be going crazy if I was a business customer trying to plan our upgrade cycle.

Maybe I'm too used the computer industry, where everybody (but Apple and a handful of other small companies who are too interested in screwing people over) has a roadmap. Windows "7"? Q1 2010. Office 2007 SP2? 1H 2009. It's nice knowing when something new is coming out years in advance, it lets you plan things. And before somebody says mobile phones develop faster (read: tested less). Sure, but roadmaps spanning 6 months ahead is easily feasible, it still takes over a year to develop a phone and carriers can make up their minds if they're going to be carrying something or not in that time.

Roadmap please O2.

Apologies for not blogging lately but I've been a little busy over the last couple of weeks. Anyway I want to touch on a bit of Apple/iPhone/MobileMe/Exchange stuff.

So as I'm sure most people are aware Apple announced "push" e-mail with their MobileMe service launched a few weeks ago which costs $100 a year, of course everyone, well those in the Apple Cult anyway, were raving about it. Apple dubbed it "[Microsoft] Exchange for the rest of us".

However "push" has recently been completely dropped, which has added to the continuing failure that is MobileMe.

Some on the blogosphere though are asking where Microsoft's consumer level Exchange is?

You see, somewhere along the lines of Xbox breakdowns, Vista problems/negative PR, and chasing after copying Apple with Zune, Microsoft completely missed the boat. For a nominal fee to the user, Microsoft should have created "Exchange Hotmail": a paid-for part of Hotmail that "brings your data with you at the speed of *push*" (my marketing tagline).

Microsoft already offer push support for Hotmail, and custom domains that use Hotmail as their backend, and they offer this for free, and have done for a year or two.

You see, somewhere along the lines of buying into the anti-Microsoft fanboy nonsense, this blogger forgot to actually check what they were talking about.

Exchange Hotmail would have been a perfect play for Microsoft. So in the end, Microsoft is left with a very popular online mail solution (Hotmail) yet has not made a significant effort to monetize it.

Yeah I think it was a good move for Microsoft. It's just unfortunate people like yourself either don't know it exists, or pretends it doesn't so you can claim that Apple were first.

But it wasn't to be. Apple brought it first because Microsoft was too busy defending its "server plays".

It also runs on more than just Windows Mobile phones (which have ten times the marketshare of the iPhone), but also on Blackberrys, Symbian and any other phone with the full Windows Live client.

Less of the reality distortion field please.

Well the BBC was on a little roll, but it looks like some of their tech journalists need a kick up the rear for this article.

Apple fans are waiting with bated breath - and a seemingly unending supply of rumours - for the iPhone Version 2.

Yeah, maybe it will get 3G like we've had everywhere else for years, or maybe GPS like we've had for years already. I'm sure they're keen to catch up.

The first iPhone has been a big hit

I wouldn't define having a marketshare of 5.3% for Smartphones in Q1 2008 a "big hit". RIM and Microsoft are the big players here, and in Europe I think Windows Mobile is in the strongest position, we've had Windows Mobile devices on the market here for nearly a decade and I often see Windows Mobile devices out and about, I can't remember the last time I saw a Blackberry, or an iPhone in public.

I think this video explains it all...

Unlike more traditional technology companies like Microsoft or Google which are run by geeks and have feature-rich and innovative products and services that are very extensible and customisable. Apple today is dominated by the marketing department, as a result we get feature-poor, often buggy and insecure products that are locked-down to end-user customisation, but they can get the press on side thanks to their slick propaganda department and as a result, some people drink the kool-aid.

Of course some people, even Apple fans can get passed it sometimes and see the light, like when Nik Cubrilovic tried Windows Vista.

I have been running Vista for a little less than 24 hours and I can't believe I didn't switch back sooner, the main difference is that the interface is much much smoother and neater and despite popular belief performance is actually fantastic. I was used to waiting on Mac OS X while my standards apps would open up - Quicksilver, Firefox, Skype, etc. but Vista goes almost straight into the desktop and most apps boot very quickly.

I didn't expect it to be like this, I didn't want Vista to be this good - I was expecting to boot back into OS X and living happily ever after, but damn, this is one fast, slick and nice operating system.

The bottom line is, no matter how much hype Apple's marketing department can generate, and how much they attack their competition in adverts, they're years behind what Microsoft and others have done.

There's been a string of security disasters for Apple lately. The first one I'll briefly mention is the vulnerabilities recently published that effect iCal, these security flaws were discovered by Core Security back in January - who patiently tried to prod Apple into fixing them, after Apple couldn't be bothered to issue a fix for months and months they went public with the details. Hopefully now Apple will take the issue more seriously.

The main cause for alarm comes over how they've handed Safari, obviously this is of more concern because of Apple's recent malicious moves to get this installed automatically on people's computers, through their "update" application which they bundle with all of their software, and which they use to force down more than updates, but completely new pieces of software like Safari. A move which Mozilla CEO said threatened the security of the internet - and that was before we saw Apple's complete disregard for security vulnerabilities.

So what have they done now? They dismissed a vulnerability that automatically downloads files to your computer, if you're on Windows to the Desktop, if you're on Mac OS to the Downloads directory. Ouch.

How can this be exploited? Executables that mimic existing icons or shortcuts you'd normally have on your computer. On Mac OS X or Windows Vista you could rig an executable to look like the Recycle/Trash Can, that instead of showing you what's inside it, promptly deletes all your documents. On Windows XP its even worse with most users running as administrators - it could trash your whole system.

Worse thing is Apple came out and said this wasn't being treated as a security issue! What planet are they on?

Of course there's more vulnerabilities - this one Apple have actually promised to fix (who knows when they'll get around to releasing the patch, since they have one of the longest turn around times in the industry). This again effects Safari. This one let's people steal your documents! Jeez. Websites can get Safari to upload all your files to them, fantastic stuff. I really hope the people working at HM Revenue and Customs don't have any iPods.

So that's that. I've officially put all Apple software on the ban list. Nope, you won't even find QuickTime on my machines anymore, well not that you did anyway as it acts in a malicious way before all this happened with its starting things automatically with the system.

I'll be strongly recommending to everybody that they stay well away from these kinds of malicious applications, especially when they're made by a company with such complete disregard for security.

Congratulations Apple, you're on the same list as Real and Symantec.

Since Catherine is off having fun without me at the London Expo, I'd thought I'd share a couple of videos I came across on YouTube this week.

And my favourite:

Rough translation:

I brought a MacBook [Air], it crashes often,
But at least its thin and fits in an envelope.
I don't have an iPhone,
But I have a plug for an iPhone.
$2500 with the extra drive and software,
But at least its thin and fits in an envelope.
You drag your fingers across the touch pad,
And you lose two years of work.
But at least its thin and fits in an envelope.
I can chat with other MacBooks,
But I'm the only one with a MacBook.
There's not even a DVD-ROM drive,
So what's up with that f**k!?
I've got a port for a projector,
So I brought a new projector, $12,000 down the drain.
But at least its thin and fits in an envelope.
But now I'm on my last cent and have it live at my mums,
Because of my f**king MacBook that fits in an envelope.
Lalala [Kernel panic screen].