Stirring up trouble here. The programs have such similar functionalities that almost any part is similar to the same part from the other product. Cooper Tires has copied the same basic tire design from Michelin! OMG - they even look the same (black), are recommended in groups of four, and have similar sizes (15", 16", p205r16, etc). There's obviously a conspiracy and some design theft in the automotive tire industry. Perhaps an odd example, but I believe the paralells point out the problems in your post. Apple/iTunes/whatever. Who cares, just get your product and use what you want. Want ITMS? Use iTunes. That may be the largest "worthwhile" difference between them all.

I agree, they do look similar, but not enough to say that that Apple ripped off the design from Media Player 11. After all, there's not 1000 ways to display music in such an application.

Yeah, and they both play music, OMG.

Actually the view you are speaking of has been with iTunes. Perhaps not in the fashion now, but when selecting to print your library contents iTunes displays the information as it's shown in 7.

I believe this feature was provided in iTunes 4.5, maybe earlier?

You're taking one view out of three that the iTunes player has, how do you see that as rip off? It's still the same window and layout that iTunes has always had. Sorry, I don't see the rip off.

They look exactly the same to me. If iTunes first created this design and then Microsoft used it in WMP11, you Apple fanbois would be going nuts.

But turn it the other way around and you guys don't even acknowledge that they look alike.

They do.

Who's claiming that apple invented desktop search? I've never seen anyone claim that apple invented it. They're just the first to get it right.

Give me a break.

"Now there's the best library in any media player to date, loads of different ways to organise the media too, album, song, genre, year anything you can think of. Great stuff. Cupertino start your photocopiers"

ummm... you've been able to do this w/iTunes since the 2nd or 3rd release, and with the exception of album art, WMP 11 looks like they took iTunes 6 and added album art to the lefthand side. In essence WMP 11 is an update of iTunes, not WMP 10.

This is madness LOL

Microsoft has been doing this for years--it's practically unexpected for them to have an idea that, probably wasn't theirs to begin with.

But, aside from the fact that they display music the same way there's not much of a similarity. Overall--they look different (interface)....

...which leads me to say that I'm not ripping you off if I fold clothes the same way you do...
Now, if we have the same clothing--that's a different story.

These two players have different clothing!

!

Are you fucking serious? Get a life. And no, I am not a Mac "Fanboy" I actually hate them but for fucks sake, pick your battles. This is similar and nothing more. Not a copy.

Who's obsessed? hear yourself talking! have a closer look at your innerself instead at trivial items. Lighten up,man!
Enjoy whatever you are using and live forever happily!

A mac user

Windows Media Player 11 totally, utterly sucks.  I have it on good sources that the album view in iTunes was in development right after version 6 shipped.

As for iTunes being "clunky," I don't see how it's any more or less clunky than WMP's.  Frankly, Windows Vista completely rips off so much from OS X that's it not even funny, and I don't see you writing articles about it.

How long until Microsoft rips off Cover Flow?  I give it 6-9 months...

but you forgot something, Apple was using the the right arrow first as a play button ... what a rip off from Microsoft.
but to be honest, there is not a lot of ripping off here. Apple always had a list view, only thing they changed was add the album art to the left, now if you call that rip-off, well then i guess we could start talking about how Microsoft uses the word library just like Apple, shows the title and length of a song ...
bottom line is, media player 11 is still a crap product

P.S. I forgot to mention that the album art view is EXACTLY like what iTunes prints when you tell it to print your library, starting from iTunes 4.5.  I doubt you'll mention that in your article, of course......

Come on now. It's a media player. The windows version looks like a windows version, the mac looks like a mac version minus the clunkyness and oversized buttons for the visually impaired windows users. Ripping off a design is copying colors, and exact ripoffs of design elements. There has been none of that, its about the most efficient way to display information.

I actually dig WMP11 after hating everything before, but I'm pretty sure the library is just copying some of the lesser knowns out there.. MediaMonkey? Somethin' like that. So they both fail to innovate, congrats!

"Cupertino start your photocopiers!"

Pretty amusing... a Windows user acusing Apple of copying. (In case you are unfamiliar with Microsoft's history, they have copied their way to the top right from the beginning.)

And I second the previous posters sentiments too.

Wow - this post seems to be really childish (as every other comment has pointed out). Is that really the best you can do? Compare two applications that do the same thing?

No offense - but loosen up a bit, this is definitely a lame battle to pick. Shall we start comparing all of the other places where windows falls short to OS X?

And if Cooper Tires copied the exact tread pattern and rubber compound of Michelin's, there'd be lawsuits a-plenty.

Sorry, Mac fanboys, but you and sadly, Jobs, brought this on yourselves by constantly claiming that Microsoft copies Apple. Apple's recent WWDC was ridiculous, with Jobs spending a full 15 minutes whining that Microsoft copies Apple, and you Mac fanboys ate it up (note that Gates never says anything bad about Apple, but Jobs just can't help himself from constantly bashing Microsoft).

Well, what goes around, comes around. But it's very sad that you guys can't even acknowledge this blantant copying by Apple (oh, and iTunes7 is quite ugly looking too, unlike WMP).

What's amusing is thinking Apple came up with the GUI (Jobs stole it directly from Xerox PARC) or the digital audio player (interface courtesy of Creative Labs), or anything else. Every good idea will always be stolen; it's about adding value to the idea in a way that others have not (yet).

Well their both Music Players. This happens in all fields of everything. The competition comes up with something new, it gets copied by everyone else then another party comes up with a new feature.

But lets face it, their both music players. the funtionality has to be pretty similar :)

Go download iTunes 4.6 and print out a playlist with a few albums on it.

http://www.oldapps.com/itunes.htm

See who copied who. I might mention that iTunes 4.6 predates WMP 11 by about 2 years, and counting.

It's a rip off. You've been robbed.

This happens in all fields of everything. The competition comes up with something new, it gets copied by everyone else then another party comes up with a new feature.

Except most of those companies you mention do go around saying they invented things they did not and then accuse their competition of stealing their entire product line from them.

Apple is lame.

Why don't we go back to the Amiga and Atari ST days. I think that much of the audio and video sequencer designs from programs of yesteryear had contributed trememdously with what makes a user friendly quick access interface to one's music library.

I sorely miss the Visualization button on the bottom of the window.

Apple didn't copy anything from Microsoft. They bought Cover Flow ( http://www.steelskies.com/coverflow/ ) from it's creator who had been working on it for quite some time and simply integrated it into iTunes.

Thank you for playing, but do research next time.

LOL - Whatever, man. Nice try though.

eehhhrrr if you tried to print out the contents of an mp3cd in itunes 6 you had the option to print it like in viewmode 2... they just made a putton to display that...
you're not paul thurrot ain't ya?
go back behind your window and bark like a dog :D

WOW, and Album cover next to the track listing - thats straight out of left field. Revolutionary.

Surely MS have a patent for that stroke of genius right?!

What's amazing is that some people REALLY BELIEVE that Apple has never copied Microsoft. Sure, Microsoft has copied Apple, but they don't spend 15 freaking minutes at a keynote whining about it (and then, without batting an eye, going on to demonstrate several "new" features that have been in Windows for ages...). And this nonsense about OS X being "the world's most advanced OS" has to stop. With 10.4, they FINALLY gained ACLs (though only accessible through CLI on the client... how user-friendly!), the 64-bit support is essentially useless (CLI-only, despite all the ballyhoo about 64-bit capability at the G5 launch), and even with 10.5 they'll still have the lousy BSD-on-Mach threading model (thanks, Avie...). As processor manufacturers look to more cores rather than more clock for greater performance, this will become an increasingly acute problem for OS X.

Ummm...WMP 11 hasn't been released yet...iTunes 7 has.

Why can't we as Mac users admit that we copy Microsoft a lot? Why do we have a problem with that? I love my Mac. I fucking hate people who own them. I swear I keep my Mac Pro in a closed room so visitors don't think I'm a flipping jackass.

I have a question! Who cares? Microsoft copied Apple with the utilization of the mouse and ctrl-alt-del (windows most used function). But same with that, Who Cares!

-Windows hater

Everything is looking similar nowadays. A prime example would be the latest vehicles - you can hardly tell the difference between them anymore.

Hence, WMP11 and iTunes7 have similar features doesn't really warrent a 'ripping' tag. :/

The real travesty here is owning so many Coldplay albums.

Yes, it does look similar. AND IT SUCKS! The new iTunes-look is horrible! If there was a way to downgrade, I would.

Did Apple steal from MS? Well if you exclude the fact that the iTunes GUI today is essentially the same as it was in 2000...

http://www.tuaw.com/2006/09/14/itunes-from-0-0-to-7-0/

I think that most windows based OS programs us similar formats for their programs. I mean if you do something unfamiliar with a window. Then nobody wants to use something that`s not like what they are used to. I think we could easily use one OS and be happy. I myself work with both MS XP and OSX.
They both have good and bad points. Apple is indeed safer. But mainly because only 8% of computers run it. Of course XP is easy prey for malware. But most still use it. Safety then, must not be top priority. It must be compatibility. Otherwise Apple would be making gains into the PC market. They are not. I have found most of my customers will not entertain buying a Apple or switching to Linux. They are happy with XP. Safe or not.

At the minute im using itunes 7 but i tried wmp11 when it was in beta and thought it was a huge improvement. I think that microsoft first came out with the view but as usual appl launched the product alot quicker than microsoft and got credit. I do however think the coverflow vies is the best there is at the minute.

Creative sued Apple in May claiming the former had copy Creative's interface.

http://www.macnn.com/articles/06/05/15/creative.sues.apple/

Jobs has always claimed that Microsoft has copied them, but Apple copied its Graphic User Interface from the Xerox Engineers back in the eighties - that's straight from Jobs' mouth.

Microsoft has helped Apple with cash and by allowing Apple to use its programs like Office.

Now it's Jobs who wants a monopoly. He guilty of what he has whinned about Gates for all these years.

Oh, please get rid of your Oedipus complex...

All those 'Aqua' -fied gel buttons, transparency, reflective effects... Wasn't that all originally from Apple's OSX version 10.0, back in 2000 or 2001? Oh sorry I forgot we're past that...

No, I guess they both happened upon that feature at the exact same time. Besides, Microsoft has never stolen from Apple before.

Microsoft DID NOT copy the MOUSE from APPLE. Microsoft copied the mouse from XEROX. XEROX invented GUI and the mouse. CRTL-ALT-DEL was invented by a guy working at Microsoft, as a secret debugging tool. CRTL-ALT-DEL was not supposed to be widely used, but word got out about it and everyone used it. Fucking everybody borrows ideas from other people in computers. Linux borrows some of its ideas from Macs and Windows in the GUIs. Macs borrowed from FreeBSD. It's as if saying that APPLE was the only company to come up with new computer technology. Apple finally ditched the PowerPC for the more superior x86 processor, as evident by the Intel Core 2 Duo. Most APPLE users are assholes, ridiculing non-Mac users at public venues. How immature is that? How much are Mac users compensating with their religious cult known as APPLE. APPLE users go FUCK yourself and join Scientology or something. You are both the same assholes.

The new interface sux. I prefer iTunes with the normal list of song. Easy fast and user friendly and not with all those sidebars and buttons

Check this link for a clean and easy to use media library organizer.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/89/untitledga6.png

Seriously People, iTunes and any product with the stupid iLetter iN iFront of iTs iName sucks. Don't sweat it over this iFanbois iTunes and iPods are the most overrated products in the worlds history.

Itunes %^&!%@&^% sucks. OMG, everyone needs to get a life. Apple are such retards. I love the new pro mac, and much of what it does. BUT, ITUNES BLOWS CHUNKS. How fuc*ing stupid can you get. The interface to transfer songs is &^*&!@ up'ed... WHAT HAPPENED TO SOFTWARE BEING EASY. Yeah, maybe the ipod software itself is NICE, but there Itunes to transfer mp3s... you need a fuc*ing degree to understand it...... HORRIBLE

Forget it, useless tab.

This is the biggest load of bullshit.. there is hardly any similarity and that is 1 of many views of iTunes. Plus Microsoft has ripped of so much stuff don't even get me started.

This is very ironic in my honest opinion. First Microsoft copies off of Apple and now it's the other way around!

But hey, it's payback time. You take something original from Apple and Apple takes some back.

so whats the war about?even if microsoft copies mac or mac copies microsoft?

bottom line is they both play wonderful music right?

^_^ just an insight lol

I read almost all comments, lot of guys mentioned that Microsoft copied lots of things from apple. if it's done, why Windows is the prominent OS in the world. if it was just a simple copy past, then apple must have became the prominent OS, which is not.

If Mac is a good choice for you today that's because Gate's teached people of the world that they should think about Computer differently. not a computer(calculator)

and finally Mac is a good choice for home but not more than that. because all apple products (iPhone,iPod,Mac etc) are just some kind of gadgets not professional products.

The problem with apple has always been design over substance, their products ( the actual hardware) are no better than anybody else’s and in many cases are inferior, but to say that, apple say you speak heresy.
I have been in the IT industry for 20 odd years and I can categorically say apple products are just as good or just as bad as anybody else’s, and ultimately, if they are so good why do they only have 10% market share? Because only 10% of the people believe the Apple and Steve Hobbs horse Shit!
Ikea make nice stuff but is it the best ever, No!
Corporate’s avoid Apple like the plague because (from experience) their kit is incredibly expensive, about as compatible as a dead fish mating with an orang-utan and is unreliable and very difficult to repair even under the warranty, the Apple Care Packs (sorry couldn’t care less packs) are expensive and almost impossible to invoke.
Apple or alright but don’t be fooled it’s just another consumer electronic device that is slickly packaged and advertised.
just to show I am not all sour grapes I have an iTouch and absolutely love it, but what I don’t like is being fleeced 99p for the latest track or 79p for a standard track, way more expensive than everybody pays for it, Apple whinges about “its hands being tied” or “oh its different prices for different countries” well that may well be, but it doesn’t stop them filling their pockets with their cash.
I bet if Apple were somehow losing money they would be asking the US Senate to organise a military “Regime Change “to ensure Apples profits remain buoyant.
Anyway enough of me griping, nothing will change, because the 10% of people who buy Apple products, are the same 10% of people who decide how things are done so there it is!

What a load of crap, is your life so boring that you have to write this mindless drivel?

umm.. i just like how itunes organizes my music (i didnt care for the wmp at the time but now it is rather appealing than it was) but i found this trying to make my touch phone mate with itunes.. i'm sure it's not possible but.. in the end the companies are making it hard for the consumer. I can't afford an iphone and window is super saturated in the consumer market(which makes way more affordable because as you all stated a small percentage of people buy apple). Why can't they get along without 3rd party applications and make my life easier :-/