Apparently, Microsoft is just going to go ahead and pretend that this whole copying Apple thing is new.

According to a company e-mail swiped by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Ballmer pointed to Apple as a model for how the company should design its products. Apparently, nobody bothered to tell him that this is what Microsoft has been doing for the last 25 years or so...

Jokes aside, Ballmer's assessment is pretty right on:
In the competition between PCs and Macs, we outsell Apple 30-to-1. But there is no doubt that Apple is thriving. Why? Because they are good at providing an experience that is narrow but complete, while our commitment to choice often comes with some compromises to the end-to-end experience. Today, we're changing the way we work with hardware vendors to ensure that we can provide complete experiences with absolutely no compromises. We'll do the same with phones--providing choice as we work to create great end-to-end experiences.

Ballmer hits this one on the nose. Apple's greatest strength over the last ten years has been its ability to tailor the hardware and software to each other. Unfortunately, he also drops the ball by suggesting Microsoft can do the same.

Microsoft's problem is that it doesn't develop for one machine. Apple designs each version of the MacOS for maybe a dozen different supported Macintsoh models, all of which the company makes. When Apple wants to put a new feature in OS X, the company codes it in, ads drivers for the most recent MacBook/iMac/MacPro models, and presto.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has to craft each version of Windows for countless hardware vendors, devices, and industries. What made Windows the best-selling piece of software on the planet is now what hamstrings the company when it comes to improving it. Any radical new features require the cooperation of hundreds of other companies.

As is being shown by Vista, Windows is stuck under the massive weight of its own success. Making changes to OS X is like turning a speed boat. For Windows, it's more like turning an aircraft carrier.