I think it's unfair to say that MS 'ripped off' anyone, when Apple themselves are fairly complacent in doing the same thing all the time--- Everyone incorporates popular elements of other things in their programming, in the industry, this is how features like "tabbed browsing" get into various browsers.
I haven't seen any of the latest releases of Vista--- I've run older betas, but most of the features were not included in them... I am fond of the newest version of Windows Media Player, and for once, its become my main app for playing music, due to its nice features and layout--- This is an element of Vista that is to be available to non-Vista users as well.
The problem with Vista is that it has basically had to have been re-written at least once, entirely from scratch... It's been plagued by delays, etcetera.... I don't even think the "Vista" name (longhorn was the 'codename', no matter what, the product would have never been named 'longhorn'), was a wise choice--- It just doesn't make you think anything very visionary--- But then again, "OSX" isn't exactly a sexy name for an operating system either.
Vista is probably a transitional operating system for Microsoft between Windows XP, and what is codenamed Windows Blackcomb... I don't know all th e details about blackcomb, but I'm imagining it will strictly be a 64bit OS, based entirely on future hardware specifications.
My issue with Vista is that it will probably be pretty resource intensive, and require a lot of hardware upgrades in order to take advantage of things like Aero Glass, which I think is renamed to something like the Windows Presentation Foundation--- But that's the case with a lot of new software, and people have always bitched about it, seemingly for ages. The other problem is that the OS will probably not do exactly what they had wanted it to do, in all aspects of features, but again, this happens with software development, especially one so complicated as an operating system.
I think, in some aspects, MS has changed a bit, in trying to find out in advance, how their software is working, and communicating with its users and its beta testers, but I still don't know if they understand how to give their users an experience that they want--- or if they are simply giving them an experience they think that they want.
I think the most important step in the future of MS is (and I am not alone in thinking this), that Bill Gates step down from any sort of creative input into the software titles, and let the younger generation dictate the future of the product he created. It's difficult, but it's best for the future of the software.
