Microsoft's Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said during the company's Worldwide Partner Conference on Wednesday that Apple's "post-PC" view of the current computing industry climate is wrong.
Of course, the two companies also have different approaches to computer operating systems. Like Google, Apple thinks each form factor should have its own operating system, yet they should also all share common functions and features. Microsoft sees a world where one OS rules all devices no matter the form factor.
"Apple makes great hardware," Turner admitted. "The reality is, in the OS, we see things differently. They've talked about it being the post-PC era, they talk about the tablet and PC being different. The reality in our world is that we think that's completely incorrect."
Instead of "post-PC," Microsoft has dubbed the era as "PC+," or PC Plus. As previously stated, Microsoft sees other devices outside the PC scope as an extension of the desktop, thus only one OS is needed. The x86-based version of Surface is a good example: a tablet sporting a full version of Windows 8 Pro.
"We actually believe Windows 8 is the new era for the PC Plus," Turner said. "We believe with a single push of a button you can move seamlessly in and out of both worlds. We believe you can have touch, a pen, a mouse, and a keyboard."
He went on to show a slide featuring a quote from former Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the current CEO Tim Cook. Jobs said "the post-PC era has begun" whereas Cook was quoted saying "in my view, the tablet and the PC are very different."
"The re-imagined Windows is a game changer," Turner admitted. Indeed, Microsoft is looking to create an ecosystem of products using the best-of-both-worlds approach with the launch on Windows 8, as PC users can switch from the touchy Metro interface to a more standard desktop mode.
Just recently Apple's Tim Cook indicated that Microsoft's PC convergence is a poorly conceived idea. He said during the company's second quarter conference call that "you can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but you know, those things are probably not going to be pleasing to the user."
Cook also said that OS X and iOS borrow certain aspects from each other, but they remain two separate platforms due to the unique hardware features of the desktop, the tablet and the smartphone.
