Customization and Design Integrity

Software August 26, 2008

I was thinking about some of the fundamental differences between Microsoft and Apple (and there are many) and thought of a nifty analogy.

One of the basic differences between the two platforms is that Windows is a completely customizable OS, especially popular with tech nerds who want to fiddle with everything. On the flip side, Apple doesn't allow for a lot of customization, often in fact making it super difficult to do anything other than what they prescribe. To the Microsoft techies, this is a giant con and the complaints we hear are often to the tune of "I don't like Apple because I can't do X or can't use Y."

But by allowing total control of the interface on Windows, it's super easy to lose design integrity. That is, when your average user has a lot of design control, they often do what they think is "cool" and are often wrong in the eyes of most people. Hence why so many people complain about Microsoft interfaces versus Apple. Because Apple controls everything, it is able to keep things always simple while Microsoft allows for a multitude of features which overcomplicates everything.

We see this exact same paradigm in the web today with the rivalry between MySpace and Facebook. Here are two very popular social networks, one of which (MySpace) has WAY more users than the other. In this situation, Microsoft is the MySpace of software while Apple is Facebook. MySpace allows for total customization of your profile page and has a lot of problems with all sorts of spam. Facebook, on the other hand, controls its environment, with VERY limited profile customization and very limited ad space.

Word on the street for MySpace is that it's poorly designed, looks ugly, is too complicated, is too spammy, etc. And it's true - BUT it allows for the most customization - like Microsoft - and was around way before Facebook - like Microsoft. Consequently we have way more users. The majority of people like to create their own working environments, usually because they like feeling creative and having control of their life. So as much as I dislike the way MySpace looks, it's actually a good platform for these sorts of people (the majority).

But there's a way to allow for creative control and still maintain design and brand integrity. Surely Apple could loosen its grip on several of its products - but then it would lose its essence of being a company who cares about design in every little thing it does. Microsoft could tighten up creative control but then it would have to instill some sort of self-branding - which it lacks - and it would also anger all those tech nerds who grew up taking apart PCs.

We've come very far in computing in the last 28 years and whether it's software or the new-fangled Internet, we still see the separation between total control and minimal. I think this is just the way it's always going to be.

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