In the tech industry, Apple is seen as the company with closed systems and Microsoft being the one that’s open. I am here to argue that the opposite couldn’t be truer. Here is why:

The Windows PC commands more than 90% of the desktop OS market. While this makes it popular, it doesn’t make it open. Lets examine the different technologies that both Microsoft and Apple utilize in their respective systems.

1. The OS Itself – I imagine the room(s) where the Windows source code is stored to be accessed via an X-Men style bridge that is itself guarded by specially trained Ninjas. Mac OS X is based on an open-source Unix flavor called Darwin. The printing services in Mac OS X use the open source CUPS system. All code that Apple adds to these open source projects are made available back to the community. Windows on the other hand is locked down tighter than Fort Knox. From the kernel to the GUI, its all Microsoft’s crown jewels.

2. Internet Technology – Internet Explorer is very tightly integrated into the Windows GUI and therefore also a closed source application. As if thats not closed enough, Microsoft has built its own web technologies such as ActiveX, Silverlight and ignored web standards. Apple’s Safari web browser on the other hand is based on yet another open source project, WebKit.

3. Server Technologies – Microsoft’s server technologies are very popular (and for good reason), but that makes them neither open nor standard. From Active Directory, SQL Server, Exchange Server to IIS, they are all proprietary server technologies that use Microsoft’s proprietary protocols. Apple’s server technology, while not as popular, use open and standard protocols such as IMAP for mail, CalDAV for calendaring, SQLLite/mySQL for databases and Apache for web server..

4. 3D Technologies – Microsoft has its proprietary DirectX technology where as Apple uses the standard OpenGL.

5. Multi-media – Apple is accused a lot here for “locking” users into its iTunes/iPod ecosystem. The people that make this assertion usually go on to explain that this is because the iPod cannot play Windows Media Files (WMA & WMV). The PlayForSure initiative from Microsoft made sure that a lot of media players would support the Windows media files and Microsoft would earn a license fee from each OEM (similar to how Windows works). This however does not make Windows media an open format. Apple chooses to use AAC for its audio which has been standardized by ISO and IEC, as part of the MPEG-2 & MPEG-4 specifications. For video, Apple uses MPEG-4 Part 14 (mp4) which is also an ISO/IEC standard. Some of the the files that you obtain from Apple are protected with its proprietary FairPlay DRM just like Protected Windows Media from Microsoft.

Microsoft’s approach and Apple’s couldn’t contrast each other more. When there is an emerging technology or market to exploit, both companies try to react but they do so in dfferent ways. If the technology is open source, Apple will usually use and contribute to the project. If not, for example Google Search, Apple will partner with the company to take advantage of the market. Microsoft on the other hand will almost always try to “invent” a competiting and alternative technology and then use its Windows monopoly to kill off the original.

In summary, just because you may live in a huge walled garden, doesn’t mean that its open to the outside world.