Design: Apple vs. Microsoft

Joe Dombrowski does an analysis of the design philosophies of Apple and Microsoft:

It should be clear by now that Apple does not have the monopoly on design. Both companies, especially in the modern computing era, have been very design focused, but have adopted extremely different philosophies. Which is better? To be honest, that's a matter of opinion. I'd personally almost always choose the new and exciting design when it first comes out, but as it ages, I start looking elsewhere.