Apple fans like to accuse Microsoft of stealing ideas from Apple. They also like to give Steve Jobs credit for inventing things actually invented by others. A recent example of this is the apparent belief among some Apple diehards that Jobs invented tablet computing.

Another common misconception is that Apple (and Jobs) invented the graphical user interface and mouse. In fact that honour goes to the wonderfully creative folks who worked at the Xerox Parc research facility in Palo Alto in the 1980s. Jobs saw a demonstration of a graphical interface at Parc and soon afterward, the Mac appeared on the scene.

In fact, all creative work builds on what came before, whether we’re talking about art or technology. These days, there’s far too much emphasis on ownership of ideas, with hopelessly broken patent and copyright systems making lawyers rich and causing untold misery for everyone else. Don’t get me started.

Raluca Budiu is a computer usability expert who previously worked at both Xerox Parc and Microsoft. She was recently interviewed by laptopmag.com, and was asked about the Windows 8 UI. What she says will surprise nobody who has given any thought to the new tablet/touch-focused UI. It’s confusing. It’s cognitively jarring. It’s more work than previous Windows UIs. Her comments were based on her own personal use of the new O/S and not the result of any kind of formal study, but I think we can agree that her observations have merit. I hope she decides to study the new UI in detail; the results could encourage Microsoft to provide workarounds for some of the more awkward UI issues in Windows 8.