Seems like you're being deliberately tricky with language here. I never said they invented it, in fact I think i clearly stated they didn't. But, Gates spoke against it initially, so MS didn't use it first. Whether Apple popularised it by having most users or because they simply influenced Microsoft to embrace it is beside the point - they were the driving force behind it becoming a feature on mass market home computers.

I don't see the purpose of slating Apple to the nth degree to the point of basically incinuating they've done nothing for technology over the years, because they have. One needn't invent something to spearhead its wide acceptance. I like Apple products on the whole. I'm no fanboi by any stretch, I was given an old iMac which i use on odd occasion but my desktop PC and laptop are both Windows. I don't own an iPhone and never will because I hate it with a passion, and I don't own an iPod (never have). I also moved away from iTunes to Songbird. I hate Apple's lockdown policies. I hate Jobs' attitude and the way he sees himself as a Messiah, inventing everything and saying something isn't necessary then deciding it is necessary and claiming to invent or do it better. But, I still recognise that they have had an impact over the years, and while i hate the iPhone i do like how it spurred on competition to advance smartphones.