Which is best, Apple or Microsoft? There's only one way to find out, FIGHT!!!

Davey Winder
Wednesday, 30 July 2008 16:55

Your IT - Home IT

The shortlists for the inaugural British Technology Awards, organised by the publisher of ComputerActive, Gizmodo and Personal Computer World, have just been announced. There are 13 categories, and Apple has bagged 11 nominations with Microsoft just behind on 9. So who is up for what and where will your vote go?

It seems that the British public just cannot get enough of Apple, if the shortlist for the inaugural British Technology Awards is anything to go by. Featuring heavily across the 13 categories are the iPhone, iPod Touch, iTunes and Macbook Air.

Microsoft doesn't do too badly on the nominations front either, just 2 less than Apple in fact, with the Xbox 360, Windows Live, Windows Vista and Windows Media Player 11 looking for gongs.

Interestingly, the nominations were put to an open vote in order to get a true feeling of what the British public wanted to see in the big geek fight. And because of the way the awards have been structured, there could be some interesting battles ahead.

So as well as the obvious which is best between the BBC iPlayer, Facebook and YouTube bouts there will also be fights taking place between Guitar Hero and iTunes for example, in the Music Technology category.

Other notable match ups include the Home Entertainment Technology battle between the BBC iPlayer,  Sky and the Sony PlayStation 3. Then there is the classic five way 'King of the Ring' competition taking place between the Apple iPod, Facebook, Google Maps, Sky and Virgin Media to determine the Most Indispensable Technology. 

You have to feel kind of sorry for the Hornby DCC train sets and Scalextric Digital racing circuits that are pitched against the Nintendo DS in the Best Kids Technology category though, Hardly seems like a fair fight, almost like putting Mike Tyson in the ring against Sylvester Stallone.

Perhaps most interesting, and disappointing, of all is how few categories actually see Apple and Microsoft going toe to toe. There's iTunes and Windows Media Player 11 slogging it out in the Music Technology fight. There's the iPhone and Macbook Air attempting to knock out Vista for the Technological Innovation of the Year title.

And finally there is the Greenest Technology of the Year slugfest which pits OS X against Vista, which could be interesting. Not least because the Toyota Prius and Lexus LS600H automobiles are in the same fight!

So where do you go to have your say and make your vote count? Read page 2 to find out along with a full listing of all shortlisted nominations...

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