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A recently leaked source code revealed unreleased themes for Microsoft’s Windows XP OS.
One of those themes was labeled “Candy,” and it bears a resemblance to Apple’s Aqua interface. The Aqua theme uses shadows, metallic textures, and rounded buttons. These elements also appeared in Microsoft XP.
The Candy theme was never actually released. Instead, Windows developers used it as a placeholder when creating the theme for Windows XP.
In the end, Microsoft settled on another theme called Luna when Windows XP was released in 2001. The theme incorporated a blue, green, and silver color scheme. Luna also came with an iconic default background that featured a green hill and blue sky with clouds.
Themes have often been considered an important differentiator between computer brands, as users tend to immediately notice designs. Although Microsoft and Apple have been in fierce competition over desktop operating systems for decades, the two have actually borrowed some elements from each other, like browsing and navigation designs. As time passed, the focus of the two tech giants shifted from visual aspects to functional ones, such as performance and security.