We hear a lot of talk about how Apple used to have a solid lead in the innovation department, but pride and corporate missteps let Microsoft catch up and even surpass the company. The classic example is the computer's human interface. Yeah, Apple had a GUI with folders and point-and-click back when Microsoft was still peddling DOS as the way to talk to a computer, but these days Apple's interface hasn't improved all that much and some people think Windows is even better. (Not that we share that opinion-- we think it's largely held by people taking advantage of Windows bundle deals that include Microsoft Crack 99™.)

But whether or not you happen to think that Microsoft's stolen the GUI crown, we have to admit, albeit grudgingly, that Bill Gates has definitely surpassed Steve Jobs in one crucial area: corporate brainwashing and mind control. Back in the day, Steve was a much more effective cult leader. C'mon, you saw Pirates of Silicon Valley-- his workers were kept sleepless and subdued, while Steve doled out project t-shirts to eliminate any sense of identity outside Apple's walls. The man was a cult-leading genius. These days, though, Steve's a little more enlightened, a bit more open, and just a hair less prone to violent fits of rage (so we're told). Sadly, that's left the door open for Bill Gates to take the lead in the Cult Race.

Yup, according to The Globe Daily, "Microsoft is using techniques favored by religious cults to get its employees to tow [sic] the company line." Dave Arnott's new book, Corporate Cults: The Insidious Lure Of The All-Consuming Corporation, claims that Microsoft employees refer to themselves as "Softies" and are told that they've been "chosen to help liberate the world through software code." Microsoft also gives its employees "exercise facilities, errand boys and plenty of job-related parties to ensure they have no life outside of work." (Hmm, wonder if Microsoft's got a Joy Division?) Going even further, Arnott insists that Bill Gates wields his charisma "in the same way as Heaven's Gate guru Marshall Applewhite: by inspiring both fear and devotion in his underlings." Now who's drinking the Kool-Aid? Oh, it's sad to see that Apple's fallen so far behind... Memo to Steve: institute a white-robes-only dress code and implement mandatory weekly electroshock "oneness" treatments, stat!