Microsoft, Apple hard

About the work

In the early 1990s, two empires were at war. Microsoft shipped Word and Excel on white plastic disks. Claris - Apple's software arm - released FileMaker Pro on midnight blue. Across offices, schools, and homes, users increasingly found themselves aligned with one ecosystem or the other.

Microsoft, Apple hard assembles those original artefacts - real, unmodified disks from that era - into a single relief work. At its centre sits an original first-generation wireless Apple Mighty Mouse, Apple's first foray into multi-button design, its Apple logo the fulcrum around which the whole composition turns. Microsoft white and Claris blue radiate outward, locked into permanent coexistence.

This is not a reproduction. Every disk is original. Every label carries the wear of its era. The piece protrudes from its flat frame in full relief. No glass, no barrier - part archive, part sculpture, demanding to be seen from multiple angles.

"The software that once ran the world, now framed." - Adam Noakes

A brief history in objects

1991: Microsoft Word and Excel ship on 3.5″ HD disks for the Apple Macintosh Series. Claris FileMaker Pro ships alongside them — different colour, same battlefield.

2006: Apple releases the wireless Mighty Mouse - its first wireless multi-button mouse. Apple concedes that one button is not enough. A quiet admission. A design landmark.

2025: 'Microsoft, Apple hard' is created. The disks and the mouse share a frame for the first time. The war is over. The artefacts remain.

Dimensions

Framed; Width (490 mm) -  Height (368 mm) - Depth (20 mm) - Protrusion (70 mm)

Art area; Width (410 mm) -  Height (285 mm) No glass.

Weight; Lightweight - suitable for standard picture hooks < 2 kg

Materials

Original 3.5″ floppy disks - Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Claris FileMaker Pro (Apple Macintosh Series, circa 1991).

Apple Mighty Mouse, first-generation (original wireless hardware, 2006) - Apple's first multi-button mouse.

Flat frame, no glass.

Enquire

This work is sold as a unique 1/1 original. A certificate of authenticity (COA) detailing all materials, dates, and edition status accompanies the piece. Created in late 2025. 

Offered by private sale. Serious buyers are welcome to enquire. International shipping available. 

The piece is now available to view and purchase, in Melbourne VIC.

Price

$450 AUD + Shipping

One work available. No reproductions will be made.