But the PARC machines used Icons to represent actions, not objects. Microsoft brought us Windows 95, which did, indeed, capture much of the Mac look and feel with files given unique icons and with directories now displayed as folders exactly as they were in Mac. And most people will prefer the Mac too, without knowing why. But obviously they are not exact, even if Coates can't tell the difference. Mac fanatics fumed that Windows 95 was far inferior to their beloved machine, but it certainly was close enough to utterly destroy Macintosh as a competitor.
Words mean things.
Of course the truth is not as much fun to read as a good spin, and it doesn't sell as much copy. So we are subjected to Coates-Tales. They are different machines, with different markets. These must be the questions Coates asked himself, consciously or not. Too bad he failed these questions.