For the first time, Microsoft will make its own Windows PCs. The company will be in direct competition with hardware partners such as HP and Dell, and judging from early reactions, Microsoft is in a good position to win. The potential effects of Surface on the PC market can't be understated.

And yet, anyone who's paid attention to the tech industry for the last five years shouldn't be too surprised. Microsoft's approach with Surface--designing the hardware in tandem with the software--is the same approach that Apple has taken for decades. And Apple's method is paying off--just look at the rise of the iPhone and iPad, and the success of the MacBook Air. It took a few years for other companies to catch on, but now it's finally happening.

"We believe that any intersection between human and machine can be made better when all aspects of the experience--hardware and software--are considered in working together," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Surface press event. You could probably attribute that quote to Steve Jobs and get away with it.

Microsoft's not the only company that's taken a liking to Apple's approach. Google also intends to build more of its own hardware. A new , manufactured by Asus, may be announced next week at the Google I/O developers conference, according to numerous reports. Several , including new Nexus phones, are also reportedly on the way. Don't forget that Google now owns a hardware maker, Motorola, which may start churning out its own Nexus hardware in the future.

Google has built Nexus phones (in conjunction with a hardware partner) before, but the emphasis is different now. Nexus devices were once meant to be a reference for developers and hardware makers. Now, Google seems to view them as a way to deliver Android software and Google Play services directly to consumers, unmodified by other companies and untainted by bloatware.