The imminence of the Apple system launching and Microsoft's insistence in promoting not only Longhorn, but also the already old Windows XP leave no room for doubt: we are heading towards an operating system war.

At first, this affirmation might seem hilarious: what war can be waged between a giant like Microsoft whose Windows is installed on more than 85% of the PCs and Apple, which has 5% of the computer system market?

Hilarious or not, both sides are making acid remarks, like "They are shamelessly copying us…Innovation is the only way to win" - Steve Jobs about Longhorn or "a peripheral to the iPod" - Allchin about Tiger.

Actually, both competitors are aware the fight is not for proving who copied who or who will be the first (from that point of view, Microsoft has lost the battle), the stake is much more important.

Both Gates and Jobs are more than aware that the OS which will dominate the market in the next three-four years, will be the operating system for the next 20 years.

The argument of Windows lovers that there is no comparison between 90% and 5% is pretty slim because Apple has proved to be able to provide lots of units in a relative short amount of time. And the result of a growth from 5% to 10% will be a chain reaction that will make more Apple adepts.

In these conditions, considering Mac OS X Tiger as an iPod extension is a very big mistake, because in reality, Apple is much more than a competitor, is an alternative.

Apple's Mac OS X Tiger will be the missing part of the computer world in the last 20 years, because of its easy and stable usage.

So until 2006 when Longhorn will be released, the score is 1:0 for Apple. Let's see round two!