Five years in the making, in excess of five million testers, over 50 million lines of code (unconfirmed by Microsoft), and costs exceeding $6 billions (the best billions Bill Gates has ever spent) has produced Windows Vista, an operating system accused of ripping off Mac OS X. But is there any truth to this?

Well, the average Vista and Mac OS X users will rarely have the chance to access both operating systems side by side in order to make up their mind. In this context, the largest percentage of users will never be able to provide an answer to the question, is Windows Vista a copy of Mac OS X?

The fact of the matter is that Apple itself has perpetuated this belief. I recall Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference from August 2006. "Hasta la vista, Vista" and "Microsoft start your photocopiers" banners have made the delight of participants.

"While Vista does its best to copy some features that have been in Mac OS X for years, Mac OS X offers an experience that is simply years ahead. It's designed to make the time you spend at your computer not only productive, but enjoyable - not exactly the kind of experience PCs are known for," reads an excerpt from an article on the Apple's website.

And this is bigger than the consumers. It is a face-off between Apple and Microsoft that will be fueled for years to come. But this does not mean that there have not been attempts to settle the matter once and for all. New York Times tech columnist, David Pogue has a great video that demonstrates that Windows Vista does NOT copy Mac OS X. Enjoy!