Okay, Apple is worth more than Microsoft (thanks to gadgets, not software). So what. Shouldn't change a thing for Microsoft except -- in my opinion -- to embrace more open standards and open formats to counter Apple's closed ecosystem built around that Sunday School called "App Store."
-zridling
It's a game of cat and mouse IMO. Long term-wise, Microsoft's DirectX keeps Linux from having a much equal ground in game support.
The only huge difference is that Microsoft was the dominant leader then.
In a way, Apple's gadgets allow their software to have exposure like Itunes and they are far nearer to Microsoft than they were in any other period precisely because of the way software and hardware is intertwined nowadays.
It's really the price that has kept them back but it's uphill for MS too. You can only milk Windows 7 until you have to match up with the demands and then once the OS playing area gets evened out, it's much more of a reality for Apple to pull the Firefox of gadgets to catch up to Microsoft. Sure, Firefox is open source so the comparison is off except Firefox became this way after Netscape found a trick to breathe life to a dead horse.
With the way the App Store is working out for them, the only reason Apple is giving Google a chance is because they are open but nothing changes stubborn business like being out-competed in a near monopoly-level setting.
