This year is shaping up to be a repeat of 2009, when Microsoft and Apple last faced off with rival operating system upgrades.



From ComputerWorld:

Earlier this month, to the surprise of many observers, Apple shipped a developers preview of Mac OS X 10.8, or Mountain Lion, and said it would ship the final code in "late summer 2012."

Most analysts expect Microsoft to deliver Windows 8 this year, probably in the fourth quarter. The company has slated the release of a so-called "Consumer Preview" version of Windows 8 for Feb. 29.

Ezra Gottheil, an analyst at Technology Business Research, said both vendors' desktop OS upgrades were strongly influenced by their mobile operating systems. "It looks like both have the mobile OS religion," he said.

  Microsoft, Apple set to rejoin OS battle