What need is there for a "reaction" to Vista on the part of Apple? Vista is basically a reaction to the last 4 generations of MacOS X.
Apple, I suspect, will just continue doing what they have been doing so well - developing quality hardware and a super OS that is more secure and still more user friendly than any version of Windows to date, including Vista.
Even many Pro-MS/Windows publishers have put their reviews of Vista in context of what OSX Tiger (and the soon-to-be released Panther) ALREADY do. If I were Bill Gates, I would be most worried that OSX is the benchmark by which my own software is evaluated.
Over the years, Windows has grown closer to the Mac OS in features and user-friendly-"nes", yet still seems to be trying to play catch-up more than being truly innovative. Yes, from what I have heard, Vista has some interesting features, although some have a bit awkward implementation. Yet most of these new features are just warmed over versions of what OSX already contains.
And to continue with that idea - at what cost the "new" Windows? I suspect many will have to do some serious upgrading (either components or whole new machines) to be able to satisfactorily run Vista. The eye candy and features come with some serious hardware load.
But hey----Let the FUD continue...
How long until Vista SP1 and SP2? How long until some MAJOR security holes rear their ugly heads?
I will continue using my several year-old MDD Power Mac that has never seen nor worried about worms, virii, or other Malware....
True … perhaps I should have made it clear that "How will Apple react to Vista?" was Enderle's original title, not mine.
I agree with you that Apple doesn't have to worry about "reacting" to Vista … and if there's any "reacting" to be done, it will be in the form of operating system upgrades (see Leopard) and hardware upgrades.