Hey, Vista, meet Mac OS 10.5 Leopard

Last week, while Microsoft was preparing to announce its Windows Vista Release Candidate 1, CNET obtained an early alpha developer's release of Apple's new Mac OS 10.5 Leopard. While it is grossly unfair to compare a feature-complete operating system from Microsoft with an early build of a new operating system from Apple, we couldn't resist. The features in Vista haven't changed much since we first started looking at the OS last year, while Apple promises yet more surprises in future builds of Leopard. At the moment, Microsoft remains on schedule in its ambitious plan to complete Windows Vista for enterprise customers by November, with a consumer release slated for January 2007. Apple says Leopard should be out to consumers by April 2007. But if Microsoft should fall behind a few months, or if a second or third release candidate is required, consumers might find themselves debating whether to go Vista or Leopard for their next OS.