Sure, but there are more differences.  Apple's customers are all Apple's customers by choice, wheras MS customers are largely MS customers by cohesion.  "I have to be compatible with (business|school|friends/family) and therefore I have to run windows."

It's funny -- MS makes terrible mistakes that they claim aren't mistakes, then they have to clean them up later.  They're remarkably short-sighted.  Bill Gates stated, not all that long ago, that the Internet would never pick up for home users so they weren't going to design around it.  When it did become popular, they refused to create a security model around it.  Instead, in order to beat Netscape in the browser wars, Microsoft integrated their insecure browser closely with their OS ensuring security nightmares for years to come.

Now, about 10 years after everyone else had been implementing UAC, Microsoft introduced an overly-aggressive and piss-poor implementaion of UAC with Vista, claiming it was a security innovation.  Of course, by being overly aggressive it has the opposite effect as security and only trains users to type their password whenever prompted.

The problem isn't that MS copies its competitors and is late to the game over and over.  The problem is that MS misses the point when it does so and ends up with a shitty copy.  With the Xbox 360, you see primarily the fruit of better companies than MS -- those quality third parties putting out quality games.  Whereas the actual hardware for the 360 might be the worst hardware in the history of consumer electronics.

So what has MS done good lately?  I don't care much for Apple, but at least they don't make stupid decisions over and over and over.  At least they've made successful products this decade and at least they can perform standard business functions (like successful marketing campaigns), generating profit in multiple divisions, increasing consumer loyalty, supporting consumers properly, etc.

LOL Microsoft was never split by the gov't.

in response to the OP it'll be a long time before Microsoft's lack of a competetive edge becomes a real issue , they are an integral part of the way we live and that's not going to change too soon.

It's a fact that they're vulnerable.  Why do you think they make office compatibility so difficult?  Why do you think they're breaking antitrust laws?  Why do you think MS strongarms companies like Dell into selling little or no Linux to home users?  Why do you think they're struggling so hard to find another way to be profitable despite failing over and over and over again?  Why do you think they keep trying to acquire successful companies?

Yes, Microsoft did create the single wealthiest people in the world through successfully stealing products and ideas.  No one, not even Microsoft will dispute these facts.  Look at /Pirates of Silicon Valley/ or /Triumph of the Nerds/ and you'll see that these things are true. 

The problem MS has is that they can't seem to replicate that success through normal business methods.  And their time with Office being on top is limited -- Google, IBM, Apple and Sun are among the best companies that would all love to release an Office program.  Google already has a suite that is gaining popularity with business users.  When Office falls, Windows won't be far behind and those are the only two areas that Microsoft makes money on right now.

So you can see, can't you, why MS is trying so damn hard to be successful somewhere else.  Because while Windows and Office are insanely profitable, that profit is not gauranteed forever.