Vista SP1 and XP SP3 vs. Mac OS X and Linux

Despite constantly downplaying the relevance of Linux and Mac OS X, because of a variety of reasons, from high Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) to security risks and inferior shipment volumes, Microsoft is well aware of the real threat to Windows represented by the open source platform and Apple’s operating system. Windows itself, namely Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista RTM have proved incapable of negatively impacting the continuously increasing adoption of Linux and OS X, but with the advent of SP3 for XP and SP1 for Vista, Microsoft has virtually managed to breathe new life into Windows.