Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have always been natural rivals. With both leaders vying for the same consumers and one always playing second fiddle to the other in discussions of wealth and industry impact, two distinctly different corporate cultures have emerged.

In essence, Apple plays the David to Microsoft's hulking Goliath. Where Microsoft is a lumbering corporate powerhouse, Apple's business is nimble and endlessly inventive.

But for the first time in his storied career, Bill Gates may be more threatened by Steve Jobs and Apple than ever before.

With Mac sales topping two million, iPhones selling in droves, and iPods continuing to dominate the portable media player market, demand for Apple products has never been higher.

And let's not forget that with its latest OS upgrade, Leopard, pouncing into stores on Friday, Microsoft may be in for a rude awakening.

The wow that never was

Remember Microsoft's promotion of Windows Vista when it claimed, "the wow starts now"? If so, you probably have had fond memories of belly laughs and snickering when you heard reports of sluggish Vista sales and computer manufacturers calling for the option to sell XP on systems again.

In a word, Vista has been a "flop". As more people start using the product, they immediately become aware that Vista feels unfinished and its painfully slow performance and constant prompts for permission are increasingly cause for a quick jaunt down to the local Apple store to buy a Mac.

Consider this: in a period where Microsoft was under fire for its new operating system, Apple has enjoyed record-breaking profits and an increase in overall computer market share.

Now's the time to buy a Mac

According to analysts, these figures will only continue to rise as people who buy an iPhone or iPod realise a Mac may be a more viable option.

To make matters worse, Apple is set to release Leopard on Friday, and with most expecting it to be a blockbuster hit that could easily eclipse Vista on functionality and usability, where is the impetus to buy Microsoft's product?

Leopard won't have the same driver issues you find in Vista, it will not annoy you with User Access Control prompts, and most importantly, it won't be rife with security issues. In fact, Leopard may surprise everyone and become the first Mac OS to gain significant market share from Windows.

After all, "it just works." There's just one version of it. That's more than you can say for Vista.

The funeral will start Zune

Amidst lofty iPod sales and the utter dominance Apple enjoys in the personal media player market, Microsoft's Zune has been floundering with no realistic chance of survival. Sure, the company is releasing a new version of the Zune that promises some nice features. But it's still too bulky and it lacks two important elements that every successful personal media player needs - an Apple logo and iTunes.

Central to Apple's success in the iPod business is iTunes. Without that same end-to-end solution, every other company is left with poor sales and hope for an iPod collapse. And while Microsoft offers the Zune Marketplace, it's still lacking the television shows and songs you can find on iTunes, and to be quite honest, it's far more difficult to navigate.

Worse, the Zune looks like last year's model when you compare it to the new iPods. Unlike the Zune, Apple's new iPod touch sports an iPhone chassis and the same touch screen you'll soon come to love.

In fact, the iPod Touch is the most intuitive device on the market. The Zune 2.0, on the other hand, is a mechanical device that relies on the same scroll pad you find on your run-of-the-mill iPod knock-off. Where is the innovation? Where is the uniqueness of Zune?

Say what you will, but the Zune will be gone in a year.

Apple "gets it"

More than anything, Apple just "gets it."

Unlike Microsoft, the company knows what consumers want and brings it to them. You called for a new way to play music, and Apple brought you the iPod. You asked for a stylish computer, and Apple brought you the iMac and MacBook. You asked for a revolutionary cell phone and the company brought you an iPhone.

Have you asked for security flaws in Vista or a downright ugly Zune? Do you want yet another clunky Windows mobile operating system or flawed business model?

For the first time, Microsoft is completely lost. And while it slowly tries to find its way back, Apple is quietly stalking the Redmond company, just waiting to take take a bigger bite of the pie. And with the success it is currently enjoying at the expense of Microsoft, Apple's opportunity to capitalize and become the supreme force in consumer electronics has never been greater.

I can hear the Apple fanboys cheering...