Microsoft copied Apple, or was it the other way round?

Allegations are flying around just a few days before the official launch of Apple’s new version of OS X, Tiger, that Microsoft copied Tiger when it came up with Longhorn.  Or was it the other way round?

CNET News.com has reported that Steve Jobs of Apple has accused Microsoft of copying Tiger:

As an avid softball player, I know that when you get a nice flat pitch, you swing for the fences.

Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs clearly knows that too. He didn’t miss a beat when a shareholder asked him if he had any thoughts on Longhorn, the next version of Windows.

"They are shamelessly copying us," he said during Thursday’s annual meeting.

Most telling, Jobs said is that Tiger, the next version of Mac OS X, will go on sale later this month, while Longhorn is still more than a year away.

"They can’t even copy fast," he said.

On the other hand, Jim Allchin, head of Microsoft’s Windows unit, has suggested that Apple has been copying Microsoft:

Allchin rejects the notion that Microsoft is a Tiger copycat, noting that the company demonstrated some of the virtual folder concepts in its Fall 2003 preview of Longhorn.

"They just might have copied us," Allchin said.

While it would be really interesting to know whether Microsoft copied Apple or vice versa, the big thing is that both companies are moving in a similar direction which suggests that they are making progress.  Don’t you think?

(via Scoble)