Apple is here to stay, according to an editorial by the editor-in-chief of ComputerWorld published Monday. Inspired by recent looks into ITis future that see Microsoftis decline without mentioning Apple as a part of that decline, Don Tennant wrote that it would be a mistake not to realize Appleis growing role in IT.

Mr. Tennantis piece harkened back to an interview he conducted with Microsoft founder Bill Gates when Big Redmond shipped Windows 95. In that interview, he asked Mr. Gates if it was a conscious decision to make Windows 95 look and feel more like the Mac OS (then Mac OS 7.5.x).

While Mr. Gates denied in direct attempts to copy the Mac ("We donit even think of Macintosh as a competitor," Mr. Gates told him), Mr. Tennant said that the reality is that Microsoft has often been perceived as a technological follower of Apple.

Why then is Apple today not seen as a threat to Windows? Most IT prognostication centers around Linux and Google as the big threat, but Mr. Tennant said that Mac OS Xis Unix foundations mean that Apple is here to stay.

"The best technology may not always win," he wrote. "But itis not going to go away, either."

There is much more on the subject in the full article at ComputerWorld, and we recommend it as an interesting read, especially considering Mr. Tennantis role of IT-oriented ComputerWorld.