As PC World's Nick Mediati notes, Apple did drop its prices in early June, -- the most likely reason Apple's legal beagles gave Turner a jingle. Even at $1,499 instead of $1,799, though, MacBooks still aren't exactly what you would call a steal.

Turner also announced Microsoft was planning to locate its own -- and, when possible, right next door. That ought to make for an interesting photo op, when there's a line around the block for the next iPhone and the Microsoft store is as quiet as a church.

Microsoft competes with everyone, so it needs to worry about everyone (but mostly about Google). Apple really competes only with itself. Think about it another way: Microsoft is trying to make a comeback in public perception by picking on somebody it's already beating in its primary market by a ratio of almost 10 to 1.

So this battle is really more like . But even if Microsoft manages to squash Apple into a deer-sized pancake, it will never win the battle for the hearts and minds of consumers. Because nobody loves the big scary lizard.

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