Apple's announcements today were a little bit of a disappointment, considering the hype that had been building. No, there were no new iPods announced. No iTunes movie deals. Instead, there was a lot of talk about Leopard, the operating system scheduled to ship next spring.

The comparisons to Microsoft's upcoming Vista were inevitable, and Apple fueled that fire itself by hanging banners that referenced Microsoft at the event, held at San Francisco's Moscone Center. See this Engadget posting for photos.

The banners said things like, "Hasta la vista, Vista" and "Redmond has a cat too. A copycat." Cute.

Apple announced a new line of fast desktop computers called the Mac Pro that will use a chipset from Intel. The computers will replace Apple's Power Macs and could run for about $2,500.

Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs had this to say about Microsoft in his keynote speech: "Our friends in Redmond, they spend over $5 billion in R&D, but these days they just try to copy Google and Apple. So I guess it's a good example of how money isn't everything."

Some reaction:

Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg: "Once again, Apple has taken a leap over what Microsoft will deliver."

"It's a slight disappointment," Gene Munster, analyst at Piper Jaffray, told Reuters. "They announced exactly what people were expecting. To get a rise (in stock price) you have to surprise investors."

Om Malik: "The big takeaway is that Mac OS X's next version, Leopard is going to be one of the most complete OSes to leverage broadband connections, and even higher speed pipes available inside our home."

The Guardian Unlimited on Apple's taunts: "Perhaps Jobs merely intended to 'feed the failthful', but it makes Apple's management look like a bunch of jerks, it alienates potential switchers, and it just invites those who haven't drunk the Kool-Aid to snipe back."