It's almost laughable the way computer users have such a passion about which operating system they prefer. The Apple cultists who booed Steve Jobs at the MacWorld trade show when he revealed a partnership with bitter rival Microsoft typify the kind of loyalty the company generated.

By all reports ordinary working people turned out in mass droves to see what Apple had on offer to save the company. "I'm going to be sick,'' the Financial Times reported one as saying when Mr. Jobs announced the alliance.

Another said: "People in my office are terrified that they might have to switch to Windows one day.'' Windows users scoff at this kind of sentimentality. They are the more practical types. They have gone through the years of dealing with the unwieldy commands of the Microsoft system. They got their reward for the painful years when Microsoft developed the Windows 95 operating system. Suddenly the difference with the Apple system was price, and the vaster number of programmes available for the Microsoft system.

Apple Computer, which was founded by Mr. Jobs and Stephen Wozniak in 1976, pioneered the use of the personal computer and a systems design that helped make the Macintosh easier to use -- that is until Windows 95, and now Windows NT.

Apple makes computers -- the Macintosh. It also develops the operating software -- such as Mac-OS -- which run them. Microsoft is a software company which makes the operating software Windows, and application software, such as spreadsheets and word processors. Operating software guides the basic functions of a computer. Application software or programmes use the operating software to get the computer to do specific tasks. (Check out "Bluff your way in Computers'' by Robert Ainsley and Alexander Rae, two jokers who'll guide you on how to talk about computers without actually owning one.) Apple is the perfect example of a pioneering company that failed to take advantage of the beauty of its product and fizzled away its business. Even before the Macintosh was unveiled in 1984, the company made a strategic decision not to allow other computer makers to use its operating system. It wanted to sell an integrated package -- computer and operating system. Perhaps this integration of hardware and software is what makes the Macintosh a joy to use -- its intuitive efficiency.

The strategy didn't pay off in the face of Microsoft's smarts. Microsoft allowed computer makers to use its system for a price and then let them go to work selling it. The company then cashed in on the sheer volume the computer makers sold, and on the programmes it created for its operating system. The world became Microsoft dominated while Apple became a niche player, lauded mainly by those in the publishing, home user and education sectors.

The result: Apple lost $1.7 billion in the last 21 months. Since Microsoft unveiled Windows 95 two years ago Apple's market share has dropped to less than four percent from eight percent.

Still, a struggling Apple continues to be an innovative company. Unremarked in much of the press coverage over Microsoft's $150 million investment in the company, was Apple's unveiling of its new products. These include what it claims is the fastest desktop computer now available, a new workgroup server, and a printer designed for the publishing industry.

And the company still has 26 million loyal fans. The introduction of Mac OS 8 operating system in July probably kept them happy. Apple reports strong demand for the product. Many are awaiting the new Rhapsody operating system, which the company aims to release next year.

But how long can they be expected to keep faith that the product will continue to have the vast array of applications needed to do the job at hand? How many will be willing to pay the much greater price for a Macintosh? Not me. I hope Apple survives, but since I'm in the market for a computer I'm debating putting my money into a Microsoft system. Still I'll miss the smiley face which appears when a Mac is turned on.

Last week's column was about the way in which the travel industry was being changed by the Internet. I mentioned Meyer Agencies Ltd. as developing a site at which customers could book trips through the SABRE system. I didn't mention that competitor Tradewinds Travel Ltd. (sabreres.com /9e54) is already on the SABRE system. Franklin Travel is also working on a web site. I'm sure there are others. Meyer was used only as an example of what's happening here.

Tech Tattle is a weekly column which focuses on technological developments and computer industry issues. If you have any ideas for topics or a business you would like to discuss, please call Mr. ElAmin at 295-5881, ext. 241 or at home 238-3854.