Mac OS X is five years old today. The folks over at Arse Technica have taken a look back over the years of the Macintosh, to see just how important OS X has been to the success of Apple, and what we had to deal with before it came along.
Apple was so desperate for a solution to its OS problem in the mid- to late 1990s that both Solaris and Windows NT were considered as possible foundations for the next-generation Mac OS. And even these grim options represented the end of a longer succession of abortive attempts at technological rejuvenation
[Ars Technica]

On a personal note: I'm well known by my friends as somebody who... dislikes... Apple products (if I hear one more iPod related buzzword I'll scream). Still, in the past I've had to deal with Macs, and before OS X came along, in my opinion at least, things were pretty grim. That's not to say you'll catch me singing the praises of the new Macs, or OS X, but OS X is cleary a good OS, providing it's your cup of tea.