For Apple's 1,500 Irish workers, Mr Steve Jobs' announcement that its new strategic partner was its old enemy, Microsoft, could not have come at a better time. The Cork plant has closed down for its annual two-week holiday, and when the staff return on Monday, August 18th, they will have a spring in their step.

Since the $150 million deal was announced, many computer world analysts have rushed to claim that Mr Bill Gates has saved the smaller company, pulling it out of terminal decline. Supporting this case, they point to Apple's massive losses of late, and the closure of some factories around the world as part of a restructure.

Adding to the sense that Microsoft stooped to conquer, is the fact that Apple's share price soared by a third in the aftermath of the deal; if Mr Gates sold his $150 million stake this weekend, he would make a profit of $50 million for two days' work.

But that's not the view from Cork.

"Right now we have everything in place," said Apple's human resources manager Mr Bernard Cronin. "The basics are right, our operating system is better than any other, we have the fastest notebook computer in the world and the fastest desktop computer in the world. I would say our future is bright."

The alliance with Microsoft also serves in a roundabout way to strengthen Cork's role within the Apple empire. Although the deal is focused on development rather than manufacturing, the fact that Microsoft and Apple both have their European headquarters in Ireland, and the heads and senior managers of the two firms meet regularly at industry functions, can only add synergy.

Cork's internal position was also validated recently by the corporation's decision to close its printed circuit board factory in Singapore. The move has made the Munster plant the only Apple facility making PCBs as well as completed computers in the world, and it has been nominated as one of the firm's "centre of excellence".

Although Apple has no plans to hire more staff in Ireland, the deal is likely to generate new jobs at Microsoft's European headquarters, in Sandyford, Dublin. As part of the strategic alliance deal, Microsoft agreed to release upgrades of its popular Office programme for Apple computers, as well as Mac versions of its Internet browser, Explorer.

Both of these programmes require heavy "localisation" - the procedure that will convert an American-English programme into all of Europe's languages - and this will take place in Dublin. Microsoft has already confirmed the high content level in both programmes, making the process harder work, but has not yet said how many extra staff it might need to draft in for the task.

On a global level, the deal brings to a close years of bitter competition, in which Apple eventually wound up playing the part of the whining underdog. For years, each company tried to destroy the other, with Apple convincing many in the industry that its crisp, graphic-led interface was the better product.

Microsoft eventually produced its Windows operating system, seen by some as a poor copy of the Macintosh product, but quickly got the upper hand by agreeing to license the product to personal computer makers. Apple tried to hold on to its own technology.

Mr Jobs, a co-founder of Apple, recently returned to Apple as a special adviser while the company looks for a chairman and chief executive.

He said Microsoft's stake would be a nonvoting interest in Apple and that the larger firm had agreed not to sell its shares for at least three years.

In the financial sector, the deal was greeted with joy. Investors and analysts said the changes could be the best move Apple has made in recent years to halt its slide. They have underscored this opinion on Wall Street, pushing the shares of Apple in a sharp incline.

And while getting help from Microsoft will not endear loyal Macintosh fans - who say the Mac is still easier to use than Windows-based PCs - it is sure to encourage the rest of the industry and corporate computer users to continue to support Apple.

Analysts have also warmed to Mr Job's choices for the Apple board - a succession of industry heavyweights, led by Oracle's Larry Ellison, ironically a sworn enemy of Microsoft.

Others say the investment represents a shrewd way for Mr Gates to deflect criticism that Microsoft was stifling competition, allowing him claim that a healthy Apple is giving Microsoft a run for its money.

The only apparent loser from the deal is Netscape, Microsoft's bitter rival in the Internet software market. As part of the agreement, Apple will make Microsoft's Internet Explorer the easiest choice for accessing the Internet from a Macintosh, undermining Netscape's position.

"Microsoft has always treated Apple Macintosh users as second class citizens. We do not expect to see a a major change," a Netscape spokesperson said, referring to the fact that Microsoft traditionally has launched new products first for PCs running its own Windows operating system and only later added Macintosh versions.

In the education market, where Apple is now focusing much of its attention, Netscape offers free copies of its competing Netscape Navigator.

"We have a 90 per cent market share in education. Users can still opt to use Navigator at no cost, so we would not expect to see a big market swing," the company added.