By David Salazar (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Jul 11, 2012 05:24 PM EDT

The latest battle between Mac and PC operating systems will take off this year when Apple and Microsoft release their latest operating systems within months of one another.

First off is Apple which will launch its highly anticipated OS X Mountain Lion before the end of July reports PC World.

The company recently released an almost finished version of the operating system known as Gold Master to appease users for the next few weeks. When Mountain Lion finally becomes available, users can download it for $20 at the Mac App Store. Any user who purchased a Mac on June 11 or after will be able to obtain Mountain Lion for Free.

Mountain Lion is slated to come with a plethora of new features including a new Messages app that integrates iMessage, voice dictation, Game Center, a notification Center, and eventually system-wide Facebook integration. According to ZDNet a security feature known as Gatekeeper will also be available.

Microsoft follows up Apple's act with the release of Windows 8 in October. The operating system is said to be the most dynamic modification of Windows' OS since Windows 95. The operating system will feature touch-centric interface that utilizes a series of tiles similar to those found in the Windows Phone. Those tiles will portray such information as calendar appointments, social networking updates, and emails-all in real time. The OS will also feature the traditional Windows desktop and current users of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 will be able to upgrade to the new interface for just $40. Users who upgrade will also get the pro version instead of the base version of Windows 8 and enable users to download the Windows Media Center for no cost. The upgrade offer will expire on January 31, 2013.

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