While I'm sure that some similarities exist, a J2EE server is not an operating system.

Ummmmm I'm not so sure about this portion of your comment. When you think of an operating system there are (at least) 2 distinct functions. 1) Abstract hardware resources so that they are easily accessable via an API for developers. Java does this via it virtual machine and the J2EE API. 2) Provide a set of tools to allow an operator to execute applications, monitor performance, diagnose faults, etc, etc. Java provides these services with frameworks like JMX, Servlet,and EJB. The reason I even mention this is because I'm well into my 1st year seriously delving into J2EE (though I've used Java for years to build simple utilities) and it distinctly reminds me of being a young C programmer and discovering the power and utility of learning the Unix API. J2EE is to Java what the Unix API is to C. Having meet these 2 criteria bluring the line between development platform and operating system; what's left that seperates J2EE from a traditional OS? So I guess I'm saying not only do similarities exist, but what's the difference?