It's about time! iPhone, iPod, and the iPad have made the company more money in the last 5 yrs than their computer sales. Apple computers are generally superior anyway, but from what I've seen people stay away from them largely because of the lack of video game support. Now we just need to wait for Apple to release a video game console to compete with the Xbox.
I'm completely ignorant concerning Apple gadgets. Never been much for gadgetry, mostly because I feel I lack the money to walk around using a $500 piece of electronics as an mp3-player.
It's a conspiracy, Apple and Microsoft were founded within three days of one another - Apple agreed to let Microsoft run the show for a while providing they kept a shit UI; Apple started loosing too much market share and at the risk of going broke released the iphone in a half-assed attempt at monopolising a market. 3 years later, they realised that 2G wasn't sufficient on a high end device 5 years ago and released a "revamped" model with features that should have been in the original. This was hugely popular with the goofy, dimwitted fucks that unfortunately make up 98% of the current population. To them, a phone has to be 'recognisable' - even if it were only for tech from the 90's - with a phat screen and piss-poor resolution so that the software is forced not to display words of more than three letters; this ensured the moronic little consumer minds could digest information and actually retain it without puking. They're both as evil as hell, though. Apple is probably worse mind you, atleast M$ didn't invent a completely redundant programming language for their private, propietory OS that may very well upload personal data to the hivemind. Ohwait, they do have windows and that C# thing along with a BASIC derivative Still, atleast we don't have an appstore in windows (yet) -- and that's probably only because Apple have patented it like they did with multitouch.
Video game support is one thing, but until recently parts for Apple computers were years behind that of what you could use for a Microsoft OS. I do believe they are catching up. Microsofts' Zune HD is an MP3 Player that has apps for it. I'd say Google is only a few years behind having it's own OS and computer brand, they already have a phone. And an internet service that involves you flushing the cable down your toilet, you have your line hooked up by sewer rats (Hired by Google), and the modem sits on the back of the can.
Google already has an OS - Android. 'Officially' they're just another member of the open handset alliance which owns it, but google have *a lot* of influence there and have been pushing their own feature set for years.
Apple can pry my PC from my cold dead hands and I don't have an mp3 player let alone an ipod. I do have a Milestone though, the Google Android platform is awesome.
I don't know how it is in the States, but in Sweden you will have to pay around 300 dollars more for the same hardware if you are going for a Mac. "Oh look, I'm a fancy laptop with a OLED shifitng colour behind a transparent Apple sign." Pussies.
iPod is a great product. iPhone would be that way in versions that are correctly updated to today's technology, although I can't say the same for iPad. Still, I can't really see why someone (who isn't a graphics designer) would go for a Mac instead of a PC though. Even engineering and architectural design programs work better on Windows. With the rise of the awesome Windows 7, no reason to go for a Mac.
Apple isn't new or revolutionary, they just make products that fit in with the more "contemporary" consumer. Basically, I'm making the generalization that all apple owners like to smell their own farts because of how hip they are, like you need some sort of masturbatory narcissism to properly use any apple product. Just kidding. But it does seem odd that apple products and services seem to mushroom (cloud) at an incredible pace these days. Eventually we'll all be hit by the pressure wave that comes with accepting a monopoly in a modern economy. Apple's just too popular now, and while I have a small iPod shuffle (4 gigs of music), I'm not about to go all out apple and replace my computer tower with a powermac of any alphanumerical classification (g5, etc). I just like iTunes. Does that make me a hypocrite? Not entirely, though my moral sense of "good & evil" isn't quite maxed out anymore. I'm missing some light side points.
Thank you, Grossenschwamm. More or less what I was thinking. I saw the news the other day, one story was regarding the uselesss iPad launch - among the general fagotry lining up to purchase it was one buck-toothed pimply teen who. in his own homoerotic voice, happily exclaimed that because it was an Apple Launch he "had' to come. Despite nearly putting my foot through the TV, I came to realise something much as you described. Apple is very, very clever at luring the average consumer into purchasing an expensive sub-par product if only because of the status symbol that follows. The fact that the iphone and ipod have been so succesful confirms that. Mind you, I wouldn't be joking about the wanking attribute assigned to such tosspots to be honest.