But that’s beside your besides the point…point. Or something (forgive me, recent medical…issues have made me feel in a permanent semi-fog) – I agree with your points about computers becoming more and more a part of a person’s life. It’s been amazing to watch the transformation of world culture to be quite honest. Growing up, if you were a computer enthusiast, as I was, it definitely carried with it negative connotations, as being a nerd/geek was not a good thing (people finally wised up though, thankfully). And you are right, and the mobile market is definitely the big thing now, as the cell phone has become as ubiquitous as underwear in our society (except those of you that go Commando, you know who you are!), which explains Apple’s foray into that market as well as Google’s and Microsoft’s (Windows Mobile – augh).

What I’d like to see is prices on quality computing devices come way down though, and with the current economic debacle the US has gotten itself into, that day might be coming, as the demand in the biggest market will most likely go way down if the financial armageddon predicted comes to be. I find myself in a difficult position to have accurate predictions about this because for as long as I can remember I have always bought the most cutting edge hardware. With things I personally like, I don’t skimp on them, even if it means spending more, but a lot of people have kids and other financial burdens (did I just lump kids in with financial burdens…I did! ha!) which take precedence. The old adage, “you get what you pay for” does pertain for most things still, so I don’t see the better products ever coming down in price relative to the crappy products, and as the younger generation(s) start to have more money (if they have a job), they will demand computers that better interact with themselves, which should (logically thinking) drive up demand, and thus cause more people to make them (wishful thinking I know).

What won me over to a Mac was the inclusion of the command line, but for most it’s the ease of use and intuitiveness with things that just ‘work’. But I still use my PC (for one, at work that’s what I *have* to use), and there are just some applications that I regularly use that are just not found on the Mac (Peerguardian 2, Newsleecher, Soulseek). Plus I am a gamer and while Mac does have some games, not all of them work on it, and while I am playing them less and less the busier I become, it’s still nice to know they’re there. On top of that, I build my PCs, and well, you can’t build a mac from spare parts :\ – Release the software, Jobs, it’s what makes Macs great!

Sorry if I made no sense, but I am operating on only a few cylinders these days.

I certainly agree with the point you make about Apple’s OS being too proprietary — it would be great to see an open-source version of it released to the public. But, come on, isn’t that just Unix?

That’s besides the point, though. What I do want to make a point about is the reason for Windows’ market prevalence — yes, you’re right, its share initially reached critical mass because of economic reasons. But what you’re failing to recognize is the fact that it was an age completely different from today’s in terms of our relationship to computers. Back then, they were “computational machines” — utilitarian purchases, for which one had every reason to do price comparisons much like those between a brand name cereal and a store brand one. Because, after all, paying as little as possible for a product as long as it “did the job” was perfectly fine.

Today, however, computers — and note this is a much broader term than it used to be, because your iPhone is a computer as is your Wii and your Roomba and your wheelchair — have much greater role in our lives. It no longer suffices to just suffice. We spend 80% more time with — and I’m saying “with,” not “in front of,” because that’s the nature of our interaction with them — our computers than we used to just a few years ago. And just like we don’t make friends with losers because they’re needier (a.k.a. “cheaper”) and easier to befriend, we should no longer settle for an inferior computer because it’s, well, cheaper. Because the computer, as a cultural entity, has evolved from a purely utilitarian work aid to a complex lifestyle companion. Our selection process and criteria should’ve evolved accordingly.

What I would LOVE Apple to do is to release the OS to the mainstream, allow it to be installed on a wide variety of hardware, make drivers for different hardware, but charge support for it if it’s not installed on Genuine Apple Hardware. Because, as we all (probably) know, the hardware is no different (aside from external design) between a Mac and PC, it’s what’s facilitating the conversation between the user and the hardware (some call this the OS) that’s different, and that is what makes Macs so appealing (at least to me). Having owned an Apple IIgs, a MacBook, a Powerbook, and several iPods, I will say that there is nothing special about Apple hardware aside from its design, it breaks just as much (if not more, sorry…) as other hardware does, it’s made in the same South Asian factories, they just stick a fancy covering and a huge price tag on it. Apple, do what PCs were forced to do in the early 80s and allow your best product, OS X, to be disseminated to anyone that wants it, regardless of whether they buy your hardware or not.

In closing, I’m a Linux junkie – then again, I’m a software developer, and not your grandmother who only wants to look at pictures of the grandkids on her computer. What I’d love is to have a multi-core computer (come on, they’re ALL PCs [a Mac is not a personal computer...?]), running OS X, Linux, and Windows all at the same time (although I’d keep Windows inside its very own VM for security reasons) – they all have their advantages and I’d love the choice to seamlessly switch between all of them – it’s possible, I have Windows running on my Linux box right now…the only thing that’s missing is an official version of OS X that I can run. So, come on Apple. Do me a solid.