Are people threatened by Apple?
I think a lot of it has to do with snob appeal and the religious fervor that a lot of Mac addicts display. Apple is a bit more style conscious (but being Italian, I love that aspect) and the price, which reflects that, is prohibitive to a lot of people.
But Steve Jobs really is a visionary. If it wasn't for Apple, people would still be happily clanking away on ugly, beige beasts of burdens. Apple has forced the home computer market to adopt innovative ideas. Witness how many products rip off the look, feel, interface(s) etc. of Apple.
And from a purely capitalist perspective, they are probably the only "computer" company that has not only been able to adapt, but to thrive in an age when pirated digital media/content has sucked the life out of the movie/music/software business models of the 20th century.
I started using computers in the early 80's, running Cakewalk under DOS. Back when 256k memory was considered kicking arse! lol. It has taken my whole life for technology to finally get to the point where you can compete with world class facilities without spending millions of dollars in the process.
I had about $10,000 bucks invested in a G5 Mac recording set-up and I just recently bought a Mac Mini for $799.00 running the new Snow Leopard OS just for a media server/play toy and it blows what was cutting edge just a few years ago, out of the water. And when you include the software that comes loaded with every new Mac, you really have some powerful tools to work with, right out of the box. So price/performance is at a golden age for both PC and Macs. We really are living in wondrous times my friends!
Now, where is my goldarn jetpack?
