Microsoft: Develops proprietary non-standard browser set to default on their dominating operating system, takes over the web
Apple: forks an open source browser project, develops Webkit out of it, gives it back to the community and works with the community, refuses to support proprietary buggy exploit-ridden browser plug-ins and helps kill it off from the web

i'm not happy about the whole h.264 thing either, but at least we know they have a reason--their idevices are only capable of decoding h.264 in hardware. it doesn't really make it any better but what they have done isn't anything near what MSFT did 10+ years ago.

I started out on the "I hate Windows 8" bandwagon, but... I am using Windows 8 in a Parallels VM on my MacBook Pro and I find its performance is so much better than Windows 7's. With Windows 7 I would have battery drains, fans, etc. when idling just like you say. Now with Windows 8 I literally leave the VM running 24/7 without a problem (8GB of RAM, Core 2 Duo 2.26GHz). Coherence doesn't work as well with Windows 8 due to the fullscreen nature of Metro, so I just run Windows 8 in its own workspace and three-finger swipe to it when I need it. The performance benefits of Windows 8 are pretty extraordinary. Don't tell my Apple-hating friends I said that though, I'm an Apple fanboy and wouldn't hear the end of it. :-)

And OS X doesn't let you choose a browser?

What browser do you run on OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Linux, or Hurd? If you said Firefox (the usual default browser in most distros)... guess what? Mozilla blocked Java too!

Mozilla did the same thing with blocking Java on Firefox on January 10th.

Java 7 Update 13 is out already and works on Macs again anyway.

I know, I can be dangerously addictive sometimes.

Typing the string has the same effect on the app as quitting the app. So.... have fun going to the apple store and quitting the apps.

Steve Jobs was a man with a lot of faults. Unfortunately, you aren't naming the right ones. Steve had an integral role in Apple's product designs. That's what he's like, known for.

Everyone will complain, but if I asked you to name one consumer tech company that does things most differently than any other, you'd say Apple. Why should Apple not enjoy the protection of these differences--which clearly make them very successful? I don't have a solution in particular here, but it's hard to claim that Apple has nothing to pursue here.

Re: 4. He said he got a parcel, I'm assuming from the post. So no one dropped it off, it was delivered.

I loved Gentoo, and in fact, I used it for longer than any of the other distros. But I didn't switch to OS X because I couldn't figure it out. Once I had everything configured to my liking, which, of course, takes quite a while on Gentoo, I didn't have a problem with the OS or how it performed on my system.

The problem was that I couldn't go to a store and buy anything. Hardware would only work if it's an extremely common type of hardware with standard drivers.

Buy a new wireless headset? The software to make it work (beyond just playing audio) is Win/Mac only.
I bought an iPhone before Android even existed. Software is Win/Mac only.
I don't like GIMP. I much prefer PhotoShop. Win/Mac only.
I like watching Netflix on my laptop. Win/Mac only.
I bought a Jawbone bluetooth for my phone. I can only configure it and change settings with Win/Mac software.
Something new, like Spotify comes out? Win/Mac only (although they have an unsupported Linux client nowadays)

It's random things like that that turned me off from Linux over time.

(And before anyone says it, using Windows in a VM would defeat the purpose, IMHO. And WINE, while nice, isn't foolproof either).

Mandrake -> Red Hat -> Xandros -> Gentoo -> OS X...

I love Linux and all, but the mainstream support of OS X combined with UNIX under the hood made the Mac the best platform for me. Sure, it's much more expensive, but I don't mind the additional money... after all, I am on my computer all the time anyway. I might as well spend the cash for the one I like best.

When Verizon got the iPhone, I was still in a contract with AT&T. By the time it was time to upgrade, Verizon had already promised the world to new iPhone customers with its unlimited data plan offerings, and then they turned around and forced everyone off of the plans. At least AT&T hasn't done that. And now that Sprint is an available carrier, I have a contract with AT&T again.

Am I reading this right?

AT&T institutes a policy that is so terrible, it has created a perception in the public that it might even be illegal. So instead of coming up with better ways to satisfy your customers, AT&T decides to defend their terrible policies by insisting "yes, this is legal!"? It's like the entire point went right over your heads. Where on Earth is your PR team?

Your customers all know that "data is data" and there's no technical reason to disallow FaceTime on all your old plans (you know those plans all of your long-time LOYAL customers are on). Your customers know that you are simply placing arbitrary restrictions on those data plans to creating a differentiating factor in your shared data plans. We are not stupid.

I switched to AT&T when the first iPhone was released, and I have stayed on board even after Apple has added new carriers, despite the fact that over time AT&T has gotten worse and worse about my unlimited data plan. Apple and the extremely Apple loyal fanbase has helped AT&T in creating the near-duopoly mobile carrier market we have today. Apple hit it big with the iPhone because, like all of their products, they go above and beyond to make elegant products, take care of their customers in any way they can, and foster the greatest experiences possible for their platform. If you provided the same experience as a carrier, you would have the iPhone market completely cornered. But instead you sacrifice all that potential just to squeeze more money out of the people who remain on your network. That's poor planning and, simply put, you're all stupid for it.

You're thinking too much like a techie. Regardless of whether the new market was carved out of excellent tech or excellent marketing, Apple is still carving new markets. If the iPad didn't exist, do you think the tablet market would look anything like it does today? No? Then Apple pretty much created a new market.