You sound like the guys I used to argue with when I first got into software in the mid nineties who were convinced Microsoft will never fall. Consumer is stupid enough, Microsoft can tie whatever the hell they want to the operating system, it doesn't matter. Then most of the web servers were Linux servers, then smartphones where Microsoft's already tried once and failed and are trying again. And now these days, I've been reading about mutual funds and it's the value managers buying Microsoft because it's so cheaply priced, not the growth managers who buy good companies expecting it to grow.

American consumerism is filled with stories of "SHINY" brands that dominate and then recede. Quickly coming to mind, Hilfiger clothing, Compaq computers, Playboy, Blackberry phones... Meanwhile at home, the brand Microsoft has become synonymous with a broken computer. Even my Mom hates Microsoft.

With this decision Apple has made, it's clear to me they're not trying to build a brand that America will trust and will endure. They're just milking it for all its worth while the going is good.

The only reason they're doing this is because they can. But neither their dominance in design nor their trendy fashionabilityy is going to last forever. There's going to come a time in the next 5 years when Apple's going to have to compete more on price. And, people are going to remember how Apple treated people back when..

Apple is milking their pristine brand for all its worth and with a step like this, it's going to sour.

I bought $6K of $AAPL over 10 years ago that's now worth over $150K. Moves like this by AAPL just remind me there's going to come a time in the next 5 years, that I need to sell and get the hell out.