Gentlefolks all:
I registered here specifically for this thread, from a Windows-user perspective.
First, I have absolutely nothing against Macs. They're damned good machines. That having been said...
The issue is that Mac has allegedly outsold Dell, and the question that arises is, so what? It is entirely possible that Macs will outsell one brand of Windows boxes now and again.
When one wants to buy a Windows puter, one can buy an IBM, or a Dell, or a Hewlett-Packard, or a Gateway, or a Compaq, or a Sony, or a Toshiba, or a generic machine, or have one specially built, or build one's own.
When one wants to buy a Mac, one can buy a Mac, or... what?
There were two eras of Macintosh clones (or Maclones): the unauthorized period, when clones were reverse engineered or built around ROMs, or logic boards removed from existing Macs, and the authorized period, when Apple approved vendors and authorized hardware designs.
The Macintosh Clones
"Apple approved vendors and authorized hardware designs." Do it OUR way or NO way!
Q: how many members of this BB have built their own Macs from components available online or in the specialty stores? Are Mac mobos being made for the end-user market by Abit, AMI, AOpen, ASUS, BIOSTAR, Chaintech, DFI, ECS, Elpina, Epox, FIC, Gigabyte, Micro-Star, PC Chips, Shuttle, SiS, Soyo, Tyan, Via Technologies Inc, etcetera?
It's arguable that Jobs' insistence on Apple having the whole pie, and being the arbiter of what can and cannot be done, has hurt the effort to compete with the ubiquitous Windows boxes, which have no such restrictions. The only consideration with the latter is, will it run Windows more reliably and cost-effectively than our competitors can offer?
As for the tacky multi-colored Apple products, they might be "kewl" in a kid's room, but you won't find them in your average business environment.
Next, the use of a proprietary op system and a CPU that's fundamentally different from the Intel/AMD chips hurts software development. Given a choice of focusing on Windows-based apps or writing two versions of each app, one of which has limited sales potential by definition, what's the expected decision?
Check out Staples or Babbage's or Software Boutique and compare the volume of Windows SW vs Mac SW.
In short, as long as Apple insists on being the THE source for Macs, and allows no competition, the company will continue to be a source of niche machines that will not make a significant dent in the dominance of Windows-based computers.