In appreciation of Apple

Given the recent strides Apple has made this year in cornering the digital music realm, increasingly gaining prominence in the personal computer market, and the launch of the iphone, I thought it appropriate to write a laudatory post for Apple, the company that will go down as owning the year 2007. What a year for Steve Jobs really. He should be patting himself on the back. The ipod has always been a must-have, but this year finally the computers have also been selling like hotcakes. Apple stock is now worth more than Dell's partly because of this fact. The new OS, Leopard, can run the Mac OS and Windows, so now there really is no excuse to not own an Apple. My MacBook has never given me problems since I got it in the summer of 2006. My Vaio, in comparison, was nothing but trouble from day one. The only real compelling reason to stay with PCs is if you're a hardcore gamer, which I am not.

I remember my very first Apple computer. Back in 1993 when we moved to America. It was a Performa 630C. The first time I logged on the Internet was on that 32 MB beast. I rocked Carmen Sandiego on that thing. I've been an Apple fan from the first time I moved to America.

And yes, I'll admit it, my very first purchase with my first check from work was the iphone. It's almost perfect. It can't match Blackberries in terms of sheer software packed in there, but I prefer it because of the simplicity of the interface and the intuitiveness of the applications. 8 gigs for music and photos, oh yes. And the touchscreen is not only easy to use, but by not having bulky plastic buttons there is a lot of space freed up for surfing the web and checking emails. Those designers know what they're doing; they're so in tune with the user. The only addition I would have liked is a movie recorder, but it's not that big of a deal.

Apple made some bad business decisions in the past, but hopefully they continue this recent run of success because Windows needs the pressure of a competitor. Within the last few years, Microsoft and PC makers like Dell and Sony have really been resting on their laurels. Vista blew up in Microsoft's face and lately Dell's computers have become less reliable and have lagged in customer service (once their forte). Vaio comes packed with cool software, but the hardware itself leaves something to be desired, as I found out with my last computer.

So I wonder how Apple will outdo themselves in the coming year. How can they?