Apple Sues Psystar over OpenComputer

[CWallace]

So what's the price point people want for a QX9550 on an X38 chipset with a 9500GS, 2GB of DDR2 and a 500GB HDD?

At $1499 it effectively invalidates Apple's entire current desktop line-up. Such a machine with a 23" ACD would be $200 more then an iMac and would likely smack it across the board in performance. And it would relatively hold it's own with a single CPU Mac Pro while being $800 less. So who would buy an iMac or a Mac Pro?

So it would have to be at least $1799 to keep the iMac competitive ($500 price premium over it), though it would still eat into low-end Mac Pro sales (being $500 cheaper).

Now, it looks like HP and Dell want around $1599 for their machines with similar specs, so at $1799 Apple could probably get away with it. But how much profit would Apple be making at $1799? Enough? Or would it have to be $1899 or even $1999? And if it's $300-400 more then an HP or Dell for effectively the same thing, won't folks just change from complaining that Apple doesn't offer it to Apple offers it, but it's too expensive and they're ripping people off?

 

[BenRoethig]

So what's the price point people want for a QX9550 on an X38 chipset with a 9500GS, 2GB of DDR2 and a 500GB HDD?

At $1499 it effectively invalidates Apple's entire current desktop line-up. Such a machine with a 23" ACD would be $200 more then an iMac and would likely smack it across the board in performance. And it would relatively hold it's own with a single CPU Mac Pro while being $800 less. So who would buy an iMac or a Mac Pro?

So it would have to be at least $1799 to keep the iMac competitive ($500 price premium over it), though it would still eat into low-end Mac Pro sales (being $500 cheaper).

Now, it looks like HP and Dell want around $1599 for their machines with similar specs, so at $1799 Apple could probably get away with it. But how much profit would Apple be making at $1799? Enough? Or would it have to be $1899 or even $1999? And if it's $300-400 more then an HP or Dell for effectively the same thing, won't folks just change from complaining that Apple doesn't offer it to Apple offers it, but it's too expensive and they're ripping people off?

Price points: $1799 for 2.83ghz, $1499 for 2.5ghz. 8-core 2.5ghz replaces single 2.83ghz xeon.

As for the iMac, who cares what its price points are in relation to the two desktops. All in ones are very different computers than full tower desktops for very different types of customers. Its similar to the difference between the sedan and a truck. They provide an all-inclusive moderately powerful experience in a compact, aesthetically pleasing package at at the expensive of features and expandability. It is at exactly the other end of the spectrum than what most higher ends users are looking for.

 

[gehrbox]

Graphic card and updatability. Those two on the killers to anything less than a mac pro and then the graphic card jack up the mac pro pricing along with the additional ram requirements.

The Mac Pro processors where massive Over-kill and I had to pay out the rear for over kill. Along with other minro things but the big one was I was paying for massive over kill in the processors.

Ever think that Apple loves people like you? Why in the world would they make an upgradable machine that costs less then $2000 when they can get you to buy a Mac Pro for a lot more?

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Ever think that Apple loves people like you? Why in the world would they make an upgradable machine that costs less then $2000 when they can get you to buy a Mac Pro for a lot more?

Because like I said I give the one finger salute to Apple desk tops and I am not the only one. I have quite a few apple friends who feel this way.

I will not pay that much extra or those needs. It is not worth paying that much for over kill. I own a macbook and I think there laptops are great. But when it comes to desktops no PC have macs creamed in that department. They are upgradable with out having to be ripped off.

Hate to tell you this but this is a post you made that was completely clueless and a classic example of where the apple fans turn a blind eye. People like me will just give the finger to apple and say screw there desktops. They are not worth a crap (and in many ways they are right)

 

[gehrbox]

Hate to tell you this but this is a post you made that was completely clueless and a classic example of where the apple fans turn a blind eye.

Easy Rp. Don't get excited because somebody is not agreeing with you. Did you get this excited when Walmart stopped selling Playboy magazine?

For goodness sakes Apple makes products. Want one, buy it. If they don't make the one you want, shop someplace else. That's how the market works. Funny thing is Apple seems to be doing fine without following your advice. Might indicate that Steve Jobs likes losing money. Or the market does not agree with your opinion of Apples product line.

If you really want a LESS powerful and upgradable Mac, might I interest you in the pre-owned market? eBay has plenty of old upgradable Mac's that are from a good home, only been used on Sundays and you can slap in a new HDD or video card whenever you want.

Sheesh, ya try to help a person out and all you get are tart replies.

 

[r.j.s]

Easy Rp. Don't get excited because somebody is not agreeing with you. Did you get this excited when Walmart stopped selling Playboy magazine?

For goodness sakes Apple makes products. Want one, buy it. If they don't make the one you want, shop someplace else. That's how the market works. Funny thing is Apple seems to be doing fine without following your advice. Might indicate that Steve Jobs likes losing money. Or the market does not agree with your opinion of Apples product line.

If you really want a LESS powerful and upgradable Mac, might I interest you in the pre-owned market? eBay has plenty of old upgradable Mac's that are from a good home, only been used on Sundays and you can slap in a new HDD or video card whenever you want.

Sheesh, ya try to help a person out and all you get are tart replies.

Agreed, BTW, what was this thread about?

 

[northy124]

Easy Rp. Don't get excited because somebody is not agreeing with you. Did you get this excited when Walmart stopped selling Playboy magazine?

For goodness sakes Apple makes products. Want one, buy it. If they don't make the one you want, shop someplace else. That's how the market works. Funny thing is Apple seems to be doing fine without following your advice. Might indicate that Steve Jobs likes losing money. Or the market does not agree with your opinion of Apples product line.

If you really want a LESS powerful and upgradable Mac, might I interest you in the pre-owned market? eBay has plenty of old upgradable Mac's that are from a good home, only been used on Sundays and you can slap in a new HDD or video card whenever you want.

Sheesh, ya try to help a person out and all you get are tart replies.

Agreed!

@ robert.j.strain it was about Pystar being sued then it turned to crap LoL.

 

[gehrbox]

Agreed, BTW, what was this thread about?

Had to scroll to the top of the page to remind myself. Psystar is going to lose. If a Psystar computer could run OS X without modification of OS X, then they would be free as a bird. That's not the case. They allow you to buy Leopard, but have to install it for you. Psystar hosts the OS X updates which means they are modifying them if they find the update hoses the modifications they did to the original OS install.

In short, when they lose the suit with Apple current owners of Psystar clones will be hosed. If the court agrees with Apple that all Psystar boxes have to be recalled, then the users lose the computer. If they do not force the return then they will be stuck at the OS version that Psystar last modified for update or limited to those that don't break Psystars patches to the OS.

Since Psystar does not provide instructions on how to install Leopard on their systems, how does a user go about installing it after a hardware failure or upgrade to the HDD?

 

[CWallace]

As for the iMac, who cares what its price points are in relation to the two desktops. All in ones are very different computers than full tower desktops for very different types of customers.

I'll be honest - I bought my iMac because I wanted an AIO, however if Apple had offered a tower+ACD within a few hundred bucks, I likely would have gone that way since I have always owned PC towers.

I tend to believe that iMacs sell strongly now because it is the "only" option. If Apple offers a tower with similar specs that is within $200-300 of an iMac (when you add the ACD), you will see a significant drop in iMac sales as people would would have bought the iMac buy the tower+ACD.

 

[BenRoethig]

I'll be honest - I bought my iMac because I wanted an AIO, however if Apple had offered a tower+ACD within a few hundred bucks, I likely would have gone that way since I have always owned PC towers.

I tend to believe that iMacs sell strongly now because it is the "only" option. If Apple offers a tower with similar specs that is within $200-300 of an iMac (when you add the ACD), you will see a significant drop in iMac sales as people would would have bought the iMac buy the tower+ACD.

Not as many as you would think. The iMac is very popular among the college/high school crowd that has become Apple's new base. The tower would be very popular among Apple's old base and medium end professional switchers. The current situation is causing a lot of ill will and preventing Apple sales they might have gotten.

As for the ACD, unless you're completely drunk on the Apple koolaid, I don't see too many being bought. The Panel is very high end, but obsolete. In the consumer end there are much cheaper panels and at the professional end, companies like NEC produce displays based on newer panels that have better color and much higher refresh rates. Apple would be best off dropping the 20" ACD and introducing 20" and 24" iSight studio displays based on the iMac panels, and 24" and up Cinema Displays using high priced professional panels.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

Not as many as you would think. The iMac is very popular among the college/high school crowd that has become Apple's new base.
.

game are also big with them and the imacs don't have the best hardware for it.

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

I'll be honest - I bought my iMac because I wanted an AIO, however if Apple had offered a tower+ACD within a few hundred bucks, I likely would have gone that way since I have always owned PC towers.

I tend to believe that iMacs sell strongly now because it is the "only" option. If Apple offers a tower with similar specs that is within $200-300 of an iMac (when you add the ACD), you will see a significant drop in iMac sales as people would would have bought the iMac buy the tower+ACD.

Why is everyone so worried about 'losing sales' of iMacs in favor of ANOTHER Apple product??? They didn't LOSE anything. They simply traded one sale for another sale in that regard. But we're STILL just talking about the existing market. The important part is that if Apple starts offering mid-range tower desktops, they OPEN UP a NEW market to switchers that don't WANT an iMac PERIOD. How can adding a new product be a bad thing if it increases your overall market share instead of just trying to get the same existing Mac users to keep buying new Macs all the time? Apple's goal should be to increase it's market, not just keep its old market. And whatever they might lose somewhere in the line in terms of profit margin, they're going to make up in market volume. The whole point of the entire existence of Psystar is that if there weren't a market for that kind of machinel, Psystar wouldn't exist to be sued in the first place. I'm so sick of people defending Apple with these lines of reasoning that go along the lines that they'd be cannibalizing their own sales when the bigger picture is NEW sales; it's just plain absurd. The rest of the PC world doesn't WANT all-in-ones like the iMac in terms of hardware. The only reason Mac users have them is they have no other choice short of professionally priced $2700 towers when the average consumer PC desktop is probably around $1200.

 

[Umbongo]

Why is everyone so worried about 'losing sales' of iMacs in favor of ANOTHER Apple product??? They didn't LOSE anything. They simply traded one sale for another sale in that regard. But we're STILL just talking about the existing market. The important part is that if Apple starts offering mid-range tower desktops, they OPEN UP a NEW market to switchers that don't WANT an iMac PERIOD. How can adding a new product be a bad thing if it increases your overall market share instead of just trying to get the same existing Mac users to keep buying new Macs all the time? Apple's goal should be to increase it's market, not just keep its old market. And whatever they might lose somewhere in the line in terms of profit margin, they're going to make up in market volume. The whole point of the entire existence of Psystar is that if there weren't a market for that kind of machinel, Psystar wouldn't exist to be sued in the first place. I'm so sick of people defending Apple with these lines of reasoning that go along the lines that they'd be cannibalizing their own sales when the bigger picture is NEW sales; it's just plain absurd. The rest of the PC world doesn't WANT all-in-ones like the iMac in terms of hardware. The only reason Mac users have them is they have no other choice short of professionally priced $2700 towers when the average consumer PC desktop is probably around $1200.

It isn't absurd. People may clamour online for the the xMac type of system, but no one here knows what the reality of such a system might be on Apple's bottom line. Apple on the other hand have probably done some heavy investigation in to it. The iMac will make them more profit than an could xMac due to Apple proifting on the display unless they price it so it isn't competative with PC desktops with similar hardware. In which case what is the point.

Just because Psystar were able to sell some computers, people hack OSX to run on non-Apple hardware and dozens say they would buy such a system on this forum doesn't mean it makes sense for Apple in the short term or long term. As long as Steve Jobs remains in control I don't think it much matters anyway as it seems obivous he wants people to compute in his vision and that vision on the consumer desktop is the iMac.

I think that most people's idea of the xMac is a desktop built for gaming for the price they could buy the components from newegg. I'm not defending Apple, just saying how I see things and how I think they might view it all, but I think it is safe to say that the gamer crowd aren't going to be catered to by Apple in the near future.

I think it is also worth bearing in mind that Apple don't need to convert every type of windows user and serve them a price-competative product to be a successful company.

 

[BenRoethig]

It isn't absurd. People may clamour online for the the xMac type of system, but no one here knows what the reality of such a system might be on Apple's bottom line. Apple on the other hand have probably done some heavy investigation in to it. The iMac will make them more profit than an could xMac due to Apple proifting on the display unless they price it so it isn't competative with PC desktops with similar hardware. In which case what is the point.

Trust me, they lost a couple hundred in upgrades when I bought the POS iMac.

Just because Psystar were able to sell some computers, people hack OSX to run on non-Apple hardware and dozens say they would buy such a system on this forum doesn't mean it makes sense for Apple in the short term or long term. As long as Steve Jobs remains in control I don't think it much matters anyway as it seems obivous he wants people to compute in his vision and that vision on the consumer desktop is the iMac.

Unfortunately I agree. I just hope the next Apple CEO is able to retain Steve's vision but move beyond his biases and baggage.

I think that most people's idea of the xMac is a desktop built for gaming for the price they could buy the components from newegg. I'm not defending Apple, just saying how I see things and how I think they might view it all, but I think it is safe to say that the gamer crowd aren't going to be catered to by Apple in the near future.

Its not all gamer crowd, in fact the gamer crowd is the the minority. Towers are used by professionals and most of them do not need, want, or can afford a xeon workstation. What they do want though are multiple upgradable hard drives, full size optical drives with BLU-Ray options, and easily accessible front USB/Firewire Ports. I know of a couple people in the video business who have had to switch to windows because they a) needed Blu-Ray support for higher end customers and B) could not afford a Mac Pro. Trust me with the slim optical drive, burning a DVD on the laptop on a stick takes forever.

I think it is also worth bearing in mind that Apple don't need to convert every type of windows user and serve them a price-competative product to be a successful company.

No, but they should want to support their old core base who stuck with them through the hard times and pick up a few $1500+ windows users along the way.

 

[gehrbox]

No, but they should want to support their old core base who stuck with them through the hard times and pick up a few $1500+ windows users along the way.

Why would Apple do that? They are having no trouble selling their current products. Steve Jobs knows that those that stuck with Apple through the hard times will continue to stick with them whether they provide the products the users wish for or not.

What Apple has to be careful about is becoming main stream. I wonder how many people are dedicated to Apple because it is unusual and holds a minority of the computer market? In other words Mac's are special right now and always have been. When they stop being special how many people will stop holding them in high regard even when Apple does not listen to their long time users?

 

[BenRoethig]

Why would Apple do that? They are having no trouble selling their current products. Steve Jobs knows that those that stuck with Apple through the hard times will continue to stick with them whether they provide the products the users wish for or not.

What Apple has to be careful about is becoming main stream. I wonder how many people are dedicated to Apple because it is unusual and holds a minority of the computer market? In other words Mac's are special right now and always have been. When they stop being special how many people will stop holding them in high regard even when Apple does not listen to their long time users?

What about those dedicated to Apple because of a better experience and higher quality? The Apple should not revolve only around the counter culture types. Also, don't count on us following blindly. Unlike some groups, we old Mac users were trained when the THINK in Different actually meant something.

 

[czachorski]

Why is everyone so worried about 'losing sales' of iMacs in favor of ANOTHER Apple product??? They didn't LOSE anything. They simply traded one sale for another sale in that regard. But we're STILL just talking about the existing market. The important part is that if Apple starts offering mid-range tower desktops, they OPEN UP a NEW market to switchers that don't WANT an iMac PERIOD. How can adding a new product be a bad thing if it increases your overall market share instead of just trying to get the same existing Mac users to keep buying new Macs all the time? Apple's goal should be to increase it's market, not just keep its old market. And whatever they might lose somewhere in the line in terms of profit margin, they're going to make up in market volume. The whole point of the entire existence of Psystar is that if there weren't a market for that kind of machinel, Psystar wouldn't exist to be sued in the first place. I'm so sick of people defending Apple with these lines of reasoning that go along the lines that they'd be cannibalizing their own sales when the bigger picture is NEW sales; it's just plain absurd. The rest of the PC world doesn't WANT all-in-ones like the iMac in terms of hardware. The only reason Mac users have them is they have no other choice short of professionally priced $2700 towers when the average consumer PC desktop is probably around $1200.

You're statements about "what the rest of the PC world wants" and that "Apple's goal should be to increase it's market, not just keep its old market", might carry some more weight if Apple wasn't drastically increasing their market with former users from the rest of the PC world these past 4 years.

 

[BenRoethig]

You're statements about "what the rest of the PC world wants" and that "Apple's goal should be to increase it's market, not just keep its old market", might carry some more weight if Apple wasn't drastically increasing their market with former users from the rest of the PC world these past 4 years.

Considering how superior the operating system is to windows, that drastic increase to 8% is still severely underachieving.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

What about those dedicated to Apple because of a better experience and higher quality? The Apple should not revolve only around the counter culture types. Also, don't count on us following blindly. Unlike some groups, we old Mac users were trained when the THINK in Different actually meant something.

The more I see gehrbox post the more I see the apple fandom borderline fanboy come out. Definding apple like no tommorrow.

That being said I personally feel apple has out grown steve Jobs and it is time for some one else to step in. He seems to still try to run apple like it small company and doing only what he wants and not letting it adapt to its new size.

 

[czachorski]

Considering how superior the operating system is to windows, that drastic increase to 8% is still severely underachieving.

Then say that - that you believe that they should grow faster. But please encourage Magnus and others like him to spare us the dramatics and fallacies of pretending that they are not growing, and not meeting a demand that a good chunk of the PC World wants, and adding millions of former PC users to their user base.

The more I see gehrbox post the more I see the apple fandom borderline fanboy come out. Definding apple like no tommorrow.

That being said I personally feel apple has out grown steve Jobs and it is time for some one else to step in. He seems to still try to run apple like it small company and doing only what he wants and not letting it adapt to its new size.

It will be hard to convince anyone that Apple has outgrown him as long as he keeps delivering 50% annual Mac growth rates and new products like the iPhone.

 

[gehrbox]

What about those dedicated to Apple because of a better experience and higher quality? The Apple should not revolve only around the counter culture types. Also, don't count on us following blindly. Unlike some groups, we old Mac users were trained when the THINK in Different actually meant something.

The problem with Apple quality is it's decline. As more people bite into the fruit the level of noise raises. So long as the majority of users were dedicated to the brand many complaints went through the cracks or were brow beaten in forums like this one. Now with a huge user base of iPhone owners out there the quality issues in software, service and hardware are not going unnoticed.

Apples fumble with the initial activation problems when the iPhone was introduced, then this years fubar with MobileMe and more activation issues on the iPhone 3g has shown they are doing too much too fast.

Another example of Apples recent quality problem was the initial release of Leopard. It felt clunky to me compared to Tiger in use. The upgrade to Tiger was a genuinely pleasant experience. Leopard had more issues out of the gate then the Tiger in my own experience. Only after 10.5.3 did it appear to have settled down to a polished product.

Apples choice to rename .mac to MobileMe is another indication of trouble. What in the world was their marketing department thinking? My first gut reaction upon seeing the name was an immediate comparison to Windows ME. I was an early adopter of that OS and it was a train wreck from day one. Surely they could have seen the bad karma that name invokes? They managed to live up to the name and ding their credibility when it launched and for a week afterward. Not Apples best day for sure.

Now we have the App store that was lauded by most as being a wonderful thing. However as the dust settles developer issues are popping up in volume. First: the iPhone SDK NDA that prevents developers from sharing information, posting questions and answers on the web and creating howto tutorials. Then we have the black hole that surrounds the app approval process. The lack of information about why an app is pulled from the store (even to the developer). Why are some completely waste of space apps like "I am rich" get onto the store, when others are ignored? Next some folks are finding their 3g iPhones crashing when they load up on apps, but not when they use the apps that are native to the phone. They are forced to initialize the phone, reload the apps and lose data such as shortcuts to web pages and notes.

Apples success will bring about their failure if they don't get a handle on things.

 

[gehrbox]

The more I see gehrbox post the more I see the apple fandom borderline fanboy come out. Definding apple like no tommorrow.

Clearly you need to read more of my post's. I am not defending Apple at all just pointing out that the company is selling a product line successfully and trying to explain their strategy to you as I see it.

Most companies are in business to make money and if the CEO and BoD of Apple thought it wise to sell a $1200-1400 headless Mac they would do it (greed is good). Maybe one day they will, but right now the number of games written for OS X is small. What that means is the headless Mac would become a dual booting Windows game machine for most users interested in the product. Apple would be selling something that they would not be able to offer at a premium because of all the low cost competition available. On top of that the users would want the latest video option every time NVidia or ATI came up with a new chip. That creates issues with making it happy with OS X and the development required to support it.

That's why you don't see that hardware option right now.

 

[czachorski]

Apples choice to rename .mac to MobileMe is another indication of trouble. What in the world was their marketing department thinking?

I hear you. To me it seemed like another example of washing themselves free of the Mac moniker. Computer dropped from the name, .mac renamed away from the computer connotation, a focus on iPhone and iPods at keynotes. They are working hard to rebrand themselves as more than a computer company. Will it work, and still allow them to keep a strong Mac focus? We will see, we will see......

 

[MagnusVonMagnum]

Why would Apple do that? They are having no trouble selling their current products. Steve Jobs knows that those that stuck with Apple through the hard times will continue to stick with them whether they provide the products the users wish for or not.

Oh I dunno... why didn't you ask that question to Wal-Mart when they were just another Arkansas grocery? Why on earth would you want to expand your market when you are making a good profit right here in Arkansas? Um, to make MORE profit?

As a Mac user, I have to order software online. As a Windows user, I can walk over to 3 full size aisles in Best Buy and pick out any number of games and productivity apps. The Mac? I think my local Best Buy carries about 6 total packages for the Mac. I remember back in the early '90s, the Mac had 1-2 aisles and the PC had about 6. So they've downsized their software aisles to expand for gaming platforms and virtually eliminated the Mac because it's market dropped from 15-20% to 4% and is now back up to around 6-7%. Yes, why on EARTH would Apple want to try and get some of that market share they LOST in the '90s to Windows95/98/XP to come back to the Mac let alone try to attract people that have never even tried a Mac before and are used to Windows hardware? I just can't imagine....

What Apple has to be careful about is becoming main stream.

Yeah, that would be horrible.... Imagine being able to pick from a large selection of Mac software at Office Mac, Circuit City, Best Buy, K-Mart and others. Oh, it would be awful if I could get any app available on the PC for my Mac without having to run Parallels...just awful.

I wonder how many people are dedicated to Apple because it is unusual and holds a minority of the computer market?

The Mac is SPECIAL because it doesn't crash every other hour and it's simple to use and has a nicer interface than Windows. What else do I need for it to be special? A small user base, no software and an elitist attitude? No thanks, I can boot up Linux on my PC if I want that.... In other words, the number of users has nothing to do with the OS experience, but it DOES affect the available software experience and it HURTS BAD when your platform of choice doesn't have commercial software available to it (something I notice every time I DO boot into Linux and want to do more than browse or check e-mail). As for the hardware, I don't need a laptop on a stick that may look 'pretty' on the outside, but has slow laptop hardware on the inside to feel special. That makes me feel slow, not special...well OK... if THAT is what you meant by 'special', I guess you're right.

 

[gehrbox]

Oh I dunno... why didn't you ask that question to Wal-Mart when they were just another Arkansas grocery? Why on earth would you want to expand your market when you are making a good profit right here in Arkansas? Um, to make MORE profit?

First Walmart is not a manufacturer they are a retailer. Expanding the number of retail stores and changing the products you manufacture are not the same thing. As far as retail offerings Apple has increased the number of Apple stores and made agreements to sell their products in other retailers.

As a Mac user, I have to order software online. As a Windows user, I can walk over to 3 full size aisles in Best Buy and pick out any number of games and productivity apps. The Mac? I think my local Best Buy carries about 6 total packages for the Mac.

Sorry your area does not have an Apple store with shelves full of Mac software. Mine does, but I still buy online because retailers prices are higher. Same with the PC software I buy. Usually the only time I buy software for either platform locally is on impulse buys.

Yes, why on EARTH would Apple want to try and get some of that market share they LOST in the '90s to Windows95/98/XP to come back to the Mac

If you haven't noticed that's exactly what Apple has been doing. Apples sales are up across the board. I have noticed Apple fumbling the ball a lot more lately as they try to be all things to all people however.

The Mac is SPECIAL because it doesn't crash every other hour and it's simple to use and has a nicer interface than Windows.

Not noticed any of my Windows computers requiring a reboot every hour, every day or every week. What version of Windows are you running and on what hardware? Maybe I can help you out with the stability issue of your hardware.

In other words, the number of users has nothing to do with the OS experience, but it DOES affect the available software experience and it HURTS BAD when your platform of choice doesn't have commercial software available to it

Number of users has everything to do with exposure of flaws, cost of support and volume of production QC issues. A relatively small group of dedicated users (bordering on religious) is one thing. Having a massive public that will buy the current flavor of the week is a different thing.

I don't see any lack of software for the Mac out there. In fact many of the best apps I use are open source. Development tools come with every Mac and most commonly used apps as well.

As for the hardware, I don't need a laptop on a stick that may look 'pretty' on the outside, but has slow laptop hardware on the inside to feel special.

You are calling an iMac a laptop on a stick? Save us from impending doom and send your design idea's to sjobs@apple.com STAT