In the wake of Steve Jobs’ resignation as CEO of Apple, the best reflection that I’ve read on this topic comes not from a tech pundit, but from Linda Holmes at NPR:
The relationship between Apple and its aficionados has always borne little resemblance to the relationships consumers have with most other giant companies, tech companies, or even brilliantly marketed companies. To see congruence, for instance, between Apple fans and Microsoft users based on the constant back-and-forth that makes fights between them so pointless and eternal is to misunderstand how those discussions work. People love Apple; at best, they appreciate Microsoft (and, more to the point, grow weary of those people who love Apple). What you see is not “Apple is brilliant,” “No, Microsoft is brilliant.” What you see is, “Apple is brilliant.” “Oh, would you shut up already.” These discussions, for those who choose to spend time on them, are often about a binary sense of Apple: Apple Yes, and Apple No. That’s the definition of the argument, and that’s the definition of dominating the part of the culture in which you exist.