[MrEdd]

Apple does not now, and never has owned the high end.

What it is good at is simple interfaces, and elegant casings.

[Swordmaker]

Apple does not now, and never has owned the high end.

92% of all personal computers sold that are over $1000 are Macs. I'd say that is owning the high-end... Chief Information Officer Magazine seems to agree.

[TXnMA]

Apple has always done well visa-vis the human interface -- starting with a little booklet titled, The Apple Human Interface Guidelines. I still have a copy somewhere (probably packed with its contemporary -- my Apple IIe). Everything in it is still good common sense, but Apple forced developers to follow it -- or their code wouldn't work on future machines.

Some memorable (but paraphrased due to fading memory) guidelines:

• "Keep it simple, Stupid!."

• "Users hate surprises. Make it work the same way -- every time..."

• "Keep controls in the same location."

• "Don't trap users in a modal dialog with only one exit."

• "Avoid distracting 'visual flashy trash' that serves no helpful purpose."

  Those may not be exact quotes, but I expect many users wish Microsoft and its co-developers had disciplined themselves to adhere to such simple principles... (Note to self: gotta go find that little book; it is worth a re-read...)

  As a current example, the "Multi-Touch TrackPad" was "rolled out" on the iPhone, but, since it was developed on the Mac (in the same OS), it was simple to apply it to the high-end Macbook Pro. Now, I wonder how I ever got along without it. (The timing was particularly good for me: my eyesight has begun to degrade, and the ability to "zoom up" the tiny type (that results from 1920 X 1200 pixel resolution on a 17" screen) with a flick of my fingers is a real boon.

  In fact, as I was waking up this morning, I started a "head design" of a wheelchair control using the M-T TP. It should work spectacularly well. In fact, I just may try it out with this MBP... (Try that with the little "'eraser nub' in the middle of the keyboard" found on some PC laptops...)

  ...just another example of the Apple policy of "He who spends the $$$ gets the real goodies -- first"...