[a fool in paradise]

The breakthrough wasn’t the gear, which all works and is pretty slick. The genius is the iTunes Store and the App Store. With immediate gratification, who can resist a $1 song or a $5 app?

The genius is Apple's SHARE of the money from $1 or $5 purchases for content they did not create.

[Swordmaker]

The genius is Apple's SHARE of the money from $1 or $5 purchases for content they did not create.

Again you toss out "factoids" without attribution or evidence. What in hell are you talking about? Apple acts as a retailer, delivering goods to their customers and is entitled to a markup and profit for that. Does your cable company not charge for delivering channels and content to you they do not create? How about Amazon? HBO? Cinemax? Of course they do. So does Apple. Do you not believe in capitalism? Apparently not.

You suffer from MAPS:

Swordmaker's and Kathy's proposed diagnosis for the new ICD-10 addenda:

90210 iOS Munchausen's Apple-Plexy Syndrome (MAPS), The overwhelming compulsion to post negative, judgmental, aggressive, and false commentary on any website thread related to Apple products wherever found, including phobic reaction to projected Apple user euphoria. First and subsequent encounters.

[itsahoot]

The genius is Apple's SHARE of the money from $1 or $5 purchases for content they did not create.

Do you have any idea what it costs to box and promote a product, or what markup a retail store generally charges?