Try to go and ask a geek why he's so enthusiastic about his particular object of interest... his favorite baseball team, his favorite car manufacturer, his favorite actor/actress, his favorite band... his favorite computer. I would suspect, that most probably the answer will simply be: "because it is the best! (he/she/they is/are the best)"

Although inclined to claim the same in this particular case, I'll try to go a little deeper exploring why I like Apple -- both their products and the company in general.

The Spirit

I could start with the relatively obvious technical achievements Apple has come up with... with all its successes, both technologically and commercially. But besides the necessary technical expertise, the right marketing, and a good portion of luck, these achievements are rather the result of something more fundamental: the spirit of the company.

Some time ago I read an interview with Jonathan Ive, chief designer at Apple, who claimed that Apple, as a company, is not about making money. It is about making cool products, and making money only lays the necessary basis for making cool products.

Now, of course, the company is about making money -- no doubt about that. But still, I believe there is some truth to Ive's statement. The way they approach a problem, the way they select a market and design their products is different... it is governed by very special priorities, different to many other companies. You'll seldom find Apple rush out a not fully ready or mediocre product just to make money. And seldom you'll see Apple create a product just to make money, while not having a clear vision of what problem this product will solve. Apple has focus, and Apple tries to provide the best solutions possible.

That doesn't mean that each solution is --in the very sense of these words-- the very best possible... there will always be economical constraints, time constraints, other trade-offs. Nor does it mean that each and every component of the solution is (technically) the best possible, as long as the overall package fulfills its purpose. But you can almost be sure to find in each and every product an extraordinary amount of thought that was put into it. Apple doesn't stop at the point where something works. They go the extra mile of making it nice, making it easy, making it fit together... making it fun to use!

It is the (typical?) engineer's type of mindset: less interested in how long it might take, how much it will cost, or how to sell it, but more interested in finding the best, most natural, most elegant solution possible. It is this spirit that essentially matches my beliefs, my wishes, my way of working. It is this striving for perfection -- well knowing that it is impossible to reach, but still making this extra effort to push the limits. Not being content with an 80% solution (knowing that 80% of the customers probably will be), but pushing it to 90%, maybe to 95%. Yes, it takes longer. Yes, it costs more. But it's worth it.

Think different

Since Apple departed from the mainstream road with the presentation of the Macintosh computer in 1984, many critics have accused Apple of (purposely?) being exotic, over-priced, and incompatible. And indeed, the last twenty years have seen Apple's drive for perfection create many proprietary (sometimes exotic) solutions, from interfaces and connectors to operating systems, APIs, and choice of CPUs. Striving for the better solution often came at the price of being different... something that is a little bit touchy in the computer industry where 'different' much too often comes with the taste of incompatibility.

Apple's marketing has tried to make a virtue out of being different, and the respective campaigns have created some really marvelous ads, posters, and video clips (just think of the award-winning "1984" superbowl commercial, or the "Think different" commercial which I really love!). Marketing made people take pride in being and thinking different, and created a phenomenally loyal and enthusiastic customer base.

Now, thinking different only for the purpose of distinguishing yourself or pretending to be any better than others (which anyway is nonsense) is simply childish. But I do believe that 'thinking different' in many many cases is important and beneficial, in the sense of thinking outside the box, opening one's horizon, accepting and respecting different views, and considering all possibilities (instead of just the mainstream ones) when searching for solutions.

Although even genius marketing could not prevent the market share to drop to somewhere in the ballpark of 5%, Apple not only survived, but today is financially healthier, more agile, and technologically more innovative than ever. In some difficult to grasp and articulate way, Apple has demonstrated that this approach works. That thinking different pushes us further. That striving for perfection isn't doomed to economic failure. That going this extra mile will be rewarded.

The feel-good

And yes, finally, there are the results of this very special Apple spirit. Products that have been engineered to be the best possible solutions. Products that have this extra mile built-in.

I do work with both Windows, Linux, and MacOS (and other Unixes from HP, Sun, etc.) almost on a daily basis, giving me a relatively broad background for comparison. And I clearly have to say: the Mac experience is just more intuitive, the interaction easier and faster. It simply works -- which I can't say of the others. Returning to a Mac is like coming home. It just feels good. Of course, there is some element of taste to it, and a certain amount of getting used to it. But once you get used to the fact that things just work, you don't want to miss it anymore ;-)

I don't want to say Microsoft (with Windows) or the Linux community do a bad job (it's actually pretty impressive how good that stuff works taking into consideration the gazillion of possible hardware platforms and combinations of components). But the difference is huge: while on Windows and Linux, I often have to "fight" the system (patch it, repair it, use tricks...), the Mac let's me do my job.

Apple, for sure, has a much simpler game in this respect: they make both the hardware and the OS, and they can (and do) give clear UI guidelines to application developers. I affirm that. And, of course, Macs as well have their problems. No one does miracles. I have seen Macs crash. There have been times when Apple was behind (with the old MacOS 8 and 9). But today, Apple is so far ahead, that it will be a long, a very long way for Microsoft (or others) to go...

I can even imagine Microsoft loosing the "OS war" completely -- despite their enormous size, market share, and financial power. But would that mean that Apple's market share will explode? Will the Apple spirit work "on the masses"? I doubt it... Maybe it's better the way it is...