Don't forget all of the other technology that makes the computers work, like the busses (e.g. PCI Express, USB, SATA/eSata), the host of technology behind the g

Don't forget all of the other technology that makes the computers work, like the busses (e.g. PCI Express, USB, SATA/eSata), the host of technology behind the graphics processors, Immersion Lithography (immersing the lasers in fluid allows better control over the diffraction pattern, which allows finer artifacts on the silicon die... AMD developed a really clever way to do this in a high-volume fab -- I call that a pretty serious innovation), virtualization (which isn't anything new, but Intel brought to mainstream hardware and AMD followed suit)... What it comes down to is that Apple isn't a technology company. Neither is Dell. Apple does cool stuff with other company's innovations. (Dell just does stuff with other company's innovations -- usually aimed at lowering the price instead of being cool or trendy.)