I think the average Apple fan has shifted in the past few years. I've been using Macs for a while (steady since the G3 was into'ed), and I can definitely say th

I think the average Apple fan has shifted in the past few years. I've been using Macs for a while (steady since the G3 was into'ed), and I can definitely say that there're a lot more en vogue now than they were in the past. Given that, it's harder to pinpoint why so many people line up for an iPad (simply given that there are so many more people in the demographic in question). Speaking to the "old" Apple fan, I think that there's a sense of loyalty and a sense of being on the cutting edge. As I said, I've been using Apple products exclusively (at home) since '99, and I've grown to feel a sense of attachment to the company. Something about Apple products clicked with me, and I felt the desire to foster a niche provider. This feeling is, I'm sure, compounded by the fact that I felt I was "in" on something and wanted to be even more in by adopting the latest and greatest. I remember saying, "My voice is my password" over and over to no avail after Steve demoed voice passwords in a version of OS 9 that I promptly purchased. It didn't matter that it didn't work; Steve had shown what it was supposed to be, and I bought in. Even while I was dealing with a faulty product, I still felt like I was part of something great, and at its heart, the feature was cool and innovative, even if the implementation fell far short. Those are the reasons I feel so much a part of the Mac world, but I guess the author is asking about why Apple clicks with people. That answer's far more complex, and one I definitely can't answer in a general sense. If I think back to when I really jumped on the bandwagon, I'd have to say that I was impressed by Apple's way of doing things differently, focusing on the best and focusing on the consumer. Apple definitely did things differently than MS in the late 90s and early 2000s, and to me, their differences felt more focused on what I wanted to do. I wanted an easy way to get on the internet, and I wanted an un-compex system for managing my stuff. Apple felt like they wanted to make these things easy for me. And as far as focusing on the best, it seemed like Apple was striving for the best, most of the time. I remember my Apple monitor having a premium Mitsubishi tube in it, and the G3 being a hell of a processor. Maybe there were better components on the market, but Apple tried to put together a really nice package, and I liked it. Since then, I've become a professional programmer, and I question whether I would have liked Apple if I was looking for a development platform back then. I honestly don't know, but I do know that their decision to embrace Unix at the core of their OS has served them well within the more technical community. So I guess the bottom line is that Apple provides a different experience, and for those of us that buy into it, it's worth a little sacrifice to get to be the first and to ensure that Apple will live to see another day. That wasn't always as sure a thing as it is now. And if you're looking for an answer to why the cool people want to be the first with an iPad 2 and a leather Smart Cover, look elsewhere.