The free software approach seems to assume that what a computer should be and do has already been decided and they just need to make free versions of everything

The free software approach seems to assume that what a computer should be and do has already been decided and they just need to make free versions of everything. When you you look at their goals, they are by definition playing catch-up. You're also glossing over every single innovation that has come out of the open-source space. The most popular computers and electronics in the world aren't Apple products because Apple made an Apple version of everything. Actually, the fact their operating system is just an Apple version of unix is the primary reason I even considered purchasing my mac. The same rings true for most of the technical people I know who have macs.