That old time Apple feeling

I met a man the other day.  A fellow Apple enthusiast.  As we were talking and getting excited about our mutual interest I began to think.  Apple people unlike others are generally a very passionate people.  As the volume of our voices increased, and the speed at which we spoke increased, we fed off of each other.  We talked about how long we've "drank from the koolaid."  Times used to be different for Apple users. The world was a much more hostile place.  There used to be a place for the "creative" in the Apple universe.  Macintosh computers were very independent from the rest of the personal computing world.  Mac software was the only software that worked on Macs.  Internet explorer was an afterthought as well as pretty much any other Microsoft product.   To own a Mac one had to need it.  There had to be a purpose.  Because of this purpose, this niche space in the personal computing world was special.  You were hardcore if you owned a Mac.  When all your PC loving friends gave you a hard time, you held your ground.  It mattered not, keep them on the darkside.  Keep in mind this was before the iPod generation.  When Apple reimagined it's image, things slowly began to change.  Suddenly Apple and the Mac appealed to a much broader audience...Everyone.  So much so, that Apple dropped the computer from it's name.  We not only now have our creative tool in the Mac, but our Apple TV, and our iPhones, and our Airs.  It's cool to be a Mac user.(Justin Long)  No more stuffy cubicles with our nerdy, socially deficient distant cousin.(John Hodgman)  So from one Mac user to the next.  Keep that fire lit and burning bright.  The Mac is still ours, and at the rate things are going, I don't see things changing anytime soon.  Remember where we've been and peer through the looking glass, and if Apple drops the Mac from it's image, let's all go out and get NeXT box's.