Dude, are you like thinking of Mac's from 1998 or something? The OS usability cross-platform is unmatched. Vista can barely interact with XP, OSX can manage files on Ubuntu, Linux, Windows, you name it.
First of all, file systems aren't common to an operating system. For example, the Linux kernel can handle several different file systems, such as the ext3 filesystem and the upcoming BetterFS file system which is supposed to blow everyone else out of the water. Windows primarily used FAT32 file systems back in the day although now they are promoting NTFS and have been working on WinFS for a while. OS X uses a file system called HFS+ which by many is claimed to be archaic and aging, and need for a change.
I don't know what you mean by "Vista can barely interact with XP". As far as I have seen, files I make in XP work in Vista and vica verca.
Finally, it is laughable that OS X is touted as being more cross-platform than Windows or UNIX-based/-like systems. OS X completely pigeonholes itself into OS X-specific stuff (at least until they switched to x86-based processors).
The Hardware IS better. No, it's not just shiny stuff. Their recent line of laptops is carved from one solid piece of aluminum, not screwing, gluing or loose parts seen. Apple does use high quality products, you may say that no company uses them because you haven't seen what Apple has to provide.
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The casing of a laptop doesn't qualify as its hardware. K_I was most certainly referring to actual hardware such as processor, memory, cache, hard-disk, etc.
I bought multiple laptops from HP and Dell. They were treated with so much care yet they still came to problems within the first year. The companies wanted us to keep spending for us to fix the various problems, it was just terrible. My sisters Macbook on the otherhand got a little dirty. So we took it to the store and they had a look, replaced the laptop at no charge. They're THAT good.
I have bought multiple laptops from HP and have had no problem with them whatsoever. A laptop lasts for around 2-3 years at peak performance and then begins to have issues. Furthermore, the great thing about my HP laptop is I can upgrade it by removing a few screws from the bottom. Not satisfied with my 3gigs of RAM? I'll just by a 2-gig stick and stick it in and I'll be golden. Once you get a Macbook, you're going to stick with it until it stops working and then go give your cash to Apple for the next product in line.
The Macbook is the most popular computer on the planet for a reason. They have amazing products, some people are just scared to change operating systems or don't look into their products enough to make a judgement.
Fear is hardly the reason why most people don't have Macs. Price is a HUGE factor. If Apple slashed their prices by even 10% they would see an uptake on sales. And they can, if they want to. But they don't because then the owners of Apple devices will lose the elitist tag that they paid for. So Macs will always be overpriced.
Secondly, compatibility. Probably 60% or more of the PCs purchased in the world are purchased for business use. Quite simply, most businesses trust a Windows-based operating system for their needs since its the most versatile and easiest platform to use. And almost everyone else is using it, so they can be compatible with their clients.
Thirdly, if you're writing an application for an Apple device, you're almost certainly going to have to learn Objective C. This makes Apple software development a very niche market, which is why most software vendors don't bother to make a Mac version of their product.
Oh, and OSX has BILLIONS of applications.
If OS X has billions of applications, I shudder at the integer overflow when you try to quantify the number of Windows applications in existence.