Macs are beautiful

Compared to most PC's (Desktops and Laptops) that are covered in stickers and labels, Macs are simple and strikingly beautiful. And when it comes to choosing a "better" car or a "better" house, one of the first things anyone does is choose what is aesthetically pleasing. No-one ever says, "I bought a car that looks as ugly as sin in my opinion".

iMacs, Macbooks, Macbook Pro's and the new Macbook Air all subscribe to Apple's design policy which states: "Simple is good!"

There is a very good reason why people are flocking to buy Macs with better design. Computers are more than simple commodities these days. Everybody has one, so naturally people are more inclined to pick computers that stand out from the beige boxes we've come accustomed to. There's this great analogy in this 3 year old article by Nicholos G. Carr, a writer for BusinessWeek. Carr pretty much predicted the resurgence of Apple after writing an article comparing Dell to Apple. Dell was dismissing the iPod at the time as a fad, but Carr used this analogy about Ford to explain why Apple was going to start dominating the computer market:

"It's the classic Model T strategy. Like Dell with PCs, Ford Motor came to dominate the car market a century ago by turning the automobile into a cheap, mass-market product. Other manufacturers couldn't compete with Ford's extraordinarily efficient operations. By the early '20s, sales of Ford's drab but well-built Model T surpassed those of all other U.S. auto makers combined.

Then the market changed. As consumers began to take cars' basic functions for granted, they started seeking a little pizzazz in their vehicles. An unadorned black roadster was no longer enough -- everyone suddenly wanted a stylish set of wheels. Niches proliferated. Fashion mattered... While Ford continued to churn out one-size-fits-all Model Ts, GM introduced a string of attention-grabbing Chevrolet models with smart new features. It also began tweaking its models every year, following the lead of clothes designers. By 1926, Chevrolet was stealing market share from Ford. By 1927, Chevys were actually outselling Model Ts. The market had gone, to use Sloan's terms, from "mass" to "mass class."

Okay, so if you don't understand that simple analogy, you're never going to get why people love Apple. Many people think that Steve Jobs just throws a fresh coat of paint on Apple products and makes a nice commercial to sucker everyone in, but unless you've owned a Mac, you'll never understand how the power of Macs are more than skin deep.

Steve Jobs once said, "Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it's this veneer— that the designers are handed this box and told, 'Make it look good!' That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."

I've found that many people who are mac owners, buy macs because of the "simple and strikingly beautiful" look.

I think Apple have a very good marketing department and that's their success. success.  
 
 
 
Beauty is a very subjective concept. While many people like the look of Macs, some may prefer different, perhaps sleeker styles. The exterior design of a Macbook is very similar to that of the Vaio CR series, which has also proven to be very popular. The design of the Mac OS, while undeniably aesthetically pleasing, is no more "beautiful" than the appearance of Windows Vista.