KEY POINTS:
If you ever want to see true gadget lust, unself-conscious desire for technology, stand inside an Apple store for 15 minutes and just watch people come and go.
I did it last month in San Francisco's Apple store near Union Square. The place was packed with people lingering
over the computers and music players, so clusters of people formed.
At the checkout, an employee went down the line with a handheld computer so that most people were served before they got to the checkout.
Whether you love or hate Apple gear, there's no denying the extraordinary connection the company has with consumers. It's something other makers of consumer electronics can only dream of.
Computer users are switching to Macs in greater numbers - which promises to make 2008 an interesting year.
According to research from analyst group NPD, Macs accounted for 8.6 per cent of new computers sold in the US in the first 10 months of 2007. That compared to 5.4 per cent in the same period last year and 3.4 per cent in 2004.
What's been the key to this growth? Basically, great hardware design; a stable, easy to use operating system in Mac OS; a decision to switch to using Intel computer chips; and a move by Apple to better accommodate software from the Windows world. It also helps that fewer viruses are designed with the Mac in mind and the chic appeal of the iPod and the iPhone has hugely positive spin-off value for Apple's Mac business.
In terms of technical specifications, however, the PC makers usually come out on top.
Take the mid-grade Apple iMac and its equivalent from Dell, the Inspiron 530s. You can buy both online right now.
The Inspiron comes with a 2.33GHz (gigahertz) Intel Core 2Duo processor, 3GB (gigabytes) of memory, a 320GB hard drive, a 22 inch screen and a 256MB (megabyte) ATI Radeon graphics card. It's currently selling for $1748.
The nearest thing Apple has to that is the iMac 20 inch version, with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 1GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive and a 128MB ATI Radeon graphics card ($1899).
Dollar for dollar, the Dell delivers much better value and power. But it is, after all, a grey box you'll want to tuck under your desk.
The iMac is an all-in-one device. The computer is built into the screen, one sleek panel with a slot CD/DVD drive, all in aluminium.
The iLife08 software suite which comes with the Mac is arguably better than similar packages shipped with rival PCs. And the OS X Leopard operating system is widely considered to be far superior to its equivalent in the PC world - Windows Vista.
It's a similar story in laptops. Apple has a fantastic line-up in its MacBook and MacBook Pro ranges, but I bought the gruntier Dell XPS. Next year, people faced with the same choices may find it even harder to decide. As the volume of Macs shipping increases, Apple can compete more aggressively on price, which is really where it lags behind.
As volume grows, software developers will be more comfortable designing applications for the Mac, which means that people will be more comfortable leaving the Windows world.
Whether Microsoft can restore faith in its faltering Windows Vista will also determine the rate of defections to Apple next year. Apple's hardware competitors are also frantically trying to come up with ways to make the PC cool again - the HP TouchSmart PC and Dell's new XPS One all-in-one desktop computer are two examples.
But nothing, bar high-end Sony Vaios and Toshiba Porteges, really match Apple's design, which could well make 2008 the year of the Mac.
