Part of the selling point for Apple is that it "just works". That's partially due to design, but largely due to the fact that they have to work wich a *much* more limited collection of hardware than Microsoft does.
the vast majority of Windows instability issues is caused by flakey hardware drivers. Of course, it's bad design that a bad driver can take down the whole OS, but still: windows too can be rock-solid if you use well-supported hardware with good drivers. If Apple were to release OS-X to the masses on home-grown PC's, they too would have the hassle, stability issues, and user resentment.
It appears that while Apple has chosen to go for a smaller slice of the pie, they also work hard to make it good enough for people to want to come back. (and go out of their way to buy Apple's flavor rather than the competition's)
the vast majority of Windows instability issues is caused by flakey hardware drivers. Of course, it's bad design that a bad driver can take down the whole OS, but still: windows too can be rock-solid if you use well-supported hardware with good drivers. If Apple were to release OS-X to the masses on home-grown PC's, they too would have the hassle, stability issues, and user resentment.
It appears that while Apple has chosen to go for a smaller slice of the pie, they also work hard to make it good enough for people to want to come back. (and go out of their way to buy Apple's flavor rather than the competition's)