Sure, Apple aligned itself in a way that ultimately added to its and its partners’ bottom lines. But somehow, the company’s attitude felt aspirational to me in a way that it does not today.
I can see your point. For me personally, though, the progression was:
1. Like the look & feel of Apple hardware
2. Feel like the iPod/iTunes scene is shiny bullshit, but whatever
3. Buy a laptop & figure I'll give OS X a shot, if not install Linux
4. Fall in love with the ability to really get some work done rather than have to futz with my system all the time (despite loving to futz with my system)