[werpon]

I don't think OS X nor iOS are much easier to use than their free counterparts, it's just that new users have at least two incentives to learn them, and so they do, without thinking too much about it.

First, they have a positive reinforcement: Mac is "hip", so you'll look cool by using their products (the fact that everybody and their mother owns one or ten doesn't seem to diminish this perception), and also a negative reinforcement because everybody knows "Apple makes easy-to-use products" so if you don't learn to use them quickly you'll look bad.

I'm sure Linux and *BSD have earned more followers by looking different or difficult than by trying to be "easy" (whatever that word means). But that's a discussion for another day...

[kevinchen]

Apple operating systems (and Microsoft operating systems too) are absolutely easier to use than Linux. For example, my Linux box regularly throws up dialog boxes that are nothing more than rehashings of error messages printed out by command-line utilities. My Mac computer and my Windows computer never do that.

[cookiecaper]

>"(the fact that everybody and their mother owns one or ten doesn't seem to diminish this perception)"

Not thus far, but once there is a viable "underground" replacement suddenly the Apple will become passe and everyone will be on to the Pear. Apple is nearing that tipping point, at least in some markets. Once trends get big enough, they stagnate until something comes along and replaces them; Apple is approaching stagnation. The market is ready for real disruption if someone can put the pieces together correctly.