Is Apple going back to its roots?

It's been more than two decades since Ridley Scott's iconic advert introduced the idea of the Apple Macintosh computer to the world for the first time. Said advert ultimately kicked off a line of branded computers that's still reaping significant business all this time later. And long after the Apple Mac theoretically should have gone the way of machines from the likes of Amstrad, Commodore, Apricot and many more, it's very much live and kicking.

Refresh

Apple has, of course, been savvy about injecting fresh life into its computer business over the years, most notably from the late 90s onwards when the likes of the iMac kick-started a striking range of designs whose influences are still being felt now. That ability to refresh its line has kept the Mac platform going where every other manufacturer has leapt over to the PC or gone out of business altogether. And far beyond being limited just to creative industries, the Mac has spent the last few years enjoying more success than it's used to in consumer circles too.

Apple deserves credit for this. Through the likes of the MacBook, and the shift to Intel processors, as well as the way that the firm has managed to position Mac OS against Microsoft and the Windows operating system, the company has managed to successfully keep its computer line fresh for some time.

And, right now, Mac OS market share is a not-unimpressive 5.16 per cent according to Net Applications. When you consider that the vast majority of those Mac OS installations are on Apple's hardware (the exceptions being some illegal Hackintosh' installations), which itself comes with a premium price, then it goes some way to explaining why the firm is valued in some quarters more than Microsoft.