I came across an article today that I feel needs a response. The article, located here, tries to make the case that Apple is somehow superior to Microsoft because they have created a "lifestyle" around their product line. The author poses the question: "What is the Microsoft lifestyle?".  The answer is that the Microsoft lifestyle is to not define or constrain yourself by petty things such as "lifestyle" or "coolness". The Microsoft lifestyle is the ability to get the job done, no matter what that job is. You can't say the same thing about Apple. Most people I know that are regular Mac users also own a PC. Why do they own both? Because they need a PC to do all the things that they need to do. Necessity, quality, and cost are the factors that drive these decisions, not lifestyle. Are the sales of iPods and iPhones driven by a lifestyle? Why is Microsoft lagging behind here? It's not because of a user’s lifestyle. They are successful because they have the best products on the market in their particular markets. People don't use the Zune because it sucks, not because the iPod allows them to live some Apple lifestyle. An interesting case study will be the future of the mobile phone market. The iPhone is still the most popular phone, but the challengers are stepping up. The Palm Pre made a huge leap over it predecessor the Centro. Can you say the same thing about the last two revisions of the iPhone? Microsoft, Google, Palm, Nokia, and RIM are all targeting the iPhone. How much does lifestyle matter when the products are inferior?