Aki,
I beg to disagree with you as regards to who has contributed what to technology. When we talk of technology as a whole, we should not just look at semiconductors and processors. And as far as those are concern, Microsoft has contributed very little to their development and the progress would have happened in spite of them. It is Moore's law. Credit should go to industry pioneers such as Fairchild, Intel, TI, AMD and others. Just because Microsoft has adopted them, it does not make mean they have contributed any more to their development than Apple or even IBM and Oracle.
Small things like online music distribution, desktop publishing, film editing (Final Cut Pro), innovate resistive touch technologies such as found in the iPhone and iPad have greatly altered how consumers interface with technology in today;s devices. This is more of contribution as is the popularization of Windows graphical user interface by Microsoft. And even with that, Apple was a pioneer with the Macintosh.
And the reason why Apple is so successful is they make things simpler and not necessarily developer-friendly. Look at the case of the iPhone closed developed environment. That has led to more stable Apple iPhone application than an open or open-source environment will ever do. Apple has had to compromise between simple and efficient user interface and more low-level access to devices. And given the number of people who rile and Microsoft and their Windows operating systems, you can not say Apple has failed in their strategy.
They have also chosen to target their market, and if it works for them, then I think no one should complain. I think you can sell to the mass markets (the likes of HP and Dell) and spend amounts equivalent to your yearly revenues on supporting the masses. This is the path Apple has chosen not to walk.
Ever wondered why IBM quit the mass market to concentrate on services? Or why GM has billions in annual revenues but makes losses while the likes of Daimler and BMW has lesser revenues but make billions in profits?
My thoughts.