And Apple's success arguably isn't just a result of suddenly starting to execute well. It also took Microsoft giving them a golden opportunity by executing rather impressively poorly for a good long while. 1998 - 2009 was a tough time to be a Windows user.
I switched from PC to Mac for home use in about 2003. I liked OS X from day 1 (I worked the help desk at my college when it was released, so I had to learn it fairly deeply), but that alone probably wouldn't have been enough to entice me to make the switch, especially in light of how big the Apple tax was back then. I had also spent several years living with Windows Me and Windows XP, and I was probably switching away from them as much as I was switching toward a Mac.
I switched from PC to Mac for home use in about 2003. I liked OS X from day 1 (I worked the help desk at my college when it was released, so I had to learn it fairly deeply), but that alone probably wouldn't have been enough to entice me to make the switch, especially in light of how big the Apple tax was back then. I had also spent several years living with Windows Me and Windows XP, and I was probably switching away from them as much as I was switching toward a Mac.