It does suck that the guy died, pancreatic cancer is a shitty way to go. One of my customers didn't know he had. A week before he died his shoulder was in a lot of pain, a week later the guy was dead from it. No symptoms other than his shoulder hurting.
Apple is good at marketing. They made it seem like this is what you have to have. They promoted themselves very well. They aren't the best products out there but they will make it seem like they are.
On a side note I was stuck driving home behind a prius with an apple sticker on it. The fucker couldn't even do the speed limit and if she hit the speed limit the brakes were. It was a 30 mph road.