While Apple Computer's market share has been minuscule their role in the technology industry is not. It was Apple who brought computing power from the mainframe systems to the desktop. It was two guys named Steve who saw that there was a need and a desire for computers in homes, schools and small businesses. Computers were no longer limited to Governments, large corporations, and the military. Although the established manufacturers of mainframe systems such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Digital Equipment Corporation made huge shifts in the ways they did business to focus on desktop computers it wouldn't have happened the way it did if it wasn't for Apple.
Once desktop computers became mainstream due mostly to IBM and the thousands of startup companies producing clones of IBM's PC's, Apple set about making computers easy enough to use and bought forth the Macintosh. Even though the Macintosh was the first mass marketed graphical user interface, it was Microsoft who copied the idea and sold millions of copies of Windows that dominated desktop computers.
Towards the mid 1990's Apple brought forth another device that may not have dominated the market but definitely showed the way. In 1994 Apple introduced the Newton PDA. Even though the Newton could only find a small core of users the Newton PDA paved the way for other PDA's such as Palm that did go on to reach mass acceptance.
As the 1990's drew to an end, it was Apple computer who changed what computers looked like. Before Apple released the iMac, computers were almost always beige boxes that didn't offer much in the area of design. Now more than seven years after the original iMac hit the market even the most conservatively designed PC's are definitely not beige boxes.
After the iMac came Apple's first successful entry into consumer electronics, the iPod digital music player. At the time that the iPod was introduced there were portable MP3 players available on the market for several years but since then the iPod has become the digital music player that every other digital music player tries to emulate. Due mostly to Apple's own iTunes online music store. The songs purchased from iTunes will only play on the iPod which will not play songs purchased from other online music services.
While Apple Computer has really only reached a small niche of customers and has never even come close to market domination Apple computer has always been the trendsetter in the technology industry. Technology always seems to be about the 'The Next Big Thing' and many people look to Apple for some clue into what that next big thing is. It would be logical for Apple to continue down the path from computing into consumer electronics. It is rumored that the company that revolutionized how people record TV shows, TiVo is a possible merger target and that Apple would be a perfect suitor. A large screen G5 powered Mac with built in TiVo recorder with a CableCard slot would most certainly be the most formidable competition to PC's running Windows XP Media Center edition.
The Video on Demand offerings from cable companies are growing steadily, most VOD only offers the same movies that currently appear on Pay Per View. Apple has most certainly been successful with their iTunes Music Store. The next step in the path is video programming for sale available at any time to anyone with a broadband connection. An Apple online video store could start with Movies and recently aired TV shows and then offer everything right down to smallest independant feature and short films and even educational and instructional videos. One has to admit there's a lot of potential here.
As Apple as come up with new technological concepts which others have emulated with various degrees of success they have always played their hand close to their chest. It's always fun to speculate what Apple comes up with and amazing what they come up with.