One thing that has always stumped me, and many others I bet, is how Apple has risen to become such an admired and respected company while essentially limiting their customers choice to zero. The most anti-competitive computer company in the world is also the most admired... how odd!

For instance, in 2006 Apple was the PC World Hardware Company of the Year. Fortune named it the Most Admired Company in Innovation of the Year in 2006 as well. And almost daily consumers are faced with "Hi I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC." ads that despite their gross inaccuracies and untrue claims, are generally thought of as an advertising success story.

But then you compare their actual product offerings with what competitors offer, and you're left wondering why their customers are often repeat buyers given the way the company treats them sometimes.

* The iMac is a beautiful machine. A computer hidden inside an LCD monitor. But as a PC owner, I upgrade the memory, hard disks, DVD writers, and video cards on my machine every so often. Sometimes I get a new LCD for my computer, as the prices of large 21" LCD screens have dropped a lot. How do you upgrade an iMac? You don't. You buy a new one every couple of years for $1,500-$2,000...

* In the time it took Microsoft to go from Windows XP to Vista (Oct 2001 to Jan 2007), Apple had 5 versions of OS 10 (10.0 to 10.4) and is expected to ship their sixth one this year. That's five times the Windows upgrade costs. Outraged that Vista Home Premium Upgrade costs $149.99? OSX users pay $129.00 for each version, or $645 for those 5 upgrades from OSX 10.0 by the end of this year. Microsoft releases service packs for free, while Apple rolls it into a DVD and calls it a new version.

* Apple TV looks awesome. Even I've been at the Apple Store watching the demo. But just like its iPod cousin, it only works with iTunes and iTunes Store. And iTunes Store has almost no video content in Canada. So while Americans are happily paying for and downloading TV shows and the like, Canadians do not. So why by an Apple TV for which there is almost no content?

* Speaking of Apple TV, it falls into the same no-upgrade trap as the iMac. It comes with a puny 40GB hard drive. In a world of 1000GB hard drives becoming affordable, why should Apple limit you to 40GB? And when they release the 80GB version later this year and then the 120GB version next year, what about the poor saps who bought this version? Sorry, you'll have to throw away this one and buy the next release...

* Which reminds me of the iPod. For years the iPod has been part fashion-accessory, part-music player. It seems like people were waiting for the iPod Video for years, and even when it eventually came, it wasn't the full-screen device consumers wanted. We're on the 5th generation iPod now aren't we? I own a 4th generation one (iPod Photo) that can't play videos. Wait, why can't my device play videos? There is apparently no technical reason. People have hacked their iPod Photos to do it. I guess Apple wants me to throw this $400 device away every year and buy a new one too. I hate when a device CAN do something, and the only reason it doesn't is that the company wants you to buy a newer model.

* Let's not get into the famous Apple FairPlay issues. Apple (the dominant music seller on the Internet) refuses to license the technology to other companies, thereby enforcing its MP3 player monopoly. And the only reason they are beginning to offer DRM free music is because consumers and governments worldwide are starting to complain. It's like throwing a dog a little bone, hoping he'll be distracted enough for you to get away. Meanwhile their monopoly persists.

So I ask - why is this company still so highly regarded and loved? Are consumers really so enamored with the shiny packaging to ignore the handcuffs packaged inside?