While thanking, or thinking of Edison and his creations here is one to chew on for a while. The Edison company developed the business model for the music and movie production industry. That business model is still in force today. Think of the RIAA, MPAA, and the present state of copyright law in the US. Then take a look at the garment industry. You will find a tremendous difference yet both generate revenue by the cubic yards. Victor went the "patent every idea" route which is also popular today. Think of the doors on a Victor machine being used as a volume control. Victor had a patent so Edison had to stuff a sock into the horn throat. Now, right after the very first door was installed it was common knowledge that closing the door reduced the level of sound that propagated through it. Yet Victor received a patent. A large quantity of this 'innovation" was forced by the necessity of getting around the other companies patents, without landing in court. As to the PC vs Apple item. You need to look further than Best Buy and Dell and you will find that the PC comes in many shapes, sizes and colors. Rich