olds442, your mistake is thinking Apple started the whole consumer computer market. They did not. There were several successful computer companies around before Apple started shipping their first computer.
As a matter of fact, Radio Shack beat Apple to the market. I know as I was there when it happened.
Apple really is more of a marketing company than anything else. They have wonderful technology, but most of the technology is a contemporary spin on older technology. I am not saying they have not created any technology, they have.
What Apple does better than anyone is marketing. The company's marketing is simply brilliant. They can take older technology, wrap it in a new wrapper, and everyone will believe Apple created it all. That says a lot about how good their marketing is. That is also a credit to Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs was one of the early players in the personal computer era and the industry lost a valuable friend, partner, and supporter. It is sad.