What we want from our technology, in its most elemental form, is to make our thoughts happen. Sure, it’s still very much sci-fi in 2010, but what every calculating machine and telephone and computer and phonograph and light bulb and hammer and every tool ever invented is about at its core is our desire, our evolutionary imperative to control our environment at our will. And we’re getting closer and closer to that happening. But there are still many layers between our intentions and our environment. As time progresses, we will strip away those layers one by one. And it’s always disruptive to do so. The reason that any manufacturer of technology exists is to ease each step of the process of tearing away the layers of abstraction between our thoughts and our realities. The manufacturer with the greatest ability to ease the process is the winner. Thus far, Apple has been the winner. That could change, but the rest of the industry is pretty far behind.

Go on, now, read the rest of Adam’s great post.