For a long time, only the Apple faithful embraced and understood what Apple is trying to achieve. Lately, however, there has been a cultural sea change of favor towards Apple, according to Leander Kahney at Wired Magazine.

"Recently, people have been saying the strangest things about Apple and the Mac," Mr. Kahney wrote. "Everything is topsy-turvy. Pundits arenit trotting out the old conventional wisdoms any more. Theyire saying odd stuff, like Macs are good for business; Macs can save money; and that Appleis stock -- at $90 a share -- is a bargain."

In the past, PC proponents were able to drag out and present the same old tired arguments why Apple was a failed company and why Appleis products didnit fit in. Nowadays, however, "there seems to be a widespread re-evaluation of Apple going on, a cultural shift thatis changing the way people think about the company," according to the author.

The sea change has four pieces.

• Macs will save you money
• Macs are good for business
• Less is more
• Closed [system] is good

This reporter, who sees a lot of news each day, agrees with Mr. Kahney. The number of articles from PC sources and investors that have been extolling the prospects of Apple TV, the iPhone, Leopard, and Intel Macs has grown by an order of magnitude lately. No doubt, the quality and focus of Apple products is finally reaching a critical mass with the press and consumers. It even seems to be taking its toll on the competition.

A widespread cultural shift like that is very hard to get started, but once in motion, will also be very hard to reverse. Itis called a paradigm shift, and it can become a powerful force.