Forget the Applestores, round the corner from me in Sutton Coldfield is a small cluster of four small shops, one of which sold computers and, latterly, more or less just computer peripherals. It has ticked over for years, never growing or doing very much. It has closed down for refurbishment and is reopening in a couple of weeks. Signs outside the shop and in the parking strip alongside proudly proclaim that it will be selling Apple products - iPods, Macbook Airs, the whole lot.
I think more than anything, this is a clear sign that Macs are gaining not only mindshare but actual marketshare if bogstandard small computer shops think that they can up their income from going Mac, where for years the opposite has been the case with Apple retailers folding.
