In a recent posting I referenced a Macworld article that extolled the virtues of the Apple TV:

“New video content, whether streamed or stored, (must be) as easy to access as the video content on cable, DVDs, and DVRs. YouTube videos are fun to watch if you’re killing time at work. But when I go home I want to be able to turn on my 55-inch big screen . . . The Apple TV is the first device I’ve seen designed to do that.”

After writing that I noticed this report to the effect that it costs Apple $237 to make the $299 unit, according to a component breakdown from the market research firm iSuppli.

Apple must be trying to seed the market to create the business not on the sale of the box but the programming that flows through it. Gutsy play. Let’s see if The Steve can do it again with TV as he did with music and the iPod.

Separately, as I was watching a product demonstration Friday at a tech firm in Silicon Valley that must remain unnamed, I saw one of the industry bigshots using a MacBook to run his presentation. I haven’t paid attention to market share recently but I should. I think the laptops are driving Apple’s share. I was chatting with another tech guy recently who said that if you’re in the Windows world you’re going to have to relearn habits to make the switch to Vista, so why not go Mac instead and feel the love?