I disagree with Aaron when he says that Apple will get tired of releasing new, faster hardware. I wish they would, but they won't. It's a great way to make money, and people are willing to do it. Heck, it's probably Apple's best way to make money right now. Look at game consoles: it's all about selling the latest, greatest system, two years or less after you bought the last one. And people are willing to pay for it. Look at cars. Look at homes. It's not about what would make good sense. It's not about what would be efficient. It's about what the market will bear. And constant hardware upgrades is what the market will bear.

The rest of it could happen. I hope it does. But it won't be because of more flexible hardware, unless we get some Linux/open source/Napster-type revolution, something unforeseen, something made by the sweat of someone's brow and their love for what they're doing (MetaFilter, Blogger, heck, maybe Aaron can do it). But it won't be Apple. They're a public company. They've got to make money. And, for them, that means hardware sold to their established market and a few converts.