The advantage is already there, over Windows machines. It could be argued that the merger of NeXT and Apple democratised Unix.
In the 90s, most people were packing Windows 95 and if you wanted a Unix box you were going to pay for it. Silicon Graphics, NeXT, etc, were out of the reach of the general population and most developers. Only the CAD guys had them.
But many Windows users still complain today that the Mac is too expensive. So in that sense, if you want a Unix development machine you still have to pay a premium, just thankfully about an order of magnitude lower.
Of course, the democratisation would go much further: it is interesting that around the same time NeXT and Apple were merging, I first heard that some guy called Linus was busy porting Unix to the Intel architecture, and - unbelievably - he was doing it for free!
In the 90s, most people were packing Windows 95 and if you wanted a Unix box you were going to pay for it. Silicon Graphics, NeXT, etc, were out of the reach of the general population and most developers. Only the CAD guys had them.
But many Windows users still complain today that the Mac is too expensive. So in that sense, if you want a Unix development machine you still have to pay a premium, just thankfully about an order of magnitude lower.
Of course, the democratisation would go much further: it is interesting that around the same time NeXT and Apple were merging, I first heard that some guy called Linus was busy porting Unix to the Intel architecture, and - unbelievably - he was doing it for free!