>It exists solely as a vehicle for selling Macs

First, Apple now has a vast ecosystem which they are trying to promote, be it music, movies, TV, advertising, some of it requiring or optimized for their hardware. It goes beyond selling Macs.

Second, Microsoft is also trying to sell PCs. I don't buy the idea that they can be explicitly anti-consumer and get away with it. Backlash against the OS would hurt MS's bottom line perhaps more than Apple.