I don't understand how you can recommend a Mac to anyone anymore.
As you point out, Apple changed, and users who were the mainstay of the company were abandoned. That's Apple's right. But what makes you think the users you are recommending the Mac to won't be the next class of users Apple will abandon? And especially with Apple's increasing focus on iOS, the entire Mac line is probably at risk.
If this were a Dell you were recommending, and Dell decided to quit the computer market, the person you recommended to would switch to an HP and largely have a similar experience. Not so much with Macs, where switching means leaving the ecosystem altogether.
At this point the only people I can recommend Macs to are those who are completely invested in OSX. If you're new to the Mac I will actively dissuade you, because you're putting a lot of money to enter an ecosystem whose future has not looked more uncertain in over a decade.
Yes, but I also know a lot of people who don't use function keys or need the extra ports. Apple still has good build quality, and the out of the box experience is still first class.
Most non-technical people I know might use Windows at work, but most of them can do everything they need to with Safari, iLife and iWork. I may be a Windows user now, but I still don't think anything can compete with Apple for the "normal" user. I haven't seen any free software bundles that even come close to iLife and iWork in terms of power or usability.
A well equipped Mac today should be powerful enough for a "normal" user for at least 5 years. Who knows what tomorrow brings? I am pretty sure a Mac can address a "normal" person's current needs for that time frame very well though.
As you point out, Apple changed, and users who were the mainstay of the company were abandoned. That's Apple's right. But what makes you think the users you are recommending the Mac to won't be the next class of users Apple will abandon? And especially with Apple's increasing focus on iOS, the entire Mac line is probably at risk.
If this were a Dell you were recommending, and Dell decided to quit the computer market, the person you recommended to would switch to an HP and largely have a similar experience. Not so much with Macs, where switching means leaving the ecosystem altogether.
At this point the only people I can recommend Macs to are those who are completely invested in OSX. If you're new to the Mac I will actively dissuade you, because you're putting a lot of money to enter an ecosystem whose future has not looked more uncertain in over a decade.