Too bad it runs Vista.

Apple's public image is almost entirely built upon the company's unique ability not only to design eye-pleasing products, but to build, ship, and sell them. Most PC makers can't bring their hot-looking prototypes to production, any more than Ford or Cadillac could mass produce their over-the-top concept cars.

But focusing on Apple's industrial design skills overlooks the company's other strength: Software. Apple's operating system, Mac OS X, is simply more robust and less confusing than any version of Windows. It's a sure thing the geeks will have Adamo booting Linux in no time. But even Linux is ugly and childlike in appearance compared to OS X's subtle grayscale colors, and its rounded edges on windows, scrollbars and other onscreen components.

Photographer Brian Solis has posted a series of that show the product off better than Dell's own shots. The Adamo's reflective metal skin looks great when the machine is turned off. But booting Windows will splash a user interface onto its screen that clashes with the casing and keyboard. Vista - or for that matter Windows XP -- just doesn't have the low-key seductiveness of OS X.

And for IT professionals -- the programmers and system administrators who live on their laptops -- Mac OS X is a Unix operating system at its core, or more technically, its kernel. That means it's easier to work under the hood than Windows. A Unix expert can find lost files, edit configurations, and obtain data on hard drives and peripherals in ways not possible even with the latest Windows Vista.