Apple's software has plenty of problems, but it's successes are numerous and outshine the competition from other heavyweights. Safari, Preview, iMovie, the panorama feature in iOS 6, Mail on iPad, the App Store model (though not all of its UI), Pages, and Keynote, are just a few random examples of simplicity and elegance in their software, and there's plenty more examples.

Even its power user apps, like Aperture and Final Cut Pro X (controversies notwithstanding) show a thoughtfulness and polish that I just don't see in the products of other large software companies, let alone a company that is also a first-class hardware manufacturer.