The Apple Squeeze

I'm curious to know the thinking behind the original Mac purchases. The same reasons used to justify buying "premium" computers like a Mac seem to no longer be valid. Was it simply an expectation of the type of use that never materialized, or was the decision to buy Macs based on the brand or something else entirely?

Chromebooks may not have been around, but there were many lower cost Windows based laptops to choose from. Just wondering why they thought every student needed a Mac, and why they decided now that they no longer need a fully-fledged computer/Mac and instead a "web" device.