We’re all Apple fans. But why? Deep thoughts like that -- and 50th issues -- call for a countdown! But don’t worry, we balanced our enthusiasm with a hard-hitting look at the dark side of Apple...

Turning 50 is certainly a milestone, and we’ve been saving something special for our 50th issue: a countdown that examines all the reasons that Apple fans are Apple fans. After all, as the Microsoft Stores so perfectly prove, no other tech titan can inspire the same level of devotion.

But there’s no single reason we love our Macs, iPhones, iPads, and iPods -- in fact, we thought of a lot more than 50. It took some of the most epic staff meetings we’ve had in Mac|Life history -- we haggled, we argued, and we picked on Nic and Flo because teasing them is pretty fun -- but in the end, we emerged with a thoughtful, incisive look at what makes Apple so successful.

To prevent any rose-colored glint to this story, we conclude with the five ways that Apple drives us crazy. So if at any point this list gets a little too smoochy for you, head here for a bracing, no-holds-barred look at exactly what’s wrong with Apple.

Now it’s your turn: What did we get wrong? Right? What else should be on this list -- or should come off? Let us know at letters@maclife.com (we’ve warned our inboxes to steel themselves). And seriously -- thanks for sticking with us for 50 great issues.

100, here we come!

50. Bertrand Serlet

Bertrand Serlet killing it at the WWDC 2009 keynote.

Nothing’s hotter than a French accent. Unless it’s a jolly-seeming, awesome-haired Apple executive who uses his French accent to eviscerate Windows on stage at WWDC, bringing the house down with phrases like “Redmond, start your photocopiers!” and “It’s still DLL hell.” That’s entertainment.

49. MobileMe

There’s a silver lining to keeping your data in this cloud…

If you use an iPhone, MobileMe is a no-brainer -- its wireless contacts and calendar syncing are awesome. Add to that the ability to sync bookmarks across machines, 20GB of iDisk storage, a bevy of third-party apps that can sync via MobileMe, and your own @me.com IMAP email address…and you’ve got a winning combo of cloud-based power.

Bundling a MobileMe membership with new Macs would be a killer proposition, but even as a paid add-on, MobileMe is pretty sweet. Still, as we all know, MobileMe does have a dark side -- see here for more.

48. The Clamshell iBooks

The iBook G3s make us happy as a clam.

The iBook G3s were released in 1999, and their distinctive design quickly netted them a handful of nicknames ranging from “Clamshell” to “Barbie’s toilet seat.” But the iBook G3s didn’t just bring color and style to an overly beige laptop market; they were sturdy as all get-out and the first mainstream computers with built-in wireless networking.

47. iTunes U

Q: How can you lose? A: Trick question. You can’t.

What’s not to love about free education? This section of the iTunes Store has fascinating info about virtually any subject, including entire courses from institutions like Yale, Stanford, MIT, and the Library of Congress. Talk about smart.

46. Infinite Loop

A friend at Apple laughed at the lettering, saying “Steve hates bitmap.”

Apple’s campus is decidedly spare and simple, just like the company’s products. On the outside, there’s not much to it: a Company Store (the only place in the world to score official Apple-brand clothes) and a now-defunct icon garden -- and that’s as far as most people get. But inside, there’s a cafeteria dubbed Caffé Macs and a pavilion fit to host huge bands (Jimmy Eat World once played there). All in all, it’s a terrific HQ.

45. Environmentalism

In the last five years, Apple made significant strides toward becoming the environmentally friendly company we know now. It’s eliminated PVC, arsenic, and BFRs from its product lines, then cut mercury from the iMac’s LCDs, just to name a few of its Earth-friendly changes. We sure do appreciate a green Apple.

44. The iMac G4

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, y’all.

The iMac G4 might seem like the ugly duckling of the iMac line -- dubbed by Mac users everywhere as “the lamp one” -- but looks aren’t everything. The Lamp One brought a decreased footprint, a swivel-able screen, and a paradigm-setting whiter-than-snow color scheme to the iMac line.

43. Clarus the Dogcow

Moof!

Before there really was an internet, Apple managed to launch an internet-style meme: Clarus, that’s you! This wacky icon first appeared as part of the Cairo font in the original Mac, then moved over to the Page Setup panel in the Finder. Clarus was such a beloved mascot that the folks in Developer Technical Support had to write an explanation for it. It’s as awesome as Clarus, and you can read it at http://bit.ly/t5knc.

42. Podcasts

The mothership for podcasts

Long before iTunes’ podcast subscriptions were a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye, podcasts were known as “webcasts.” But then came iPods, which became the perfect way to lug around these frequently lengthy listens. A journalist dubbed them “podcasts,” and the moniker stuck. And though Apple didn’t invent them, it did more to push them as everyday downloadables than any other mainstream company. In June 2005, Apple released iTunes 4.9, which let users subscribe to podcasts quickly and freely. We’ve been listening ever since.

41. The Newton

Eat up Martha.

Before the Palm Pilot, WinMo, and the iPhone, there was the Newton. Sure, its handwriting recognition was a bit janky and was the focus of jokes on The Simpsons. But without this doomed PDA, those devices probably wouldn’t be around.