Imagine you want a date. Do you call up your favorite celebrity and ask him or her out? No. You find someone that you like that has a greater than 51% chance of actually saying yes. (OK, it doesn't need to be 51% since you stand to lose less than you could gain. But some mental calculation like that is going on.)
The other factor is Internet hype. Try this: write a story involving Google or Apple as the protagonist, submit it to HN or Reddit, and watch as the Internet goes crazy for it. The companies are "hot" now, and merely mentioning them sells newspapers (or pageviews, or Reddit karma, or whatever). If what you're writing is technically true and contains controversy, all the better.
The first factor rules out Apple. The second factor rules out Microsoft. And who's left?
Imagine you want a date. Do you call up your favorite celebrity and ask him or her out? No. You find someone that you like that has a greater than 51% chance of actually saying yes. (OK, it doesn't need to be 51% since you stand to lose less than you could gain. But some mental calculation like that is going on.)
The other factor is Internet hype. Try this: write a story involving Google or Apple as the protagonist, submit it to HN or Reddit, and watch as the Internet goes crazy for it. The companies are "hot" now, and merely mentioning them sells newspapers (or pageviews, or Reddit karma, or whatever). If what you're writing is technically true and contains controversy, all the better.
The first factor rules out Apple. The second factor rules out Microsoft. And who's left?