I only drive manual transmissions, and I live in San Francisco - plenty of city traffic. The problem for me is that, if you know how to drive a manual well, you can't help noticing all the mistakes most automatics make (shifting at the wrong time, or into the wrong gear).
Most Apple products aren't like this. I ran nothing but Linux for nearly 10 years, but when I bought my first Powerbook, nearly everything was actually significantly better.
Apple's design philosophy for OS X and iPhone OS is different. OS X is not comparable to automatic transmission, it's a full *nix that lets you shoot yourself in the foot plenty of ways. iPhone OS is a different style.
Most Apple products aren't like this. I ran nothing but Linux for nearly 10 years, but when I bought my first Powerbook, nearly everything was actually significantly better.