[ratsbane]

I'd guess price and compatibility with already-purchased or Windows-only software is the #1 reason, but you have a good point. Years ago my friend Nick used to use an old Dell with stickers and tape and missing keys. He ran Slackware and wrote magical code. I hate to think of it as a question of "status" but I do unconsciously and unintentionally appraise people as hacker/non-hacker at coffee shops, airports and such based on their laptops. From lowest to highest: Dell with Windows, corporate asset tag and Outlook on the screen; next, Sony Vaio playing Disney cartoon full-screen; then a Mac; and at the rare top, something like Nick's old computer with stickers and tape and syntax-highlighted terminal editor on the screen. I'm sorry, now I feel bad about judging people like that. And Nick now uses a nice black MacBook.