[rbanffy]

> A cheap laptop is $299. The cheapest macbook is $1299.

You get what you pay for. You cannot compare the kind of computer Dell sells for $299 with the kind of computer Apple sells for $1299. When I need most mobility I got myself a $199 Asus Chromebook-like Windows box that now runs Ubuntu beautifully. It's cheap plastic, but I won't be terribly sad if it breaks.

Last time I bought a Mac, it was slightly cheaper than a similar Dell and much cheaper than a Thinkpad, which I'd have to reinstall and, possibly, deal with compatibility issues.

[McElroy]

I bought a MacBook Pro once because I believed comments like this. Had lots of hardware trouble, boot problems, had to have it serviced multiple times. Never again. I'm just fortunate that I live in a country where consumer rights are strong and where if you bought a computer and have the same problem three times or so with the service people unable to fix it, you can return it for a refund. Still was a huge time waster each time the machine broke down, though.

[rbanffy]

This is odd. Apple's customer satisfaction is very high and my personal experience, from multiple Macbooks, is almost flawless. My wife had a minor issue with the trackpad of her MBPr13 and that's all the trouble we ever had with those machines. She won't even consider a non-Apple computer.