Absolutely. Apple's Mac line is very narrowly focused and if you're not interested in the feature set they include, the price point is a little tough to swallow.

BTW, I've been an Apple user for years. As a designer, the feature set fit me perfectly and now that they run Windows, I have no reason to switch back (other than to build my gaming rig I want this year).

Even one of my software engineer friends switched over to a Macbook Pro this year because he wanted the versatility of running virtually every operating system he can think of on the same machine. For people like him, that's a pretty significant bonus for the platform.

One place where Apple laptops really stand out is the form factor, specifically the trackpad. The LARGE multi-touch pad absolutely beats the shit out of every other trackpad I have ever used on a laptop, and I've used a lot of them. 

That Macbook Air is so pretty.

And so narrowly focused that it hurts my brain to think about it.

No upgradable HDD, RAM, or anything. Ouch. I'll take the higher powered, more functional $1099 MacBook over that all day long.

Erm yeah Rocketpig... I haven't added anything to my current laptop,
It has 40GB HDD and I have used about half of it.
I have no idea what RAM it has but I bet it's small (is 256mb small... that seems to ring a bell)

I don't even know how you would even start to change the OS... nor where I would find this Linux thing you are all on about.

I use my laptop to store pictures/music and go on the internet, so if I could afford I would have already bought a Macbook... (whichever was the lowest model at the time)

Oh, and I just checked, the Macbook Air is £1100-1200 here, which is $2200 plus.. so I don't  even want to check how much the better macbook is

That's the kind of thing I need - the "mouse-substitute" has sucked on every laptop I have ever used.

^Game_boy, then I suggest you get on over to an Apple retailer and check out a MB or MBP. The trackpad on the things are awesome but make sure that someone shows you the multi-touch features on it.

Two fingers on pad + click = right click
Two fingers on pad + move fingers = scroll in any direction; left, right, up, down

It's a really slick setup once you acclimate yourself to it. The best thing is that it also works in Windows with Boot Camp.

Who ever really buys a laptop that can only do what one "needs". I mean if you really look at it as needs, who needs one? Most of the world does just fine without internet at all. A laptop (esp for the OP) is a quality of life issue, not a requirement.

Also, to a point about value, a Mac will last longer than two/three windows PC's. The PowerBook G3, that was released in 1998 runs Tiger relatively well. This OS will stay relevant in the world for at least another 5 years.

That means a Mac can have a useful life for 15 years (provided it does not break). This cannot be done in the windows world, not even close. If a user was willing to learn Linux, they could get 15 years out of a laptop, but that's because it's doing the same thing OSX is doing (running a light/fast kernel). The mainstream is not going to learn Linux.

I bought my 17” MBP coming on two years ago. When Leopard came out, I upgraded without a hitch, and my computer still screams. Never do I sit and think I wish I had a new Mac.

These are factors that play heavy into a computers value. 

As opposed to running VMware?