I just priced a apple macbook (the 2nd tier one with a 2.4 processor) and to get the 1199.99 base model from Dell costs 1,666.  Even after a discount its still about 1400 dollars (200 dollars more).  I just matched the specs with Vista Ultimate (since OSX is a full featured OS similar to Ultimate, unlike Vista there is no downgraded version to try and make you upgrade).  Even without Ultimate (just using home basic) its over 100 dollars more.  Just install XP from your old PC for free and you have OSX for school/work stuff and XP for games, win win.

   As an added bonus when buying a mac you don't have to go through 35 pages of crap (yes I had to click next component, next bonus option, next package deal ect over 35 times to finish the create your PC portion).  

   I don't know what you're expecting if a full featured laptop for 999-1199 is too expensive.  If you are going REALLY low to the 500 dollar EEEPC and 1.6Ghz shovelware level you really are going to get what you paid for, I'm not going to reference linux only crap boxes as competition since I would never even consider one of those for a second.

   The mac being elitist or more expensive then windows laptops is a myth.  Yes you can build your own desktop for less then a mac desktop costs, but in the laptop market the cost difference doesn't exist especially if you consider resale value (which I don't above).

im with epsilon here - great news for macs even if i wouldn't want one.

Also - why is it that whenever there is any debate regarding OS platforms, mac users have to over-zealously defend OSX? I mean really..cant some people accept that macs arent for everyone, be it for usage (I dont like the mac interface, sue me. vista + linux is more than enough for me, and my old XP disc if the need arises) or for whatever other reason (i.e. price - some people dont need a 1-1.5k laptop if something for 300 can fit their needs). Meh, i expect impulsivity above to attempt to deconstruct every single sentence of this paragraph either way, so lets see what he comes up with.

I understand perfectly Dragonos, some people for whatever reason are more afraid of change then they are of continuing to use something that is second rate. It gets more and more common with age, which is why Macs sell far better to the young then the old.

I assure you, having used both extensively, OSX is far far better then any flavor of windows in performance, reliability and price (OSX, which has MORE features then Vista Ultimate, costs 300 dollars less, a full set of Office software for mac costs 49 dollars instead of 500+ for Office for Windows).

Some people don't care, they will just continue to use what they've always used even if something else is better and that's fine, but that doesn't mean they made the right choice in general even if it is right for them due to whatever hang ups they have.

Some people will vote for John McCain simply because they are afraid of the prospect of a black president even though Obama will almost certainly be a vastly superior commander and chief.

Fear of change often makes people make bad choices, luckily not THAT many people though, now in Enterprise, Microsoft's strongest market, Vista is barely past 8% penetration and OSX is up to about 5% in the September 08 numbers. Sometimes something is SO superior (like OSX to Vista) that it gets people to overcome their fear and make the switch.

Incidentally if you want a used mac you can find one that is pretty cheap and runs OSX. You can easily get a 300 dollar clamshell ibook if you REALLY want to, and even if you get a new 1000 dollar macbook it will still be worth 700 dollars 2 years from now, so really you only paid 300 net cost to have a superior notebook for those 2 years.

That was a big heaping pile of bs and you know it Impulsivity.

what are these added features

Wow, that's alot of market share. Now we just need linux to steal the cheap word processor + internet browser market

? dells are much cheaper. dell xps m1330 is about 1249 with a 250gig hardrive and 2.4 penryn processor. While the mac is 1599.99 with the same price.   

So wait sales went up 35% and PC sales went down 1.5%?

 $1099? When did that become expensive? I don't even want to know what my company paid for the X300 I am typing this on, but I am pretty sure it was more than $1099!

It will be interesting when Apple breaks the 1k barrier.

 Young Urban Professionals.  I don't think you quite grasp what a Yuppie is. I'll give you a hint 19 yr old college students <> YUP.