BMW or Ford. This is the argument. Apple will always have machines priced way above the average PC market. Why, design, stability, seemless and support, is more than you will ever find in the PC world. I had been a PC Windows owner for years from the days of DOS 3.0 and Windows 2.0, and switched in 2005, when I could "afford" to. That is the key. Ask yourself, why you don't have a Mercedes Benz? I bet it's a much better car than a Chevy or Ford, and not because it has every bell and whistle under the sun, simply put..It is a much, much better built machine. Even a low end Mercedes ain't cheap. It's all relative folks.