Eh, I'll reply anyway AC.
The argument I was responding to was that with Apple I'm forced to by the OS with the HW, therefore I'm paying for the OS (read the original post I responded to). This is stilly as almost everyone gets an OS with their HW. Dell, Toshiba, Gateway, HP, Best Buy, Apple...
Its not about anyone dictating anything, just stating that the supposed issue that you HAVE to pay for the OS with Apple applies in almost all cases to Windows as well.
My MacBook Pro (non retina) is exactly as upgradable as my work issued Dell laptop. I can replace the battery, HDD, and RAM myself. If you go to a Air or Retina you can replace the HDD, I think, but nothing else. The trade there is very slim vs upgradability. As to upgrading... as I said I have a Win desktop and a MBP (and the stupid work laptop that I hate for various work IT related reasons). Usually with my desktop, by the time its so outdated I really feel the need to upgrade, its better cost benefit to just get a new box. "Broken items should be fixed". Ya... but my desktop right now runs a Core 2, and there is no upgrade path there... unless I get a new CPU and a new MoBo. I could then get a new GFX card, and use my current HDDs. So... I've saved the case and the PSU and the RAM, maybe. Meh....