Not exactly, at least not an off-the-shelf processor that's currently be sold or marketed by AMD. It also uses a memory architecture more akin to a graphics card but with 8GB of GDDR5 memory with a throughput nearly 3X higher than a $2000 Intel Xeon processor. That is NOT cheap memory. While it's possible that the CPU/APU/GPU could be considered commodity or off-the-shelf hardware, the remainder of the internals are custom designed and built for this console, much like they are for the other consoles. It certainly will come at some expense and you can darn well bet that it's not going to come in at the same price as the currently 6-year-old PS3 hardware.

One of the problems that the Wii U faces right now is that it's not the cheapest option. I'm sure Nintendo would like it to be, but it's not. For less money, you can get an XBox 360 or PS3, and while they sure are old at this point, they still have tons of life left in them. We'll be seeing new releases on those consoles for many more years to come. In addition to that, you get blu-ray (ps3) or dvd (xbox) player, netflix, amazon, vudu, last.fm (xbox), hbo (xbox), Syfy (xbox), VEVO (xbox), Youtube, ESPN (xbox), Hulu, the list goes on. So what is the Wii U bringing to the table, for extra money and a smaller game selection, that will drive buyers to pick one up.

If you ask me, where Nintendo dropped the ball was in their Network/Internet multiplayer implementation. It was a CHORE to try and play a game with a friend on the Wii (what's your ump-teen digit numerical user id?). They had the elements in place including a cool blue glow on the console to let you know you received a message, but it was nothing compared to the Xbox Live / PSN service. I don't know enough about the Wii U to know how or if they've addressed it, but it's another hurdle they face since their competition is now entrenched with tens of millions of consoles out there with connected users accustomed to playing games with one another. You have to convince them that they, and their friends, need to buy one to continue their co-op and competitive gaming quests with one another, and I don't think Nintendo can pull that off.

If the PS4 ends up being cheaper than the original PS3 (and I wouldn't count on it just yet), it would only be because the Blu-Ray technology has come way down in price, they're certainly sparing little expense based on the other specs they've released.

No, Nintendo doesn't care about people who want to buy Halo 27 or CoD 12, they're more interested in the people that want Mario 33, or Mario Kart 18, or Paperboy ... But, pray tell, of the 10 Wii U exclusive titles out right now, which ones should the hypothetical Wii U purchaser be looking at?

Well you could throw it away (tell me which dumpster you leave it in please, or you could pay $129-$199 for Apple to replace the battery for you so that it's brand new again.

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro/service/battery/

Doesn't seem like that pice is entirely out to lunch unless you shop the cheap 3rd party batteries for laptops. The OEM ones I've seen are generally around $100 anyway. Your call.

You're probably right, I just don't deal with anything that big so it's foreign to me. Heck, I have to max out a Dell R910 to get anywhere close to 6 figures and I'm still short, and that seems like overkill for whatever this company would need. I only pick on Sun cause they're one of the few where I've seen preconfigured systems (SPARC systems) starting in the 6 figure range. I sure haven't seen it in the X86 world. Thanks for the info.

I honestly wasn't trying to flame, I'm legitimately curious as to whether he shot a single $100,000 machine or that's just a number the authorities are throwing out there as the "intrinsic worth" of the machine, e.g., includes the cost of recreating the data stored, etc.

At that price it just sounds more like a huge Sun SPARC system or something, I'm just curious what.

A single $100,000 server? Must be a Sun errrr Oracle machine. You can buy a hell of a lot of Dell's for $100,000.

Well, I still have to point people to online outlet/refurbished stores (Apple, Dell) when they're buying new computers, so there's still a lot of learning left to do!

Doesn't Amazon also allow you to preview the first chapter of most of their books before you buy?

Many retailers are like this. Best Buy offers, occasionally, decent discounts online. However, if you go into the brick and mortar store they won't match their price online. Even going so far as to let you go up to one of their demo laptops, order the product from their website with in-store pickup, and then waiting for them to process the online order. This just infuriates me.