It's a question of mapping: the goal isn't to take an APPLE to start with then compare it to the price of a similar PC; instead, it's to take a PC you want, and asking if there EVEN IS a similar Mac -- in a lot of cases, there just won't be.
That's a damned good point, and the main reason that I'm typing this reply on a [somewhere between eight years, or one month old - depending on how one measures it] custom box. By most measures, it would be described as mid-range, and I'd love to own a mid-range mac. Except, not stuffed into the back on my monitor, because it's nice to be able to improved the video card every-so-often. Or disconnect the 'display size' from from other performance metrics. That mid-range mac has been missing-in-action for a long, long time, and I don't get it...
Essentially make it like Windows 2000 used to be. Easy, simple, minimal, and out of your way.
Why not stick with win2k then? If you're happy, clap your hands and stick with it...
This file will self-destruct in five minutes.