Obviously power consumption is important but performance is also very important. An Atom is an extremely cheap CPU that doesn't deserve to go in a $1000 laptop, like I said. Otherwise you can take the argument to silliness by asking why Apple didn't go with ARM or something.
I've found that Macbooks are pretty comparable in price to a Windows laptop now, at least the Airs (since we're on that topic). Nothing out there matches a Macbook Air in price, considering that the Air comes with an SSD and a Sandy Bridge CPU.
Seriously? Less surface area on an already huge connector is going to magically attenuate the signal? I really don't think you know what you're talking about... We're talking about milliohms of resistance here. Nothing your ears can detect.
Now if there were intermittent contact rubbing issues, then sure, you'd hear scratching as it makes and breaks connection. But if there's enough constant contact then it's negligible.
Foxconn's factories are a mini-city. I'm sure if you compare US city suicide rates to Foxconn mini-city suicide rates, they'd be comparable. It's only really an outrage if their suicide rate was 3x or more higher than US suicide rates.
I dislike Apple software but as an electrical engineer, I'm a huge fan of their hardware.
You do realize that all computer companies outsource their manufacturing work to the likes of Foxconn, not just Apple right?
On the suicide note from your other troll post: the suicide rate at the Foxconn factories are less than the suicide rate at US universities.
"The one charm of marriage is that it makes a life of deception a neccessity." - Oscar Wilde