Someone shit in your cereal this morning? Nice ad hominem rant there
The two are different yes, but they both include secret software on the machine to take photos without the user's consent, and while the purpose of obtaining the photos may be different, the intent is the same - to get a picture of the user of the laptop without their knowledge or consent.
They should all be punished.
This is completely true. The question is whether or not you NEED bluetooth, web cam, etc, etc. I have done countless comparisons and I generally find that the iMacs are comparable in price to desktop machines when you incluse everything, including a web cam, bluetooth. wireless keyboard and mouse, a 27" IPS monitor, etc. I have found that the MacBook Pros are about 20% more expensive than their Lenovo Think Pad counterparts (generally T-Series. I don't compare to Dell, I've burned up a lot of Dells and I just don't like the disposable build quality). Of course you could then go on to calculate the benefits of a machined aluminum enclosure and the glass click pad, etc.
The other thing is longevity. I find that Macs generally last me about 4 years. I typically buy one level from the top, avoiding the large premium for purchasing the absolute best one. My current Mac is 3 years old and will be perfectly capable of running Lion when it ships. Most Dells I've had simply don't last as long. The PS dies, or the CPU fan goes, or something. You're not saving anything if you save 25% on each purchase but have to buy twice as many...
The base MacMini is expensive, but can be worth it if you are Mac based, but the upgraded MacMinis are really expensive compared to PC counterparts. I have a couple of Minis because they were only $700 and they serve their purpose well.
Personally I prefer UNIX to Windows and there is some commercial software I need that doesn't have decent replacements on Linux, so the Next derived OS X is a natural fit for me and my company. One of these days maybe I will be able to run my business on Linux, but I've been waiting for the year of the Linux desk top and it has yet to arrive. I do, however, use Linux based servers.
"If I do not want others to quote me, I do not speak." -- Phil Wayne