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No, I understand, and yours is a valid reason. It's just that the Mac-bashers have always said "Macs cost more" without ever actually looking at what you get. I'll admit that what you get may be more than you want (from dual Xeons to being preconfigured), but it's not a context-free argument.

Don't worry, the last thing I want to do is get into a Mac-bashing war just for the sake of bashing Macs. I'm not saying anything bad about their hardware (or their software, really). I think they build and sell really fantastic hardware. It just doesn't work for me. I just find it funny that this all came out of my one statement that their smugness is something that turned me off, something that a lot of people have said.

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That said, I will point out that most of us, were we to buy a Dell PC, would spend hours removing all the crap they preinstall and otherwise optimizing the system, whereas a Mac really is ready-to-go out of the box. Not that that's a reason for you to buy one, but it may be a savings many people don't consider.

Oh, you do not have to tell me about this. I'll be the first in line to bash the hell out of Dell for that crap. Against my suggestions a family friend bought a Dell recently and had me configure it. That was a terrible experience. So yes, if it came down to a Mac vs a Dell, I will concede victory to a Mac any day of the week. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear on that point.
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Matt