Not sure what numbers I can throw out that would sway your opinion that a computer (any machine) at $2500 is overpriced. All I'll say is that some people value tools differently then others, and the Mac Pro sits in the workstation class machine. As a workstation, when the new models are released, I've generally found it quite price competitive to every other workstation class machine out there. I didn't do exact comparisons with the 2010 models, but I can state factually that in 2008, my Mac Pro was cheaper then a Dell or HP equivalent workstation class machine. (in USD, didn't check every currency and region around the world ) I'm mostly sure the same is true for 2009, as I helped a coworker decide on his specs for one.

Working in an industry where millions of dollars are spent to then hopefully make a few million more, there isn't much room to tolerate cheaper PCs. It's just not worth it to save a few hundred on the machine and run the risk of memory errors, or poorly designed computers that destroy the SATA controller under normal operation. Nor is it worth it to saddle highly paid engineers with a machine they are waiting on all the time because it only has 4 processor cores to compile on.

On the laptop side, I haven't poked my head around to see what is competing with the MacBook Pro to really say much. My main use for such a machine in the past was as a primary machine, and a portable gaming laptop. With my current situation, and if I didn't have a work provided laptop, I'd probably go with an Air again. It's a very nice and light form factor that I appreciate, with still enough power in it that I don't feel like it's too slow. Yep, an Air is more expensive then a netbook, but I find an Air much more usable for what I want over the netbooks I looked at a while back.

OS wise, I've even attempted to go back to Windows, evaluating the landscape again earlier this year when I had my Windows Phone 7. Sure, Windows 7 is an improvement over Vista, and I could probably say it's an improvement over XP. However, with almost exactly 10 years worth of OS X experience under my belt, there are still many workflow issues Windows simply doesn't address that I now depend on daily. I could switch back if I had to, but I don't want to. I like the Apple way for their OS, and I don't see it as a negative as some others do.

As for the form factor issues, we've been over that in the past, and I have nothing really new to add to that debate. Their hardware, including my iMac at work, works for me. I'm happy to have a NAS to ensure my data is machine agnostic, and I'm looking forward to utilizing Thunderbolt to in my future machine down the road to eliminate my one desire for a proper PCIe slot.