Ahh this old debate…
Yes Macs have suffered from lessened build quality recently. The old ibooks were tanks, thick plastic, metal underneath, and absolutely impossible to upgrade without complete disassembly. I have to say the new macbooks make me nervous with nothing but thin plastic, however they’re no worse than any Dell I’ve ever used. I’m pretty suspect of how well the Air will hold up to anyone actually taking its “road warrior” namesake to the test.
As for hardware, well, I will admit the prices are inflated like crazy…But there’s more to think about than “I’m paying $x for this hunk of hardware”. When I call Apple with problems or questions I get to speak to a friendly, helpful AMERICAN who speaks ENGLISH as their primary language. Try saying that about Dell. Also the stores are a plus, I’ve taken my Macbook in for service once so far. I couldn’t re-create the problem in front of the “Genius” (I hate that), but he recommended some service. It was fast, and they even cleaned the machine for me while it was in there.
So yea I paid $1300 for something that is likely comparable to other machines for a lesser price…But I’d do it again.
(Oh and ILCisDead doesnt like anything, so who cares what he thinks)