Perhaps they are. But I have personally never had any problems with Apple's hardware, software, or support. The only other manufacturer I can say the same of is Lenovo, but they make way more boring stuff and you're stuck with sub-par software no matter what you do. ;)
It is really each persons matter of taste. If drop the software and compare the hardware of a laptop to the macbook, latter can't score. And it is not made for gaming.
But the OS/software is rather nice to work with and I personally think it is easier to understand than windows, especially for PC-noobies. And ofc it looks nice ;)
It definitely has no chance if you drop down to a pure hardware level, that's true. Well, it's the only way to get your hands in nVidia's new chipset, but that's about it. But it's the details that makes it great. Laser cut chassis, useful (!) multi-touch trackpad, the magsafe connector, the amazing keyboard design, and very high quality screens.
Add the software to the equation and you have my choice of work-notebook right there. (Although, I might get to waste some time on gaming now. They showed both Spore and NFS: Carbon running smoothly on it. ;))
After accounting for the student discount, the amount the almost free nano sells for and the amount I got when selling my white Macbook, the sub-total for my purchase is down to approx. 400€.
But the OS/software is rather nice to work with and I personally think it is easier to understand than windows, especially for PC-noobies. And ofc it looks nice ;)
Add the software to the equation and you have my choice of work-notebook right there. (Although, I might get to waste some time on gaming now. They showed both Spore and NFS: Carbon running smoothly on it. ;))
you need http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ConfigureSystem.asp?SystemID=827#
xd