No, because the OS loads from cold in under 60 seconds (less than half that if you use an SSD), can be left on for months on end without needing to reboot, apps load up almost instantly, and it runs Windows better than a Windows machine

You're paying for hardware yes, but you're paying for hardware matched perfectly to an Operating System; hardware that's built FOR OS, instead of generic hardware built up to (hopefully) work with a generic OS. You're also paying for ease of use, and complete integration.

I won't deny you are also paying for a name, but you pay for a name when you buy jeans, such as Levi - Levi jeans that do exactly the same thing as supermarket branded jeans that cost a 5th of the price.

Me personally, I use a MacBook Pro because 1) it's easy to use (and so much nice to use than a HP, Dell, Compaq, etc) 2) because OSX is so much nicer to use than Windows, 3) because it "just works", and 4) should I find I need to use Windows for anything (and I have a very expensive piece of audio software that runs on Windows, and don't fancy shelling out £600 again to use it on a Mac) I just simply boot up Windows, inside OSX, and run both OS' at the same time, faster, slicker, and more stable than a PC laptop, or desktop, runs Windows on it's own

That's what I paid for - dunno bout anyone else. And I didn't pay anywhere near £1600 either - bought a 10 month old one (at the time) for £750. Was still cheaper than buying Dell or HP tat....