----- Original Message ----- 
    
From: 
    "Qua Veda" <
> The Mac has about 3% market 
    share of the laptops, so that's partly why they
> cost more.  
Good point. Some folks forget 
    how little they have of the market share, but we should
see this jump up with their 
    adoption of the Intel duo core, right? Maybe it has jumped
already.
> For the price of the 
    MacBookPro, there are companies that will custom
> configure a PC 
    laptop,  optimized for audio applications,  with 
    multiple
> SATA 
    hard drives (separating programs and audio files on different 
    drives
> can 
    speed performance),  and excellent support.   
Well, the pricing thing is 
    getting interesting, and there may not be the same discrepancy
as there was before.  I 
    just did an experiment for you all. I went to the apple, HP, Dell, 
    
Toshiba, 
    and Lenovo sites and pretended I was buying a notebook from each. I 
    configured each notebook
as I would if I were buying it 
    for myself today for music. The specs are exact apples to apples, but 
    it
will give 
    you a general idea of pricing comparisons of really top notch notebooks. The 
    result
    here could vary quite a bit if I 
    had not have selected business class PC notebooks. The 
PC
    prices would probably vary by at 
    least $500, if I had configured a consumer model.
     
    Price 
    Summaries:
     
    MacBook Pro - $3748.00 
    USD
    Lenovo ThinkPadT61p - $2942.00 
    (I would not buy again pesonally, because they don't have 
    firewire)
    HP Compaq nc8430 - 
    $3655.00
    Dell Lattitude D8030 - 
    $2975
    Toshiba Tecra M9-ST5511 - 
    $2564.00 (could not configure with 4MB of RAM or faster hard 
    drive)
    
Mac
Model: MacBook Pro
Processor: 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 
    Duo 
Monitor/Display: 15" (Widescreen 
    display, not glossy)
Memory: 4GB
Hard Drive: 160GB Serial ATA 
    Drive @ 7200 rpm
Services: 
    AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro/PowerBook (w/or w/o Display) - 
    Auto-enroll
TOTAL: $3748.00 USD
Lenovo 
    (IBM)
Model: ThinkPad T61p Mobile 
    Workstation (follow on to the unit I have now)
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 
    T7700 (2.4GHz 800MHz 4MBL2) 
Monitor/Display: 15.4 WUXGA 
    TFT  
Memory: 4 
    GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) 
Hard Drive: 100GB Hard Disk 
    Drive, 7200rpm
Services: 
    3 year depot 9x5 Next Business Day  & 3 Year Depot Upgrade with 3 
    Year ThinkPad Protection
TOTAL: $2942.00
HP (Under 
    Business Class notebooks)
Model: HP Compaq 
    nc8430
Processor: Intel Core Duo 
    Processor T7600 2.33 GHz, 4MB cache, 667 MHz FSB
Monitor/Display: 15.4 inch 
    WXGA
Memory: 
    4GB
Hard 
    Drive: 100GB, 7200 rpm
Services: 9X5 pickup & 
    return services w/ accidental damage protection, 3 years
TOTAL: $3655
     
    Dell (large 
    business class notebooks)
     
    Model: Dell Lattitude 
    D8030
    Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo 
    T7700 (2.40GHz) 4M L2 Cache, 800MHz Dual Core 
    Monitor/Display: 15.4 inch Wide Screen WSXGA+ LCD 
    Panel
    Memory: 4.0GB, DDR2-667MHz 
    SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
    Hard Drive: 160GB Hard Drive, 
    9.5MM, 7200RPM
    Services: 3 Year Business Comprehensive 
    Plan / Gold Technical Support, 3 
    Years
     
    TOTAL: $2975
     
    Toshiba 
    (under business products)
     
    Model: Tecra 
    M9-ST5511
    Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo* 
    Processor T7700 (2.40GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz 
    FSB) 
    Monitor/Display: 14.1" Diagonal Widescreen XGA 
    display
    Memory: 2048MB PC5300 DDR2 667MHz SDRAM 
    (2048MBx1)
    Hard Drive: 160GB HDD (5400rpm, 
    Serial-ATA)
    Services: 3 Years Standard Limited 
    Warranty 
     
    TOTAL: 
    $2564.00