Folks,
This is exactly the kind of discussion this website was created for. A place where long-time Mac users and prospective switchers can talk and discuss all things MacTel without the rancor of some of the existing fan sites.

All of you make valid points. JPT62089, coming from the PC side, where people can freely swap out parts and Bernie from the Cult of the Mac, which puts a premium on the Apple experience.

And as Bernie pointed out in his last post, Macs are upgradeable. Just don't expect the kind of commoditization that you have in the PC world on the Mac.

One reason OS X is so solid is because its vertically integrated. Apple builds everything, OS and computer included. For your typical expansion, Apple led the way by inventing Firewire and standardizing on USB well before PC manufacturers. No need to crack your Mac open.

On the GPU front, I can see JPT62089's point, however. If a Windows switcher buys a MacTel to be his general purpose computer, alternating between OSes as need be, only the PowerMac offers the ability to upgrade GPUs.

I have a lot of PC gamer friends where getting the latest video card is a yearly ritual.

Apple may want to consider having the ability to upgrade GPUs at the very least. Maybe, dyani's point about a MacDesktop may not be a bad idea after all.