Really? People need to have their ego's stroked and that's why they go to retail stores? Sure, some stores are rather fancy (and to an extent, apple falls into this group), but come on, has it ever occurred to you that maybe people want to go into a retail store because they want to see and examine and try out a product? Is that such an alien concept? You say the product should "stand on it's own", well sure, but you can't have a product stand on it's own unless you can actually examine it! It has little to do with wooing people into buying things (although that IS the underlying principle behind advertising, retail stores, and sales-people). People need retail stores. They need to see a mac display in real life to gauge it's quality. They need to test out the weight of a laptop, and compare sizes in real life. Many people like to test out the keyboards and see how the buttons respond.
And your car dealer is an even worse example! Buying a car (an expensive and usually long term purchase) practically demands that you examine that car physically, in real life. You should look at it inside and out, and you should probably drive it. You have a strange outlook on things, and bizarre misunderstanding of how consumers and their products relate to one another. I mean you no disrespect when I say that. (no really, I don't).
And no, you don't need an ipad connected to a MBP to buy one. But having a ipad that displays relevant information about the MBP (and other related laptops) is very useful to a potential buyer, especially if they are new to macs.
And finally, as a general comment on this change in retail Apple stores: for all the people complaining about the queue, do you not realize that this is something that complements the existing store setup? The queue does not replace that normal way you can approach a specialist (or how they can approach you), it only offers an additional, more organized way to ask for help, with less effort, especially when the store is crowded.
Oh, and one more thing: I can't speak for all stores, but all the Apple stores I've been to DO have a real cash register, in addition to all the staff having mobile credit card processing devices. So, although Apple stores can really get very busy and chaotic, if you can't find the register then you need to improve your brain functions. Yes, Apple is one of the busiest retail stores, but there are ways you can deal with that (go at non-peak times, etc.).
/rant off
