Damn, spent 40 minutes reading this thread!
You guys are just going in circles. Obviously we have Mac supporters and PC supporters. The thread asked WHY they are expensive, not which OS is better, not which laptop is better, nor what you should by. Just wanted to note this since this is a heated argument turning into a "is MBP/any Apple laptop worth buying". Dont get me wrong, I learned a lot from you guys but were getting to the point where people are going on the offensive and others are defensive.
Honestly this "debate" is kind of silly anyhow. If you need/want a macbook/pro and are rich - then they don't seem overpriced to you - because you are rich. If you need/want a macbook/pro and you are not rich - then they obviously seem overpriced compared to the competition. It would probably be revealing if you categorised the above posts by income. Maybe everyone should post their income before giving an opinion ? What no volunteers ?? Over-priced is a relative concept. Thread will continue to go around in circles.