Psst - if you leave out the bargain basement PCs and go look at workstation and premier desktops and laptops... Apple gear is *cheaper*.
See the threads comparing a Dell workstation to an Apple Mac Pro. The Dell costs hundreds more and offers less.
Also, see the laptop cost comparison threads. The MacBook lines are often cheaper.
FYI, the Microsoft “seed money” wasn’t a bailout. It was Microsoft settling up for all the stuff they stole from Apple. In addition, the first PRODUCTION split ergo keyboards came from APPLE. Not Microsoft.
Nobody bought them. Which is something that Microsoft is now discovering - and is why they are killing off their ergo line, slowly.
See the threads comparing a Dell workstation to an Apple Mac Pro. The Dell costs hundreds more and offers less.
Here is the latest Dell PC v. Apple Mac cost comparison I did yesterday. The lesser equipped Dell Dimension Workstation (A purchaser could not build the Dell to match the off-the-shelf, default Mac Pro... the Dell build used a 1333MHz FSB compared to the Mac's 1600MHz FSB) was $997 MORE EXPENSIVE than the Apple Mac Pro.
Also, here is a slight "error" correction comment to do a comparison with like processors and FSBs, upgradeding both the Mac and the Dell to a matching processor and FSB, which showed the disparity even more. The Dell was $1,699 MORE EXPENSIVE than the equivalent Mac Pro.
Here is a comparison of equivalent notebook prices. Amazingly, the pricing of both a MacBook and and Dell Inspiron are pretty much competitive.
Also, for those who claim they can buy the parts and build a better system than a Mac, here is the rebuttal to that canard. Just the parts COST $ 450 MORE than the standard off-the-shelf Mac Pro.
Can you buy cheap, bargain basement PCs for a lot less than the lowest priced Mac... Of course. But you get what you pay for and in the areas where Apple chooses to compete, it either has the best for the best price, or it is very competitive with equivalent PCs.