50% more does not equal *4* times...
and while 400 v 600 might be a decider for you the 600 dollars is in fact a superior system. Nothing wrong with going with a cheap piece of crap system just realize thats what it is.
A yugo gets you from point a to point b just as well as a superior car but its still a yugo.
I didn't look at the Mac Mini, so the ones I looked at were 4x expensive, in part because I had to buy the screen.
I wonder what you drive and if its not a top line Mercedes if you think its a piece of crap?
The responses I've gotten from Mac owners concerning the crux of the article ,i.e. Macs are more expensive, has pretty much reinforced the paradigm that Mac owners are first and foremost elitist want-a-be's.
Its the crystal glass vs. the 64 oz. plastic cup analogy. Which one is of higher quality? That depends, if you are going to the beach, its the 64 oz. plastic cup to most people.
You can walk around the beach with your crystal glass and tell the folks with plastic cups that they are stupid and are drinking from inferior pieces of crap, but all it is going to do is reinforce their opinion of you.