It's an OK deal if you want to run Apple's operating system (which only runs on Apple hardware).
But if you do price/feature comparisons with other hardware, it's not all that great. I know because my wife's laptop broke and I was considering getting an Apple to fool around with. It just didn't make sense from strictly a hardware point of view.
The $1100 Apple you refer to (actuall $1150 has a 2Ghz Core Duo with 512MB RAM and 60GB drive and 13.3" screen.
I configured a Dell laptop (which I ended up buying) with a 2Ghz Core 2 Duo, 2GB RAM, 80GB drive, and 14.1" screen. This cost me $923. So for $225 less I got a Core 2 Duo (over the Core Duo), additional RAM, drive space, and screen size.
The Apple laptops are more price competitive with Windows laptops than they have been in the past, and are a decent price if you know you want to run Apple's OS. They almost swayed me to give it a shot. But if you could go either way with the OS, the Windows hardware is still a better value.
"It's an OK deal if you want to run Apple's operating system (which only runs on Apple hardware)."
I was always under the impression that Apple's OS was quite a bit more stable than Windoze.
One of the problems is that people always only look at the hardware specs. You specifically discounted OS X, which is a major reason to go with a Mac, especially with the GPU-accelerated libraries that free your CPU for other tasks (effectively giving you a faster CPU). You also discounted the tons of useful software that comes with a Mac.
Also, did you consider size as a factor in this deal?
If you're happy with your Dell, that's great. But you did pay for Windows in that Dell and got very little software-wise.