If it says no, I don’t want it. I am willing to pay more for better. I can buy a six pack of Sierra Nevada Ale or Coors, but I’ll pay more for the Sierra Nevada. I can buy a burger at McDonalds or at a real restaurant – I’ll enjoy it more at the real restaurant, though I will likely pay more (I avoid fast food burger joints like the plague.) I can buy a latte at Starbucks or at Dunkin Donuts. The Starbies may not be great, but it’s a heck of a lot better, and worth the extra price to me.

Would I like Apple to cut their prices? Of course I would! But I’m only buying a new machine every three or for years anyway, so this “tax” gets factored over several years.

(And let me note that I bought my first Mac when the Dell notebook I was using had its hinge break a month after the extended warranty expired. Apparently it was a common problem; there is no fix for it, save replacing the entire display. I was always tinkering with our Windows machines to get apps working right, efficiently, etc. The Macs have had zero problems, and they basically just run.)

Windows may be fine with you, and, if so, more power to you.