I'm quite serious. I am however also aware that I'm upsetting the entire Apple fanboy segment in here. (with slight intent admittedly) MacBook Pros are premium

I'm quite serious. I am however also aware that I'm upsetting the entire Apple fanboy segment in here. (with slight intent admittedly) MacBook Pros are premium indeed. But unless you're looking specifically for the "premium" look, then there's no reason to default to Macs. Please bear in mind that I base all my comments on first hand, personal experience. As stated I've been running on a tiny, flimsy, plastic thing for years. My trusty machine have been thrown around and even landed on a stone floor from ~2m, with me onto. I have the marks to show for it, but the machine merely chipped at the edge. Your argument about the LCDs being inferior I simply don't follow. What makes you think you're getting a different LCD in your MBP than everybody else does? It's the same technology as in all other machines out there. I know specs are easy to dismiss, but honestly, it's not the extra shine that makes your computer run faster. You hit the nail on the head (pun intended) with your analogy - why should the carpenter choose a specific brand or hammer just for the aluminum handle? Inexpensive is not the same as "cheapass". You get plenty of quality machines at half the prices of a MBP.