I do some Photoshop and Lightroom work, but generally don't need an overly powerful laptop. I used to detest OS9 or whatever Apple had before OSX and stuck with Windows for some time. But after switching and when I last upgraded, price was no issue. There might've been a powerful, $500 Windows laptop, and I would ignore it. The MacBook Pro has simple, clean lines. It works well. The OS stays out of my way (I shrink and hide the Dock and don't use many of the other features - Expose, etc - can't even remember what they're called). I can't trust that to be the same for Windows-based laptops or other hardware.

If it costs $3-5k and I use it for hours and hours each day, years on end, it's peanuts as a professional tool. I'd rather pay and enjoy using it than take a discount but be frustrated each day.