<p>Re: Macbook pricing</p>
<p>The Dell Inspiron E1405 comes standard with a 80 G hard drive and a DVD/CD burner and a slightly larger screen than the Macbook. Its Core Duo processor runs at 1.6 GHz, but can be upgraded to match the Macbook for $64.</p>
<p>The basic Macbook comes with a slightly faster Core Duo processor (1.83 GHz), a 60 G hard drive and the Apple Combo-drive (a DVD/CD-RW unit which will only burn CDs). You can upgrade the Macbook to match the Dell with the 80 G hard drive upgrade, but Super-drive option (burns DVDs and CDs) is not available on the base model. If you want the DVD burner, you have to buy the 2 GHz Macbook.</p>
<p>By the time you create equivalent systems, the Dell is still cheaper than the Macbook before discounts.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html</a></p>
<p>As for reliability issues, there's simply more Dells than Apples on most campuses. Even if repair rates were equal between the two brands, the larger your base, the greater will be the absolute number of repairs. </p>
<p>Reliability is important, but it's only one factor. If you're accident-prone, a dropped laptop onto a concrete sidewalk (Apple or Dell) is a bad thing...</p>