Re: Affording Apple crap
Just buy used, that's what I do. I've recently bought a Macbook Pro for $250 (Core i5, 4gig) and an 11" Macbook Air for $400. Both on Craigslist which is the best place to look, at least where I am. eBay is a crapshoot, sometimes Amazon is cheaper. Be careful of stolen gear on CL - I try to only buy gear with the original packaging since it's unlikely to be stolen.
New Apple gear can be expensive, but it retains it's value, so over the long run you'll waste less money. It's worth checking Apple's online Refurbished store as there are sometimes really good deals (e.g. 30-40% off) on older models with full warranties, esp. for iMacs. If you buy used carefully, you can sometimes get it for cheaper than resale value and breakeven after using it for a while.
I find that ~4 yr old Macbook Pros are particularly cheap, esp. if they have low ram & no SSD. With those upgrades, they are almost as good as newer models.... The original Air is also a good deal as you can replace the HD with an SSD & get much, much better performance/battery life.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
