I think you are correct. Everyone I know that owns a macbook pro (with a single exception) has had their laptops work reliably, quickly, and endure for long periods of time(3+ years). They have all held up much better than most of their laptop counterparts (not from the same price point, but laptops nonetheless), so I think the cost per year is probably much lower than buying budget windows laptops. That alone would make it a solid purchase in my book. I have never purchased a macbook, but I'm definitely considering it for my next one simply because of how reliable they are. There are definitely cons to using apple products (key software for the business user being behind (office comes to mind), among other things), but there are also pros (such as max exclusive programs and such). So I like to think that they do carry a premium, but most apple users say it is worth the jump, and over the years I have started to believe them. Say what you want about Apple, but it is pretty tough to argue that their hardware department sucks or is lacking (with notable exceptions, aka the new macbook) or is a (complete) waste of money.