Re: Selective deafness
Just got on the PC Specialist website, configured a Defiance XS Pro workstation - as close to like-for-like as I could get to the 16" MBP. Core i7/16GB/500GB to match the MBP, it comes out at £2.175 inc VAT - and that's with a 4-cell battery, 15.6" instead of 16" screen, twice the thickness and half the battery life for just under £225 savings. Plastic chassis as well.
I'd be perfectly prepared to accept Apple are expensive, but they're nowhere NEAR as expensive (comparing apples to - ahem - Apples) as people think.