The $704.14 Mac Mini
I haven't bought it yet, but I was just playing in the Apple Store and it's amazing how numbers grow when you're playing around in there.
Okay, so the $499 Mac Mini! Great! Perfect price point. But hmm... it could use a bit more disk space, and hmm... if I'm going to bump the disk space I might as well just opt for the $599 model with the added processor speed as well, no? Okay, $599 it is.
But wait, I should get some more RAM. Nonono, Apple RAM costs too much, get that later. Okay, how about the WiFi card? Nonono, this isn't a laptop, it's a desktop, I'll just plug it in. Okay, what about the Combo Drive, do I want to burn DVDs or not? No, I don't do it now... it's not worth the bump in price. Keyboard? Mouse? Nahh. I'll just get a USB adaptor for my existing Logitech equipment. Alright. Great! I ran the gauntlet!
But wait! What about about Bluetooth? Hmm. I've got an extra dongle around here, but really, there's only a couple USB slots at the back, I probably shouldn't waste one for something I use daily to sync my phone. Hmm. Okay, I'll opt in for the integrated Bluetooth. $50 is worth the time/effort/pain I'll save myself. Okay, $649. I'm almost done!
Ahh, but let's not forget sales tax. Yes, to those Europeans who are shocked, American prices *never, ever* include the price of tax. Ostensibly because each state has different sales tax (and a couple have none) so it'd be hard to advertise, but it's mostly like rebates, so that the retailer can advertise a lower price than what you'll actually pay. And the Apple store is estimating that my tax burden for this machine with these options will be $55.17.
Bringing the grand total for the Mac mini to $704.14. Hmm. Waitasecond! Wasn't I attracted to this offer becuase it was "less than $500" and now suddenly I'm in the "more than $700" range?!?! Hmm... They're playing me like a fiddle, aren't they? Bastards!
Now where's that credit card...
-Russ