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Ok, you've proved that a new Apple holds its value better than a new PC. But the very same data also demonstrate that a used PC can be a much better value than any other computer out there. I'm still happily pounding away on the keyboard of the six-year-old IBM ThinkPad R31 I inherited from my wife three years ago. It probably cost $1500 new (her company paid for it); I got it for the price of a new hard drive after the original one bit the dust (roughly $100 and, let's say, an interesting afternoon). How can any Apple beat that? The best part is that installing the new hard drive cleared out whatever viruses might have been on the drive in the past. It has worked perfectly well (and has remained bug-free) ever since. Ok, it has one drawback: though it has a dvd drive, I can't play movies on it. Crappy video adapter. Then again, that "limitation" forces me to avoid the temptation of vegging out in front of the screen...
The key point here: you only need as much computer as you are going to use. I'd never use anything but a mac to edit a movie... but I'd never edit a movie, anyway. An used PC is as good for typing (or surfing the web) as the latest speed demon might be. For word processing and email, an old clunker is the best bargain you'll find.
