I also read this with great interest and was surprised that the author seemed to intentionally load up the Dell side of the equation. I also ran across this "response" which seems to put things into a more Mac friendly light.

http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02/13/pricecomparison/index.php?lsrc=mwrss

Changes things a bit I think.

Marcus S. Zarra
Mac OS X Business Software
www.zarrastudios.com