The nice thing about buying a MacBook is that it's much easier to comparison shop on price. I almost bought my netbook from a major chain until I realized they sold it with a 3-cell battery instead of the awesome 6-cell battery in the one I found online. On the other hand, I just helped a friend buy a MacBook, and we knew we were comparing apples to apples while looking for the best deal. Also, hats off to Apple for not loading their machines with crapware when you buy from a retail store.