Please show me a windows laptop that is still worth even half it's value after 2 years.
About two months ago I was looking for a Thinkpad w700ds, and while admittedly an unusual laptop, I found two items on ebay going for more than they originally cost. As for a 5yo laptop costing $1500 after resale, the laptop I currently use is a Thinkpad x200, a 6yo laptop that I bought new for $1300 and I see now on ebay for an opening bid of $200. $1300/6 = $217/year (less if you count the $200 ebay sale), which is cheaper than any of the options you're proferring. Where is this magical Apple-only value you're talking about with laptops, then? I find that Apple fans are very skilled at convincing themselves that everything else sucks, which is fine (each to their own) until they start proselytising. Yes, Apple machines do hold their value well, but from your own numbers breakdown, my Thinkpad more than holds its own if you want to talk turkey.
In any case, the point I was making wasn't about the resale value itself, it was that most folks don't actually resell their computers. Most people run their computers into the ground, then buy another one.
Lets take the case of a ThinkPad T510 vs a 2010 MBP, the thinkpad is going for 250-350+ (low of 100 for parts and a high of 600 for a refurb system), the MBP 450-600+ (250 for a low, and 1000 or so for a refurb system) - the Apple clearly has the better resale value - that said, I think anyone buying a piece of consumer electronics for resale value is a fool - I recently bought a rMBP, simply because power for performance was better bar none than anything else I could find in the same class (read ThinkPad) - plus I wanted to give OSX a try, I wanted a Unix workstation that could run MS Office (I need Excel - and LO/OO Calc is not a suitable replacement) so that basically left MacOS - and I'm supremely impressed.
About two months ago I was looking for a Thinkpad w700ds, and while admittedly an unusual laptop, I found two items on ebay going for more than they originally cost. As for a 5yo laptop costing $1500 after resale, the laptop I currently use is a Thinkpad x200, a 6yo laptop that I bought new for $1300 and I see now on ebay for an opening bid of $200. $1300/6 = $217/year (less if you count the $200 ebay sale), which is cheaper than any of the options you're proferring. Where is this magical Apple-only value you're talking about with laptops, then? I find that Apple fans are very skilled at convincing themselves that everything else sucks, which is fine (each to their own) until they start proselytising. Yes, Apple machines do hold their value well, but from your own numbers breakdown, my Thinkpad more than holds its own if you want to talk turkey.
In any case, the point I was making wasn't about the resale value itself, it was that most folks don't actually resell their computers. Most people run their computers into the ground, then buy another one.