[Coda]

I didn't mean that laptops should ship bare. I meant that Microsoft should distribute the operating system free-of-charge including to laptop manufacturers. And at that point, the license key wouldn't be necessary, because the operating system IS, in fact, free of charge, so worst case scenario you just go get another copy of it if you need to; Windows 10 is almost there as it is because you can log in with your Microsoft account online and download a DVD image and burn it yourself from another computer for nothing more than the cost of the blank DVD or blank USB stick.

Otherwise, what you've said is exactly what I was saying.

Macs do cost more, but that's because they're built better. Mac laptops have better screens than almost any Windows laptop you'll ever pick up. They're more rugged than most Windows laptops (the laptop I'm typing on survived an adult male landing on it after falling down in the rain). They last longer on a charge than most Windows laptops. They're lighter and less bulky than most Windows laptops without having smaller keyboards. You CAN find Windows laptops that are physically comparable to a Mac, but at that point you're paying almost as much.

And then there's the software side of things: They require less maintenance after purchase. You almost never have to worry about compatibility issues. You almost never have to worry about it having problems waking up from sleep.

(Safari has fallen from grace, I agree. In Snow Leopard and Mountain Lion, Safari was a really good browser compared to the other options, but Safari's development hasn't been proceeding as fast as Chrome technologically. Firefox is an also-ran, though; it's clunky by comparison to Chrome and Safari, although it is finally catching up at least.)