I understand the premium price sucks, and it's part of the reason I've yet to buy a mac (besides me being a picky bastard when it comes to laptops). But there's an added bonus to purchasing and owning a macbook: premium service. While the price you pay, that "mac tax", is more money out of pocket, the peace of mind that you can just bring your laptop, or any Apple product into the store and have it repaired by experts who actually know what they're talking about. You simply can't get that anywhere else.
Buy a computer at Best Buy, and you're dealing with the Geek Squad, which sucks. I know, because I know people who do it and besides hating their jobs, often they don't fix the problem. Calling support sucks, for obvious reasons (10 minutes to talk to a human being, explaining what's wrong at least 3 times, etc). Having the ability to walk into a store, talk to a live person who actually understands what you're talking about, and getting it fixed pretty quickly by someone who cares? Is that not worth the premium price?
Also, how is Joe Consumer supposed to know the difference between Core 2, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, and i5/i7 chips? The only way is because I just listed them from oldest to newest. Numbers are easier: 2GHz, 1.5GHz, 3.2GHz...but once again, how the hell does some non-tech savvy consumer know the difference? You go into a Best Buy and yes, the numbers are all there, but there's 20 models from 30 companies with 50 different numbers. By the time you look at 3, your head's spinning.
Apple, alternatively, does away with the confusion. They sell only the latest models, and those looking to spend less can go to their online outlet store, or buy it used from someone else. They have limited customization for laptops, and its expensive and generally intended for the more expensive models. Sure, they don't offer i5 or i7 chipsets yet, but so what? Most companies don't sell those CPUs in laptops widespread yet, and the way Apple does it, everyone knows that there's a new, faster, better Macbook available. Every single convention or showing they do shows off one of their products, all the media swoops in (ourselves included), and everyone immediately knows.
So yes, it is sad that you can't get the absolute best on a Macbook Pro today. But if you wait until their bi-annual upgrade, you can! For us tech-savvy consumers, Apple is slow, but for everyone else, they are the simplest to deal with, and the extra money is worth spending. Not only because of the quality product, but the quality service.