I specced a 15.4" dell core duo 2.0 GHZ with 1 gig of ram, dvd burner and a 100 gig hd and got 1543$...
The $2000 MacBook has an 80 GB HD, not a 100 GB HD.
And Dell has a $450 off any system priced $1499 or more right now. And they tend to run similar coupons all the damn time.
The other "significant" difference (the biggest is the video card) is that Dell only sells 533 MHz DDR2 memory, while Apple sells 667 MHz. As with most laptop things I haven't seen any sites that actually give real world impacts of that. And the Dell comes w/ 1 GB of memory, while the Apple comes with 512MB.
Edit: Sigh. To make it incredibly clear -- Dell Home Inspiron 1505 (no, Small Business or other options do not get you the same things -- yes, it's silly). Take the 2nd lowest model (the base model is Core Solo). Base price is $999 (shows at $799 due to $200 coupon).
Change CPU to T2400 - +$100
Change OS Reinstall CD to include OEM CD - +$10
Add Remote Control (Apple includes) - +$29
Change LCD Panel to top end - +$100
Change HD to 80 GB 5400 rpm - +$75
Change optical to 8x CD/DVD burner - +$60
Change wireless networking to Pro 3945 w/ BT - +$49
Change video card to ATI X1400 - +$179
Total is now $1501 (will show on screen as $1301). You can apply a $450 coupon to this dropping the price at check out to $1051.
Dell advantages: 1 GB of memory @533 MHz, higher rez display, built-in modem, 802.11a support, 4 USB ports, 5-in-1 card reader, dual layer DVD burner, non-slot loading drive can handle small CD/DVD disks, more than 1 freaking mouse button built in.
Apple advantage: 512 MB of memory @677 MHz, more powerful video card, integrated video camera, motion sensor, backlit keyboard,
very nifty power cable, more software (Apple's media software is quite nice and powerful), slot loading drive is more streamlined, digital audio out, can run both XP and OS X, slightly lighter.
Note that the Dell does have firewire and comes with XP Media Center Edition (not Home -- it's not even an option through Dell Home).
Whether or not what Apple offers is worth the extra money is up to you. I just bought a new laptop -- not what I listed above, but fairly similar.
This comment was edited on Apr 5, 13:47.