I get helping people build them. I got from the OP that he was looking for something he can buy in a store rather than DIY.
I did the DIY route before I got my first Mac. Even choosing "quality stuff" there was always some little nagging issue. If you ended up with DOA or a bum component 6 months later you were SOL until your RMA was processed. Not so with a packaged computer. Heck, when my Macbook's Hard Drive died in 2008 I was in and out of the Apple store with a whole new computer in 30 minutes.
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The point I'm trying to reinforce is that the Mac Tax is very real and very expensive. You have to find high-end OEM builds to compare to low-end Apple builds with price.
I get that but Apple's low end stuff is generally on par with mid to high end PC stuff. Look at Ultrabooks - something Apple pioneered. And generally they are all priced around Apple's prices. Look at that Dell I linked - it's priced the same as a Macbook Pro but the MBP has better battery life.
Decent AIO's are also around the same price as an iMac.
IMHO, the tax argument only comes into play when you go low end PC to Apple's low end. And then you are giving up much to go low end (like build quality, speed, battery life, weight, etc).
I sampled the Low End Netbook market with an Acer from BJ's. Seemed good on paper, 250GB HD, dual core AMD CPU, 2GB, high resolution screen, etc. The thing is a dog in Windows and Linux. The display is subpar. But it was $299.
I think even the PC industry has realized the race to the bottom hurts more than it helps. I believe you are seeing prices creep up there as vendors realize they have to actually make money rather than build cheap junk.
It is an interesting discussion and in the end it's up to the user to decide what they want. Do they want something a tad more expensive that will be like the TV where it just works? Or do they want to tinker? Both options appeal to different people.
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I live in Mechanicsburg, so a few minutes away at most.
Small world - we used to be in Camp Hill but ended up in Carlisle.