HereForTheBeer: Holy crap, some of those comments. Yeah, it's a lot of money. It'll also be perfectly capable of playing brand new titles for the next five years. So that's $600 per year. Not exactly a budget killer if you use it for several years.
And geez, have these people never seen wheeled bags? Heavy laptop deserves a larger office-type case to travel in.
I got it for free with my new job, er, business. I posted in this very thread about a year ago how I got mod rights in a certain community. One of the regular members was looking for a freelancer, I volunteered, and she recommended me to an investor/business partner who gave me office space in a stupendously prestigious place, money, and this sweet laptop -- all for pretending to be a mathematician and writing an sql query every once in a while.
It *is* kind of a PITA to carry, and I can't use a wheeled bag (tiles, cracks / potholes, chance of getting it kicked, a possible subway surcharge). I'd have bought a backpack but I need see in person if the material is actually waterproof as advertized before buying, so for now I'm using a Bontrager messenger bag.