Interesting. Any other brands/models that have this modular design? I bought a Gateway (super cheap for the features) for work/gaming. Unfortunately, the build quality sucks. I should have known better, but I thought I was getting a bargain.
I must say the HP's that dayjob hands out are pretty darn tough, but also super expensive.
I don't know about the other manufacturers, but I'm ready to sing praises for Thinkpads here. Every single part inside has a part number and pretty much all of these parts are orderable online. Many are interchangeable between models, though the information on that can be a bit difficult to find. There are PDF service manuals that describe in detail how to completely strip down the machine piece by piece available for pretty much every single model since at least ten years ago if you know where to look (Thinkwiki).
It's not really the Apple way, but it's pretty awesome if you're the type of person who's into lots and lots of information about everything.
I must say the HP's that dayjob hands out are pretty darn tough, but also super expensive.