When a retailer says there's "no sales tax" what they mean is that they are paying the sales tax. It's essentially a masked discount.

Actually, no. Legally, you only have to pay sales tax on something from a catalog if the company is located within the state you are purchasing from. I think it has something to do with the provision in the Constitution regarding interstate trade and the fact that neither state has the authority to tax a business transaction from another state and since the transaction is in both states, it can't be determined who would have the authority to tax. Or something like that.

My understanding is that the State - in this case California, requires you to pay tax - many out of state Company's won't facilitate that, so the state expects you to report (and pay) it on your own. Of course, they never enforce this - Here's some FAQs.

Re: 20.1in Widescreen.

Right now, for instance, it can be had for $397. You just have to keep your eyes open.

As far as where to order, I'll put a plug in for Powermax. They are in Oregon (skirt the tax issue, but still pay for shipping). They usually have deals (like most online retailers). But what I like about them:

1. When you call them (during normal business hours) you get a LIVE person. If you start working with one person, you almost always can ask for that person on return calls.
2. They actually know what they are talking about. The people who answer the phones are not just order takers.

The last three Macs I've bought have been from them. Had a return issue once and it was handled quickly and painlessly.
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Every once in a while, I like to go into the Apple Store and configure a rediculously expensive. The current configuration includes:

• Dual 2.7GHz PowerPC G5
• 8GB DDR400 SDRAM (PC3200) - 8x1GB Eight friggin gigs of RAM - yeehaw!
• 2x400GB Serial ATA - 7200rpm
• NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL w/256MB GDDR3 SDRAM
• Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
• Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel) Yes; dual 30" Monitors
• Bluetooth Module + AirPort Extreme Card
• 16x SuperDrive double-layer (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• PCI-X Gigabit Ethernet Card
• Fibre Channel PCI-X Card (w/SFP-SFP cable) Why I need Gigabit Ethernet and Fibre Channel on a standalone Mac is beyond me
• Bluetooth Module + Apple Wireless Keyboard & Mouse - U.S. English
• Mac OS X - U.S. English
• Mac OS X Server (Unlimited-Client) Why TF do I need Server SW?!? Because I can in my dreams!!!
• Final Cut Express HD preinstalled
• AppleCare Protection Plan for Power Mac (w/ or w/o Display)

Just a measly $14,717 - pocket change

One last thing: I would make sure you get the Dual Layer DVD. I'm not even that big into a lot of DVD (I do have a Superdrive), but I am sure Jonesing for a Dual Layer. I want to start looking into what it will take to get iDVD to run an external Dual Layer.