UK citizens expected to pay through the nose again.

As a PC user (Windoze and 'Nix), I was recently confronted by my son that he needs a Mac next year because of some proprietary (read monopolistic), software called Logic Studio which only runs on the Mac platform. He is a music student at University. So, as my son goes to University in U.K and I live in Japan we do a price comparison.
Macbook Pro 15-inch:
2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB Memory


UK, Apple Store: GBP: 1299.00
Japan, Apple Store: JPY: 168,000 = GBP: 1158.00
Japan, Discount Store JPY: 138,000 = GBP: 952.00
US, Apple Store US$: 1699 = GBP: 1,042.00

We can see quite clearly that the UK customer must once again "PAY THROUGH THE NOSE". A discount of 26.72 pct can be achieved if we buy it for him in Japan. This represents a bigger discount than the student discount and the Apple staff discount added together. (Staff discount 15% plus %10 educational discount = 25%)
Not even sure if the Apple store would allow the addition of discounts anyway.
Any Apple staff reading this, please confirm...

The excuse from the manufacturers you will often hear is "It costs more to do business in the UK". Now while there might be some truth in that statement, it is not the whole story. Most of it is companies taking advantage of "What the market will bear". Especially a company like Apple that have created and are still allowed to operate a monopoly. Micro$oft get hammered all the time for anti-competitive trading practices,(and so they should). Why then should Apple get away with it? Just because its cute and cuddly? (By the way Apple also make the Logic Studio Software and that costs another 400 pounds. The price at the US Apple store is US$500 which at today's exchange rate is 313 pounds). Hardware or software, the UK customer is being ripped off again.

Digging deeper into this, why is everything more expensive in the UK?
Because the U.K. is now grossly uncompetitive and wasteful and produces nothing of value. Maggie Thatcher sold all our industry for a pound. So all we have left now is a nation of middle-men all trying to take their 30pct. She may have broken the unions strangelhold for those few years she was in power, but for sure she has ruined the industrial landscape of the UK for years to come in the process.
(Silly , stupid, retarded old bat).

The U.K. needs massive funding to re-create its lost industry, never mind the banks, they will be able to live off the coat tails of a new efficient industrial sector. Fund industrial rebirth not banker bonuses!

So, the answer is, yes we will be buying the Macbook Pro in Japan. The question remains is this: Does Apple "pay backhanders" to schools, colleges and universities to use their systems exclusively? Does anyone have the answer? Oi Jobzie , whats up?