No? they just depreciated my machine by 50%. So i kinda think i have been mistreated.
50%? Hardly. Look at the value here:
http://www.powermax.com/parts/show/c-u72520
Now while that one is probably the machine you have, and it does NOT include the operating system CD, which you do have, and that alone is worth something, and RAM is cheap. And your machine is still qualified for the three year Applecare until it is 12 months old. The one above is not.
As for your $3500 pricetag, you probably bought the more expensive 750 GB internal hard drive or a faster one and even more built-in RAM. Regardless that's not 50% drop. If your 17" machine was worth only $1750 now in the used market with CDs and all that you loaded with, I think your complaint would be more reasonable. But claiming 50% when it is not, you basically shot down your own argument.
Also, your machine is likely able to run an older Mac operating system than ones just released. That alone is worth something to some people who have software installed that is already obsolete. Read this user tip:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1502615&tstart=0