I just went through this process and was disappointed in Apple as well. I am new to Mac and bought the Mac Book Pro for my business because we make training videos and sell DVDs. So not being able to burn DVDs on the computer was a bit of a shock.
Just a couple of thoughts:
I think the average consumer expects to be able to burn DVDs on any computer, as this is a standard function. As far as I can tell this capability is included on all PCs and Macs (up until now with the Lion). Failure to provide this is a substantial defect.
I would also note that the absence of the ability to burn DVDs isn't mentioned in any of the Apple advertisements, nor is it contained in the help function I accessed when learning how to make DVDs. The help function says to go to Share, select iDvD, wait for the movie to be prepared and then use iDVD menu to configure the DVD and burn it. When I followed this procedure it works initially. There is a drop down menu that shows iDVD as an option. If you select it, the computer goes through the several minute-long process of preparing the file to be sent to the DVD. And then it just disappears. There is no error message. This looks like a real screw-up. In fact we know from others reporting this problem that the first few customers to call the help line were told that iDVD should be on the computer. In other words, both the software and the Apple representatives were geared up for iDVD to be loaded on the computer.
Now my real problem is that in order to be able to get this very basic function to work, I was told by the Apple rep that I needed to purchase iLife 11. As we all now know, this cannot be downloaded but must be obtained from the apple store in CD format -- and it cost some $50. More painful yet, is that the Mac Book Pro comes with imovie, iPhoto and Garageband. Since iDVD cannot be purchased separately, Apple customers must purchase software they already have in order to buy something that ought to have been with the computer to begin with.
I cannot imagine that we would trust Apple products in the future given this expereince. I am only grateful that we didn't make a major purchase from Apple for the company as we had orginally considered doing.