Yes, it's a front end, but the fact that it lists all of the software in descriptive groupings along with mini reviews and such makes it a great tool.
My Wife's Mac was a breeze to setup, I'll give you that.
I think my Linux install took around an hour to get it to the point where everything that I need worked fine. Add another day of tinkering to figure everything out, and it has been pretty much unchanged since. Now, if I had to do it over again, it would likely only take me a little over an hour to get to the same point.
I would roughly geusstimate that I could build a computer with the specs of a top end iMac for a little more than half the price, with the only difference being that I would have a box to either stick under the LCD or in my desk somewhere. So, I figure 4 hours max to do the build and get it running perfectly. I would gladly take that $1000 saved as my 4 hour wages.
Now the Mac mini is a great deal... I've thought about getting one, but have no need right now. Where is the best place to watch out for refurbs? On the apple website?