This is where the physical waste really gets bad to me. I'm not weighing in on this discussion as far as more RAM vs better binaries because /I want both/.
But if you have to buy a whole new machine every two years when they only pieces of hardware that are getting better should be upgradeable (ram & display) it's pretty disheartening.
Even if you don't have replaceable RAM, you're still replacing your computer at some regular interval. It just means you have to buy the computer with more RAM than you would if it wasn't upgradeable (which was true anyway.) That's part of the cost of buying a computer where you can't upgrade the RAM.
That's assuming you're using a computer with user upgradeable RAM, and not a new macbook pro.