The cost of that 'ware actually runs closer to 32 BP - don't forget to add getting the restricted gear quality, twice. But it's still worth it - the bonus to Agility alone boosts so many skills, and the increased Attributes can often free up more points to spend on skills.
The whole specialist vs. generalist debate is interesting, because some roles fall more into the latter category. Sammies get the heat for being one-trick ponies, but honestly, they are one of the easier roles to "multi-class". Mages and hackers, on the other hand, have roles that are actually comprised of a number of Attributes, skills, and gear, and they usually need to make painful sacrifices to be meaningfully good outside of their area. Covert ops is a similar broad role, but one that is easier to break into narrower roles.
My characters tend to be either dual specialists (face/sammie, etc.), or specialists with a wide spread of other skills. Mainly because I would get bored if they could only do one thing well. I think of shadowrunning as something involving information gathering, people skills, planning, infiltration, combat, and exfiltration. If you can only do one of those roles, you will likely be bored a lot of the time. Not just the purely combat types, either. If you can, say, dig up data, but aren't good at sneaking, talking to people, or handling yourself in a fight, you will probably be as bored as the mono-focused fighter.
That depends on the focus of the campaign, though. If everyone is playing combat types, your generalist might be as valuable as gold to them for his ability to negotiate pay, scout out the area, etc. Or, the runs might be nothing but combat, and your well-rounded guy will be a second-rater with a bunch of extra skills that he never gets to use.
