I need you to go to
http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=13 and
http://www.apple.com/support/ to tell everybody there that they're mistaken because their macs are working perfectly fine.
The hardware on the Mac is NOT topnotch, it's the same.
I have no idea where this myth of needing to reinstall the Windows OS every year comes from, and these security updates are JUST as frequent as Mac's Software Update coming in to tell me I should upgrade my security and a few other programs I never use as well.
The whole "Getting a confirmation when a window closes" also confuses me, because I never got that except for Firefox, which happens on the Mac as well.
True, you don't get the experience of "This program has hit an error" and closes the window. In my experience, it just closes on its own without telling me what's going on. Yes, things crash on a mac. The programs that have this happen more often than other programs are my Adobe software and web browsers (I switch from Firefox to Safari).
Someone said it already, but the differences between mac (PC) and Windows (PC) is just the OS. The whole adware, virus, etc... can be easily avoided. My Windows machine that I've been using for nearly half a decade has only been infected with cookies that says where I've been. I've gotten absolutely no viruses or anything. It's all about how careful you are. I love Leopard's mail, iPhoto, and iCalendar. Adium is OK. I prefer AIM 6+ on Windows so I can listen to the Satellite Radio as I chat. Launching programs are easier on OS X, especially with Quicksilver. The whole virus thing is how it is now. As it stands we're just as much in danger as any computer user, it's just that we have no weapons aiming towards us right now. Instead of a confirmation that asks you to do anything, like Vista, you have to input your admin password for OS X (but not to do as many things such as installing programs. But you still have to do it almost 75% as much with anything modifying your system).
Mac is less customizable than a Windows machine and almost anything you want to do on a mac, flashy-wise, can be done on a Windows PC. Expose had it's own thing (forgot what it's called) since XP, for example. Spaces...well no that was for Linux which has been doing it for years called "Desktops" but I think Windows now has it. Hardforum has a good show of good customized desktops:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=753262
OP, ignore the quoted post and the others that assume what Windows is, listen to everyone else that has a more balanced view; they're more objective. My own $.02? I love both platforms. I don't game, really, anymore. I've had success with both OS's in my professional field. But I have to say, notebook-wise, I'd rather get the Macbook Pro over any laptop. But the Dell M1330 is also a good one to look at.
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DYDWTF1&s=dhs
Or you get the Dell M1730. It has "more hardware" and even color choices (has a built-in fingerprint scanner for the 1330, I know that, for starters) and as with all Windows machine (in my experience) you can tell them to install XP rather than Vista. Don't listen to those who say Vista isn't stable. In actuality, Vista is very stable and those with some experience will say that it has crashed less than OSX has; it's problem is that it's very resource heavy with unnecessary features (that last one is personal opinion).
