$$ upfront is ONE thing, and it is certainly easier to find a more budget friendly machine than a mac in most cases. Although, I think for what one gets, the newest low end macbooks 13" unibody represent some of the best value out there.

But, we all know that is just one narrow area for macs. They just WORK, I have used macs and pcs for nearly 30 years now (okay, it was APPLE products back in the late 70's) and especially today the macs just work, they run solid, they don't crash, they don't require constant tending to keep them running optimally. If I can save five minutes day in startup, hassle, not having to fix something, etc (this is really more like 20-30 minutes) in a WEEK of working I have saved well in excess of the difference in money upfront - and the icing on the cake just keeps growing from there.

I STILL run both platforms for different reasons (I use a tablet sometimes for meetings and my consutling gigs) and when I am using my macs, I get into a nice mode of only thinking about my topic and not the bike.