Well I don't know about you but my XP has been running strong for 4 years now. That's what pisses me off the most about people who down Windows OS's. If you actually take the time to run routine maintenance on your system(Virus scan, Adware Scan, Proper Firewall) then it's just as reliable as the "uber-reliable mac's"(end sarcasm)

So....do you club your women over the head when you want to date them?

That's functional, right? I mean....you get to take them home, which is your goal anyways, right?

I think there is a balance between design and performance, and Apple has proven time and time again that they are one of the only companies that knows how to walk that line.

Lose the caveman mentalities, and learn to appreciate companies that care about how a product makes you FEEL as well as how a product performs.

Yeah, so money is an issue. But once you make an investment in an Apple product, it's guaranteed to last you for a long time.

I know many people who still use G4s with Leopard and it runs spectacularly.

My friend Ivan runs his online business from his G4 12" iBook and it's never quit once, or given him one glitch, error message, or ANYthing.

Anyways, I think I've proven my point, enough said.

EDIT -

I am currently running Linux and Windows XP SP3 (release candidate).

I have 21 running processes (that's including firefox, which I'm using right now as I type this), my 1.3GHz mobile celeron / 512MB ram laptop starts Windows XP in 16 seconds and shuts down in 6 seconds, goes to standby mode in 4 seconds, and all my programs start in between 2-10 seconds (word, excel, powerpoint, firefox, etc.)

Anyways, I know how nice Windows can run if given time and care (memory management, registry editing, blah blah blah etc etc).

But it was a LOT of time and a LOT of researching, forum hunting, and it was a pain in the butt, yet my crap laptop runs better than most people's gaming rigs for main PC tasks (non-gaming).

My point is, my friend's iBook G4 runs the same way, but without one bit of optimization. It pisses me off, actually.

lol alright guys I'm seriously done this time.

Obviously I respect Apple, and I would hope others would as well.

You're really trying to compare the functionally of a laptop to the indulgence of another human being? Thats just well disturbing.

Well not really since XP can be put on many stylish laptops which would give it the same style(or damn near close, depending on your style) that your get from a Mac. Personally i'd prefer the Sony Vaio over all the Mac books just like i'm sure you'd prefer the Mac Books over everything else. My point being it's all a matter of preference. If you really care to look you can find a laptop with just as much style as a Mac with the functionality of a well maintained XP.

Well I can't understand why you spent all that time searching forums when my laptop has similar performance to yours(Start up 21 shutdown 10 programs 10-15 seconds) without any changing of my registry. I also have 1.3 Ghz Celeron and all I did was upgrade my RAM to 736MB and defrag my HD. That being said nothing but respect for Apple, hell their products sell there's nothing more to it than that.

Well, defragging has to be done on a regular basis, but the changes I made are more permanent and require less future maintenance.

Anyways, I think it means something when I only have 512 megs of ram and I have speedier application launching, faster startup / shutdown times, etc etc.

Oh also I don't run any antivirus programs or anything. I am a smart PC user, and I avoid anything and everything that would put my computer at risk.

This is my startup list too:

igfxtray
igfxpers
igfxhkcmd
NotebookHardwareControl
ccleaner /AUTO

I actually think optimizing windows is fun and challenging, and rewarding when I can shave seconds off the time it takes to complete tasks.

Call me crazy, but the performance of Apple's computers inspires me to make all other computers and OS's run just like them.

Fair enough argument. I just can't bring myself to buy a Mac though. I had a Mac book(7 years ago) but did like the OS. More power to you though. I consider myself a pretty smart surfer too but I still run anti-virus and spyware cause you never know. Even with Firefox and No-script(the greatest extension ever created).

$600 Canadian down the street from my place for a laptop with the same processor, 2GB, 160gb drive, dvd-burner blah blah all the standards.

I can't stand how Apple screws people.

Wait wait... Innovation?

A friend of mine bought an Apple MacBook because she's admittedly shallow and liked how it looked. I opened her up to put in some upgrades because apple overcharges for everything ($170 to put in 2gb of RAM, $170 to put in a bigger hard drive (120gb) that's almost 200% markup) and it was A MESS! Look around, everyone is complaining about how their apple computers get too hot, don't have proper contacts etc. In fact, one of the apple laptops has an under clocked built-for-mobility video card because it cannot handle the heat dissipation! People buy these models for performance, but they're buying the overpriced hardware AND it's under performing compared to stock parts. That is not fair.