Kevin, I'm not going to try to sell you a Mac.  I will present you my evolution as a LONG TIME PC user and I hope it provides some insight/help, if it confuses you more, I'm sorry :)

When i say I'm a LONG time PC user... I started my computer life as most my age did using apple II and macs at school BUT the first PC we owned / had at home was a 386sx 16 running Dos and eventually I had Windows 3.0 running... We then bought a 486sx 25 MULTIMEDIA PC running windows 3.1 and with this one my PC exploring / learning / knowledge exploded.  Later I built my first Pentium PC from scratch... 

I WAS also a HUGE defender of PCs as you say you have been.  In fact my best friend Richard and his Father were the long time Apple supporters I knew and due to Greg's job (and inclusion of my talents) he always kept current with Apple's latest and greatest, so they helped represent/expose me to Apple.

What I've noticed:

Apple/Macs, pre OSX were TERRIBLE when it came to reliability, the bomb came up often, Greg spent a lot of time repairing / running utilities to fix it.  They were slow with most things and bogged down often, and BOMB.  I was constantly asked when would I switch from PC by Greg, I often laughed or would engage in friendly Mac / PC debates

OSX was a step in the right direction being both innovative and stable, I took notice and decided to watch closer.  When Apple chose to move to Intel hardware (and bring the speed) along with the further enhancements of OSX I became more interested and began to think about purchasing a Mac.  Again, through the exposure of the Harbaughs... the more I used OSX the more I liked it and considered switching.  Lori (my wife) received a DUSD issued ibook, which I used / helped her with often and enjoyed  I finally pulled the trigger when Apple added the core 2 duo processors, I ordered a refurbished, educator discounted MacBook Pro.

Meanwhile back in PC land....

After the Pentium self built computer (I was in high school and supporting the entire school's IT/network) I jumped from windows 3.x to 95.  Being tied into networking more (high school) I began to explore NT 4, this is where I finally saw some innovation with Microsoft.  NT4 lacked multimedia stuff so I jumped to Windows 98 and then to 2000 (the NT based OS).  Windows 2000 was great.  Once XP came out (which literally felt like 2000 with flashy graphics and better multimedia/hardware support) I felt very comfortable and happy.

After college I got a job where I was the primary IT support person.  I supported a network filled with 2000 / XP computers all networked together.  The problems with windows became more obvious (both at home and work), it requires a lot of support / maintanence!  The operating system seemed to get bigger and bigger (and slower) with each release.

While NTFS (filesystem) is loads better than FAT(32) (the old DOS to Windows Filesystem) it does seem to get terribly fragmented and slow the system down terribly.  Even if you don't do much it just seems to get slower and eventually you crash more often and need that annual re-install.  Viruses to Spyware... don't get me started BIGGEST support issue, constant battle with my mom, dad, girlfriend (at the time, now she's my wife) and EVERYONE who used the internet on a PC I had to support.  Mucking with Drivers and printers and all sorts of hardware / accessory issues (can you say BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH?).  Walking people through using Windows or programs that should be easy to use but just weren't.  If it was a Dell or HP, talking to India to get support to give me a new part to swap or send out a sweaty technician to do so, unless I built my own then I answered to part warranty or buy a new one.

Now here we are with 2 Laptops and an iMac and we're doing fine.  The Mac is not perfect and has some quirks, they're more expensive and have application disadvantages (or are still behind) in some areas.  At work we still use PCs due to a few KEY applications (3D modeling and CAD) that still aren't produced for the Mac.  There are a few niche programs I can't find acceptable alternatives for so I'm forced to use PCs.  I sometimes use bootcamp (which allows me to boot a real version of Windows XP on my Mac) as well as occasionally VMware (which is visualization allowing me to take a processor and run windows xp in a window or full screen while OSX runs in the background) to run those niche programs.  If you're a PC gamer, than you'd have a lot of qualms about the Mac, but you can play most games if you bootcamp into windows or even via Vmware but gaming hasn't been an issue because over the last 10 years, I've kept most of my gaming on the consoles.

That was way to long, I need to stop and apologize and finish up.

I guess when I was younger and had more free time I enjoyed working on my computer and fixing it myself.  Now, I don't have that time, I'm busy with work, raising my first child and balancing free time with my wife.

If you build it yourself, you're the boss, you answer to yourself when it breaks, save some money, this is where a PC wins! 

Buy a name brand PC, deal with tech support to fix it. 

Buy a Mac spend a little more for nice form and decent function... don't get me wrong a Mac is not special (other than that spyware/virii are not issues yet for OSX) and is just as succeptable to failure as any mass produced piece of electronics.  Buy Applecare!  They treat you well, either in store or on the phone, problems get solved more often than not.  I've had great experiences with it.

Though, more often than not it just works, you turn it on it boots up and are doing what you want.  Even the base set of applicatons allow the average user to many things.  Have you noticed when you get a new PC how many trial and junk apps are installed?

With the Mac, I'm spending less time supporting / fixing and more time using it!

Thanks Angelo, I appreciate all the tech explanation.  I am not a gamer.  I am an online student, writer and family chronicler (pics/vids).  For that, it would seem by all accounts that I could do well on a Mac, and right now the biggest fly in my soup is customer support.  So by the testimonies I've heard, Mac is the way to go for that also.  This next week when I get my HP back and it still doesn't work properly (I'm pretty sure that will be the case), I will officially begin my dive into the Mac pool.

I guess people in Bakersfield have no opinion?  I thought this post would grab some more responses.  Guess not!

I agree, MACs are great for people that don't enjoy/have the time to fix PCs.

hey Kevin - i could have written the same entry as yours a year and a half ago. i had had enough of dell computers and everything that goes along with it. i decided to go mac, based on the ipod and i-tunes software, and what i'd read on the internet. i could not be happier with my (intel) i-mac. we seem to have the same needs in a computer (and i record in garageband, free app w/ i-life, which is included)  - all computers are quirky, but this one fits our needs w/o the pain of the constant fight to keep it running smooth. if this one dies tomorrow, i'd have a new one tomorrow night....... (wait, i'm still under warranty..) .... i can tell your mind is made up.... go for it.

and kevin,  i forgot to tell you..... i-macs has photo booth, one of the best family computer apps ever........

Thanks Mr. Oscat,

My mind IS made up.  My next purchase will definitely be the Mac.  I am still waiting to get my HP back.  In fact I had another go around on the phone with them today.  Very frustrating...

My husband turned me on to Mac. THANK GOD! Soooooo much easier to use & faster. Macs dont ask questions all the time . A Mac is SURE Thing for people that work on music, video, photo etc.