We owned a pretty good IBM thinkpad for 7 years. Worked fine for our needs, but was subject to many of those inexplicable Windows shutdowns and crashes. Lost a lot of hours to re-booting. Spent many hours on hold waiting for our (then free) IBM technical help.

We bought a Dell Media Pavilion a couple of years ago. Reasonably priced, good features; Windows XP. However, we made a mistake in trying to use our old printer for which there was no driver available, and we've had crashes, weird error messages, and problems ever since. Resulting costs: Had to buy a new printer, spent around $300-$400 in technician/call center fees over the past two years, innumerable lost productivity and life hours while we've re-booted, re-started, been on hold...etc. We have also picked up the odd virus here and there despite practicing good e-mail hygiene and using antivirus software.

I've used Macs and PCs at work in various ways since 1988. The only time I've had any lost time with a Mac (and I have never, ever spent any money on technical help, and never gotten a virus) was when my current employer loaded Entourage onto my machine so the Macs and PCs could all use a Windows-friendly e-mail platform--and I lost all of my archived files.

I am not a technically adept person, and I don't believe one should spend a lot of money on something that immediately requires additional expenditures. When I buy a car, I expect to drive it for quite awhile before it needs servicing. I've never had a car that needed a tuneup in 500 miles. I also don't spend time selling things on eBay.

It's simple: Over time, a Mac is nearly cost-free when it comes to maintenance. A PC, at the very least, will cost in lost time, even if you're only waiting for all those re-starts.