was reading the post and could not help my self to say something.
I'm a pc builder here in Mexico, I have an imac, core i3, it is my third imac in this past years, all of them really beautiful machines, have nothing to say against mac.
I think it should be more a question of preference, now at days you can spend almost the same in a hp, dell or other brand with the same specs as the imac, I know that is true, but on the other hand, with pc's you can go for a self build system, or with a pc builder, and get it for less than both apple, hp or dell computers. I did my math with parts to assemble a pc with the same characteristics of the imac, including a hp ips panel of the same size, and turned out to be almost half the price (you won't believe what you'll end up paying for a dell, apple, hp machine here in Mexico), I know I'm a pc builder and the prices I get are even lower, but on the other side, even at the price I would sell the system I guess it would be like a 20% below the others.
Both OS are good, for me both have advantages and disadvantages, there are some things in win 7 I would like to have in SnowLeopard and viceversa. A mac is less likely to get infected, but it is also true that you have to spend a bit more in order to get some things done, had that issue not so long ago with a headset I wanted to use, and turned out to be I needed a usb headset because the port next to the audio out is not for mic, just audio in.
Pc's have in their side that there are more options available, more things you can do, more flexibility with upgrades, with an imac it is not that simple, but still is a good choice, there are lot's of things you can use, but not all at a low price.
But ey, if you have the money, and you like the macs, go for it. At the end it is how you feel with the OS, since it is the face of the computer.
that happen to me with aperture and lightroom, aperture has many features and it is really good, but still I didn't feel that comfortable with it, I felt really comfortable with lightroom, so I decided not based on which one was better (they both are good) but which one suited me the best.
So the same should apply to a computer. Maybe some one feels more comfortable with a assembled than with a brand pc, or with an imac than with a laptop, or with a mac pro than with an imac.
There are a lot of variables to check, a lot of things to consider, not only the money or if it is mac or pc, or the specs, or the looks.
My opinion is, choose the one that suits you the most, the one that makes you feel the most comfortable while using it, the one that you think uses the apps you need, or that has the features you wanted.
Just my humble opinion, and with no intention to offend, either mac users, or pc users, because I'm in both sides.
Regards