I would say get a Mac, they are a lot more expensive, but if you take a look under the hood, you will see it is worth it's high price, for the following reasons
-It's already ready to use, with a Mac, you just take it out of the box, set it up (some models), press the power button, configure your settings, and it's ready to use, with a PC, you can take it home, set it up, press the power button, configure the settings, get to the desktop, then figure out that you need to disconnect your BRAND NEW computer, and take it BACK IN to be upgraded with more RAM and missing hardware, Macs already have 2~4GBs of RAM preinstalled, no need to update, they use Intel processors, so it's ready for Windows, and all the required hardware, and software is there
-They are a lot easier to use, so for the people that don't know too much about computers, you can learn the basics, then when you have the basics down, you harness the hidden power of the Mac, and it means less fussing around and more getting work done for the rest of us
-They look much nicer than PCs, don't get me wrong, I built a computer with a clear case, and loaded it with lights, and it looks really nice, but I still like the look of my MacBook Air better, it looks cool and sleek, but at the same time, it looks professional
-On the laptop side, all Mac laptops now have a MagSafe charger adapter, so if you trip on the wire, it pulls off without breaking the wire, the computer, or injuring you
-The operating system is safer, unlike with Windows, where you can get infected at any time, even if you aren't connected to the internet (malware can be on CDs, flash drives, or floppies, not that they are used anymore that much, but still), with OS X, without one bit of anti-malware or firewall software of any kind, you can go to any questionable site, insert any questionable external source of storage (like a CD, DVD, Floppy, flash drive, etc), or do anything that could infect a computer, and OS X still wouldn't get infected
-And finally if you need Windows (XP or Vista) or Linux, you can use BootCamp to partition the hard drive and install Windows or Linux, and run it natively on the Mac, and instead of having to search for drivers, the drivers are included on the OS X DVD, so even though it's a Mac, it can still run like a PC, so you can run any Windows programs you need to, and it runs just as well, or better, than on a PC
There is one drawback with Mac though, Macs aren't that user servicable, and if you use AppleCare, it's even worse, as if you open it up, (at least more then they allow you) then your warranty, including AppleCare, is void
@ dba-I could counter attack everything you posted, but that would make my post twice as long, and unbearable to read, but here are some from the top that I will counter attack
WINDOWS ADVANTAGES:
"Aprox 90% of the market is Windows. PCs include windows already pre-installed."-Not true, not ALL PCs include Windows preinstalled, as a matter of fact, you can buy a custom computer from Dell OS-less, or even preinstalled with Linux, this saves on the building cost of the system, and you can get used PCs that had the hard drive replaced, but not have Windows reinstalled on it, or a brand new computer built by hand, either from a local computer shop, or from sites like Ebay (I have done this myself), that when you buy the computer, it has everything, including the hard drive, but does not have any OS preinstalled, and for the companies that do preinstall Windows (Dell, Sony Vaio, HP, E-Machine, Gateway, etc), instead of installing "Windows", they usually preinstall a slipstreamed version of Windows specifically for that model of computer, and that is why most computer manufacturers, instead of giving you a real OS CD, they give you a "restoration" CD, or have you burn one when you first boot up, those restoration CDs/DVDs are crap, just like the PCs they are preinstalled on, Mac on the other hand, only does this on one computer, and that is the MacBook Air, because of it's lack of hardware, and I think Apple did a good job fixing the MacBook Air's flaws with the slipsteamed OS
"There are a number of websites that still require Internet Explorer to view."-There may be some sites that require Internet Explorer to view, but there is a version of Internet Explorer for the Mac, it's not that great I admit, but it does exist, and I have used it myself, though for the sites I visit (and I visit many many sites), I have found very few sites that do require IE, and if you really need to run Windows and use it's Internet Explorer (I know that there some sites that require you to run IE in Windows), that is why all current Macs include BootCamp, you install Windows on BootCamp (Windows runs better on a Mac than it works on a PC, despite the fact they use the same exact hardware), then use Internet Explorer in Windows, on the Mac, and I have been able to get away using Firefox on OS X for many many sites, so I doubt that Internet Explorer is required, and what is this about Windows users (yes, Windows users that run Windows on a PC, not a Mac), using Safari? With Internet Explorer and Firefox, does Windows really need Safari?
"Printers and other things you hook into the computer are easier to support on Windows."-Actually, you have that backwards, most printers, digital cameras, and stuff like that work better with a Mac, even with the Driver.cab file containing a wide assortment of drivers, for many many things, there are times you are still required to pull out the driver CD, and fuss with wasting valuable storage towards a dumb little driver and extra software crap you don't even need, with Mac, you just plug it in, and, well, just that, you just plug it in, done, Mac, using a generic driver, can pick up most add-ons without any driver CD, and even then, the driver CD usually still contains a Mac driver, just in case
"If you like the Dock on OS X (Mac) google/yahoo rocketdock, objectdoc."-I have used those programs before, no matter how well they are made, Windows just can't pull it off, as a matter of fact, I have gotten sick of running any docks in Windows, because the main reason of using a dock is to keep your desktop from getting cluttered, and just because of the way Windows works, shortcuts still end up on the desktop, and you have to delete the shortcut, go to where the program is installed, find the executable, and drag that down to the dock, what a pain, Mac on the other hand, instead of adding shortcuts to the desktop, they just put everything in the Applications folder, and there's no extra files to mess things up like in Windows (like DLLs, CABs, EXEs (the extra ones, not the main one), etc.), then if you want them in the dock, you just drag and drop it, no shortcuts to worry about
"I Would also install Avira AntiVir on the Vista since there is a FREE version and works well."-Even though I am into Macs, I do work on my share of Windows computers, and believe it or not, I probably do more work in Windows than I do in OS X (I only have one Mac, the rest of my house is littered with PCs, so yes, I do work on PCs, they just become a pain after a while, i'm on a Compaq right now as a matter of fact), so I think I have the right to say that I think Avast is better than Avira, much better in fact, even though Avira has a free version, I bet it doesn't include all the features that Avast free does, like resident shield protection for example, I couldn't live without that, I have came into many close calls where Avast's resident shield protection saved my butt, and with all the other antivirus programs, the computers still end up getting infected, and become hard to clean
"I Would also install Comodo FireWall on the Vista since there is a FREE version and works well."-Okay, I can't disagree here because I have not tried Comodo, so I would have an inexperienced biased opinion, and of course that wouldn't be fair, but I myself prefer ZoneAlarm, but even then, nothing beats the power of a hardware firewall, like the one found in routers, for every router I have connected behind, I have had no problems, even without a firewall, or it could be something in Avast or in Windows that gives me firewall protection
I have feeling that the people giving me thumbs down aren't really reading the whole answer, which is all true information by the way
@ virgil-The fact that PCs cost less is because of it's lack of hardware, like I said, you can buy the most pleasing PC with the highest stats at a really great price, you are still going to bring it back a week to a month later for an upgrade, I myself would pay the high price, and know that I bought a computer that I won't have to bring back and pay even more just for some simple upgrades that should of been done before being sold in the first place
@ dba-
"PCs with windows pre-installed (most PCs people buy) typically have more ram than Mac and don't need to brought back."
I don't know where you got that information from, but it's wrong, it doesn't matter if it as Windows on it or not, it still has a lack of RAM, the PCs preinstalled with Windows DOES NOT have more RAM than a Mac, I have a Compaq that was preinstalled with Windows XP Pro, and it had less than 512MBs of RAM, while all the Macs during that time had AT LEAST 512MB, if not more
And that thing you said about that I would know IF I had a PC, well, if you read my post, you would noticed that I said MULTIPLE TIMES that I have ONLY ONE Mac, and ALL THE REST ARE PCs, my server is a custom built PC running Windows XP Pro (for remote desktop), my school computer is a Dell with Windows Vista Ultimate (I call it a school computer as it is a laptop I take with me to do notes and watch