My experience:
(I'm a Windows user converted for good! Why didn't anyone tell me!? The Windows/PC VS Mac debate only exists coz most people have not used Macs otherwise there would be no debate)
Now I know why Apple users defend them with so much passion. I'm in love with my Imac. Its 20inch, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB Ram, 250Gb Hdisk, Wireless Kboard, Wireless Mighty mouse, built in Webcam, Infra Red, Remote, WiFi, Bluetooth, DVD super drive? All this within the size of an LCD monitor! And no System Unit (CPU)..its just too sexy?
You are right, it picked up the wireless network in my apartment in seconds with no configuration required. It updated all software from the Apple site in seconds thanks to my broadband connection. Setup was too simple to believe, you just plug it in and switch it on. I have compared the best Intel Core 2 Duo PC's (just sold mine on EBay) and they don't come close to a normal Mac. The boot up time alone on Mac OS X is like a tenth of the fastest PC's. I can't get used to how stable Mac OS X (Tiger) is. It's way better than Windows Vista (tested RC2 on a friend's new PC and he had to switch off Aero to get any performance) so cant wait for new Leopard OS to come.
Windows needs a huge amount of processing power just to run! So imagine what it will use when running applications. Many users will stay on Windows XP with SP2 for a long time coz of this. Macs are way more stable, much much faster and feel amazing when you use them. The OS is way ahead yet very simple to setup and operate. The feel good factor and build quality alone are enough to woo me. Most will feel crap going back to a PC after using an Apple for a few days.
Features like Spotlight(equivalent to MSN Desktop Search) and Dashboard(equivalent to Yahoo/Google widgets) are all extra downloads and only few Windows users know about them and use them after looking on the net. Backup and Sync on the Mac are way ahead compared to Vista's which are not intuitive and need workarounds. (I loved the free SMS widget and Flight tracker widget that let me track Bansi's flights and mapped them on the globe). After you install widgets the PC slows down a heck of a lot chewing resources esp RAM and extending the long boot up time so then you uninstall em lol.
PC's need defragmenting every week just to keep the speed up. Tweaking Windows registry, fonts, startup, freeing RAM, defragmenting registry, optimizing folders etc are all tricks most users wont do but I found very necessary to get normal performance from XP. So much time wasted on maintenance instead of normal use. Macs do it automatically in the background without the user knowing (though this can be configured)!
In the long run cheap is way more expensive. BUT who said Macs are expensive? The Imac starts at just 679 GB Pounds or 999 US dollars (1500 AU Dollars) inc VAT/GST and is way better looking, performing, sounding, lasting than a PC twice that price. The number of windows viruses, malware, trojans, spware, adware out there are so sophisticated now that Norton, McAfee, Trend etc are losing the battle and most windows systems are guaranteed infected one way or the other as the protection offered does'nt cover the whole spectrum effectively. Due to this Microsoft has locked access to the Vista kernel in some versions of Windows Vista to stop this but with over 1000 new viruses a week something has to give. See http://daringfireball.net/2004/06/broken_windows.
Many corporates are now looking at Windows alternatives and the number of people switching to Mac or Linux e.g. Ubuntu is staggering. That's why Mac's new ads are causing such a furore. Check http://www.apple.com/getamac/. This is the time to switch for too many unhappy Windows users and I was unhappy.
(This link shows how to adapt to Mac OS X for Windows users. http//www.apple.com/support/switch101/). I'm just too amazed by how ahead of their time Macs are! People in the PC world are talking about these 'new' features that have been on OSX for years...no wonder they call OS X the world's most advanced OS. If Windows users still prefer Windows but want the great Apple hardware then Bootcamp / Parallel allows them to run Windows on their Mac and they can switch to OS X when they like.
I'd advise anyone looking for a new PC to seriously consider a Mac.
P.S. Some quotes for the blind 
- Prejudices are what fools use for reason. - Voltaire.
- "Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack." - Harry Emerson Fosdick
- It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, "Go away, I'm looking for the truth," and so it goes away. Puzzling. - Robert M.
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Useful links by Apple for those who switched to Mac...
http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/ - Get Started
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/ - Migrate from Windows