No, I had a Vista notebook for two-plus years and the desktops in my parents house run on XP and Win7. I have no problem with it, and perhaps on a newer machine it would run even faster, but something about OSX just makes it seem easier to use. Maybe I'm used to it more now after using it the past two-plus years?
Maybe I need more time with Win7 on a better machine? I know PCs' hardware blows Apple's hardware out of the water, but I feel OSX feels quicker because I'm not gaming on it, but instead the OS is well-maintained and there I rarely have to force close programs or have my MBP hang while opening a program.
I am kinda anxious to see how a similarly-priced Windows notebook would perform if I were to use it the way I used my Mac. But I feel the reason I love my Mac is the same reason I see a good number of reputable blogs and review sites still choose the MBA from the ultrabook crop, and the MBP from the notebook crop every time. Anandtech, The Verge, BGR, etc.
I think it's about getting used to and preferences. If it comes to PC a lot of people buy sub-par hardware and I don't mean only numbers but manufacturers. You can buy a shitty 600W PSU that will make your computer troublesome, or you can buy one for a little more that will last you 10 years without a single restart. Same with graphics cards - you can go for a new nvidia from manufacturer x that is shitty or manufacturer y that is aawesome, even the same manufacturer have the same card in a few different versions and one might be loud and hot, and another might be cool with passive cooling. You can buy super awesome hardware if you know what you're doing or know someone who knows a thing or two about computers and have the best thing for the money, tailored to your needs or even all-around best.
If it comes to laptops Apple is the "I don't know what I'm buying but Apple is always above-average so I'll go for it" company.
You have companies like Lenovo who make Thinkpads - the best laptops quality-wise hands down, but they have all markets covered - so they also make low end devices. So in theory shopping for "A Lenovo" might get you the best laptop, or a mediocre-quality one. And then you have Apple who make "premium" devices only, so in theory going for a MacBook Pro might be easier because you know that you're getting something that isn't a piece of crap if you want to play it safe and be lazy with your choice. It's how a lot of people buy Iphones too - they know that it's okay because a lot of people use it, they are afraid of making another choice, because they're too lazy to think of alternatives and they're afraid that they'll make the wrong choice, because with Windows and Android there's risk of making a bad choice, because you have choice in the first place.
Companies often use Apple because they get better opportunities to use Apple products. My company was offered Macbooks for 30% of their retail price. The point is that my company used to make laptops, before another company bought their laptop division so they use that company's laptops for cheap, and they're better so from this very example it's obvious that Apple are very aggressive at pushing their Macbooks to businesses. They often offer Macbooks and even offer Windows installation, because obviously most companies run Windows.
Also, people in charge of making a choice want to play it safe too and get Macbook pros for their companies instead of having to take a risk of going for something crappy, because they are too lazy to research and even then they would not be confident enough in their choices.
And finally Macbook Air is one of the best ultrabooks, Macbook Pro is a good laptop hardware-wise. It's not top of the game but it's above average and it's got the looks (minus the logo). For me the worst part is the price premium and the fact that it's made to run MacOS and it's just not convenient or useful to me. I need to be able to right click, I need a trackpoint, I need to be able to lock my laptop's lid when it's closed, I don't want a huge, shiny logo and I don't want (can't have) MacOS, I don't want to pay money that I know go straight to the company's pocket with a huuge premium and I need to be able to customize and be able to upgrade my laptop. Otherwise I might be running a Macbook Air now because I like the looks.
