I was sick and tired of lock-ups and then they came out with the iMac G3! I found this computer very attractive and reliable. So I started purchasing software for it, and it ran and ran, quite reliably, and I grew attached to it. Johnathan Ives is credited with desiging the iMac. I just praised his design genius. I gave up my old systems voluntarily.
Then the finished porting the NeXT operating system and came up with OS X on March 24, 2001. They delivered it on time and I installed it that afternoon. The look and feel was superior to anything I had seen. Then my girlfriend stole my Fujitsu 535-TX. That was the last I saw of Windows 98 (except at my A+ class at South Suburban College).
They've made tremendous improvements on the Windows side. I have to give them credit. But now you can run Windows on your Mac, too. Even Vista runs on a MacBook (Apple's consumer-level mobile computing device).
Below is a document called "Switch 101." It describes the reasons some people switch to Mac. The main reason is that the hardware is reliable ("Macs just work") and the software is elegant, reliable and advanced ("The world's most advanced operating system").
Plus I uncovered a wealth of information at Apple.com and found that they freely shared their knowledge, which actually improved things for me. I found their technical archive useful and fascinating. I can relate to this company as a consumer, a customer, and a professional. There is software for every level of human-machine interaction.
Consider the iLife and iWork programs, for example.
Their wireless devices are out-of-this-world. The Airport user experience is amazing. But at this point, I invite you to find out for yourself.
Apple controls everything, but if you trust in the intelligence of the design, you'll learn a TON of stuff about computers, and you'll have all your software and hardware perfectly designed to complement each other.
The Apple "User Experience" is what they focus on.
And it's quite a ride, believe me.