I have used and worked with all types of operating systems for decades: UNIX, DOS, Windows, Linux, & MacOS.
I still put Mac computers in a category with Linux, not a main OS. Regardless of what I think of Linux or MacOS (and I actually like some of the new Linux Distros out there these days), I still have to fall back on Windows to do some of the things I do. Mac and Linux work like appliances, they do a limited set of things, but that's it.
As for stability, I will pit my Win XP machine against any Mac or Linux box, and you will find out they are both extremely stable. Why? Because I use quality hardware.
Mac is written to use a VERY limited selection of hardware (that you MUST buy from Apple Corp), and will simply not run on anything you didn't buy from them. Windows, on the other hand, will install easily, and run on hundreds of choices (most of them good) for hardware.
As for speed, I will put my XP machine up against any Mac OS machine of equal price, and I will blow your doors off. Period.
I have some friends that used Macs in the past (lifetime fanboi types), and they used to come over for lan parties I had, and they got tired of not being able to bring their own computers (they borrowed some of mine), and after using my XPs for an extended period of time, they came to the realization that their computer just couldn't do everything, but XP could. They also saw that my XPs were every bit as stable as their Macs, much to their surprise. They ended up buying XP machines when they wanted new ones, and their old macs now sit in their attics collecting dust.
They also realized what a value they could get for the money (and how much power was available) by being able to select their own hardware from any vendor, not being limited to what the Apple Gestapo decide to you must buy from them.
As for iPods, please... When I was shopping for a 30Gb player last year, I compared Ipod, Zune, and Zen, and for the money, nothing beat the Zen. It was the same price as the other two, but also came with an FM radio (Apple doesn't know what an FM radio is), the ability to record voice with a built-in mic, record Radio broadcasts, clock, calendar, sync with Outlook, Tasks, and a user-selectable sized section of the player that can be portioned off to become a 'dumb' flash drive that ANY O/S can recognize. Also, due to Creative's original interface (the one iPod copied, check the law suit), I don't have to deal with the crippling gerbil wheel of death for the thumb.
Apple is a successful company, and their marketing department is certainly the best in the world. After all, every commercial of theirs comes *THIS CLOSE* to lying, without actually lying. Mislead? Yes. Allow you to think something wrong? Certainly. But actually lying? Nope. (not according to law)
It's genius, really. And I respect that.
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