This has been an interesting thread, and I'm glad to see there really hasn't been the usual trollish tone to it that happens all too often. Here's some things to consider.
1. Apple is consistently top rated for their gear and their after-sale support. There are good reasons for that. As a premium brand, they have premium support services. No long hold times, no accent/language issues and tech support that even at level 1 actually know something and aren't reading from a script. (or at least it doesn't seem that way the very few times I've needed help)
2. Build quality - Apple's is top knotch, as are the business models of the Dell/HP and other lines. They just do not build for the bargain hunter market. It is a conscious choice on Apple's part. And it is working quite well for them. Their sales increases over the last few years are outpacing the rest of the market. Should make you wonder how?
3. Ease of use -arguable, but in general easier for a relative newby or someone that just wants to use the computer, to learn and use well.
4. The OS just works and works well with the hardware. I know when I turn on any of my Macs that they will work just right every time. Not 99% or almost always, ALWAYS! That is a biggie.
5. I have to wonder why an OS other than OSX needs an update every week? Either security issues or other things just make a weekly update a thing that irritates the hell out of me. And then there is the need to have virus software at all, let alone having to update that all the time too. Both of these reduce the usefulness of the computer imo.
6. Cost - yep, you'll pay more for a Mac. You'll get a well engineered product in a beautiful case that isn't flimsy and all plastic for it. You'll also get more for it when you decide to sell it when you want a new one, quite a bit more in fact. My last iMac was sold after 3 years for about 75% of the new price I paid. Never saw anything close to that with any other computer I sold.
7. OSX - Unix with a great desktop. Stable, easy to use and fast. And a side benefit is that with each update of the OS, it seems to be quicker on the same hardware.
But after all of that, you have to decide what you want to do with it and ensure you can actually do what you want to. Either purely with OSX or with a VM running some other OS. Personally I haven't used any other OS at all on my Macs for ages. No need in my situation.
A quick comment on the Apple routers. No, they cannot be configured without the Airport utility which runs on Windows or OSX only. That could be an issue. But the utility is dead simple to use, and offers a little more security against an outside hacker getting inside your router. That's a minor issue for most of us to consider. Otherwise they are great home routers, which is what they are designed to be.
