As I've mentioned elsewhere: A Mac is the best platform to run Windows on. I do not want to get into a Windows versus OS X debate here, but each has their own target markets and own little quirks and it just depends on what's critical to you.
Installing Windows on a Mac Mini proved the most painless install I've experienced in years. (that is if one wants to do it right and have a stable machine. The last time I had a Windows crash (BSD) was under XP SP1 (touch wood) but running Windows and OS X on the same HDD has proven to be a challenge in the backup and restore department.
I've ordered a Newertech raid which will be my Windows backup location and will be running a generic version of Snow Leopard (rather than the dedicated Mac Mini install) so that if needs be I can boot on another Mac from this external raid. Only Windows 7 will be running on the internal HDD (enabling a fast restore which is important to me for a mission critical application I am running under windows). Am using both WinClone and Windows' built in backup and restore plus am using FBackup (free version of Backup4All) for the Windows backup.
I've given up hope on the "free Lion upgrade" (I bought my machine on the 12 July and have been going round in circles trying to get the free version) but the more I hear about Lion the more I expect that if/when I finally get it that I will not like it. However there is one job I need to do under OS X and then I can forget about OS X (bar for WinClone backups) and work 98% of the time under windows. The mini is extremely quiet and I love the ability to get my own matt screen (eye problems and they get aggravated with glossy ones) and the small footprint is also a bonus. Heck I could even throw the Mini in the hand luggage for travel on a plane and hook it up to a TV at the other end. Keyboard and mouse can go in the luggage. (I used laptops for the past 15 years but my eyes no longer can cope with a small laptop screen).
It will not be long before I replace the HDD with a SSD and then it will be even snappier than it already is.
Regarding pricing: I do not consider the Apple Mac overpriced - with a Windows machine you normally have the M$N "tax" for M$N Office, Outlook and even the OS. Apple has a different philosophy where there is a "hardware" tax which means that cross platform you have double the tax. But if done properly even that can be alleviated by having retail versions that can be moved to the next machine when you change. However from all that I gather the Apple Mac holds their value a lot better than any windows machine so in the end the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) comes out about even. With worsening arthritis and increased reliability of platforms doing my own repairs is becoming rapidly a thing of the past so I am happy enough to leave that behind and stick to a platform that is difficult, if not impossible, to upgrade. Let's face it, many years ago with the old valve technology the TV repairman was regularly at your door to replace one of the tubes, these days it is not uncommon to have a TV going for 5, 10 or even longer (my mother recently replaced her TV that she got in 1987 with a plasma but it was still going) and building your own PC is something that is rapidly becoming an uneconomic thing to do as well.
