Hello snowvydog. I too am a Windows user thinking of going Mac in the future (in particular when the Ivy Bridge chipsets make their debut in the MBPs). I have been saving for a reasonable ammount of time now, but have not yet made up my mind. I can, however, post what I have understood so far about Macs. Perhaps it will help you make a choice. Or perhaps it'll even help me!
Before, however, I will post my main uses. I am a MedStudent, and as such I frequently use my laptop to read Word/PDF documents, but also to produce numerous and quite extensive Word/Powerpoint files. I do a lot of research via browser as well. Furthermore, I am a musician, and as such I want to use GarageBand (or Logic?) to edit music, create backing tracks to accompany me, etc. I also intend to use Photoshop, and obviously the most common chatting clients. Overall, that is what I think I will be using my laptop for.
So let me start first by saying what I find appealing about the Macs, in no particular order:
Battery Life
While this list is in no particular order, battery life is certainly one of the most important points for me. Being able to carry a laptop to faculty and work on it without having to budget my energy is priceless. I can't remember the ammount of times I took my current Vaio to faculty and had its screen brightness dimmed to an almost unseeable-level just so I could hang on a bit more. You see, not every place in my faculty has power outlets available. And even if they did, I'd enjoy not having to carry a cable around with me every time.
Build Quality
Apple is not always a pioneer as their marketing team tries to make us believe, but it was one of the first (perhaps the first? not sure) companies to introduce the unibody design. I have used Macs from friends/stores, and their build quality is incredibly better than the 4-year-old Vaio I now have. It feels a lot more solid and sturdy than other laptops I've seen.
The Trackpad
Almost anyone will tell you hands-down the Mac trackpad is the best around. The big area you can operate in, coupled with the multitouch gestures that only recently have been introduced in other laptops, make it a joy to work on.
The Ecosystem
I have no iPhone, iPod Touch nor iPad. However, Apple is considered to be excellent when it comes to its device ecosystem, and so you could probably benefit more (or more easily) from your iPad if you had a Mac and not a PC.
The Option
PCs run Windows, Macs run both OS X and Windows. Being able to choose which OS you want to run is priceless, since in the end, you can do whatever you want with your laptop. I am not considering Hackintoshing (running OS X on a PC) in the equation because that method is hardly ever reliable, producing numerous bugs due to hardware restrictions even if you mimic Apple's machines fully.
Anandtech is a reputable website which analyzed the 2011 MBP and came to the conclusion that while OS X was its trump card, it was actually pretty darn good for Windows as well. Here's the link for you to read whenever you have more time:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3889/apple-macbook-pro-13-as-windows7-laptop/1
This could be a solution for your Microsoft Office problems: while OS X Microsoft has evolved greatly, you can also resort to Windows Microsoft Office, either via Bootcamping (running Windows as the main OS), or creating a Virtual Machine via Parallels/VMWare Fusion (running Windows in a program inside OS X).
As a side note, it's ironic how the company who's usually said to be the most restrictive, is actually the one which allows you to run other OSs perfectly in their products.
OS X
Considered by many to be Apple's Ace Card, OS X was in the recent past said to be far better than Windows. Right now, not that much. I have used Windows 7 in my laptop since it came out, and I have to say it's a very good piece of stable software. However, OS X still tops clearly it in two ways for me: User Interface and Drivers.
UI in OS X is said to be the most intuitive, comfortable and pleasant to use. And from what I've seen and tried, I am forced to agree. There's certainly a learning curve, but I admit that while Windows works just fine, OS X's way of doing things is more... "fluid, intuitive, and unified". I find it hard to explain the feeling in words, but perhaps using a Mac or watching some Youtube Vids could clarify you on what I mean.
As for Drivers, I can't stress the importance of those enough. I had to use third-party drivers in order to make my Graphics Card work on W7 as it should. I shouldn't have to spend days searching on forums and use unsafe, unofficial, unrecommended software to make a piece of hardware work! Right now I have a Graphics Card running on unoptimized software because Windows' "One product fits all" approach, similarly to Google's Android.
A friend of mine had a good analogy regarding this: If you go to a store and buy a sweater, it may or may not fit you well. To the majority of people, it'll fit them alright, but not fantastically. However, if you order one sweater specifically for yourself, it will fit you amazingly. The same logic is applied to the Software-Hardware integration Apple has, but that Windows PCs do not: even on worse hardware, a laptop can perform better if the software is properly designed. So more than hardware itself, you should look for the net result: performance. I'll buy a 0.1 GHz laptop anytime if it has some piece of software that makes it surpass the biggest desktops around. (obviously this would not happen, but you get my idea)
Security
Another big plus. The general consensus is something of the sort: "If you are not an idiot, you will not get a virus". There's a great read on MR regarding this topic, and you'd probably get more informed there than here, so I will just post the link:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/9400648/
Virtualization
OS X is, from my experience, far better at virtualization than Windows. It might be the virtualization software or the OS itself; point is, performance on the main OS usually takes a lower hit when you are virtualizing on top of OS X, than if you do it on Windows. While not useful for some, this could be useful for others. A friend of mine is CONSTANTLY virtualizing Windows 7 on his MBP 13'', and it works wonderfully.
Resale Value
If you ever decide to sell your laptop, Macs tend to keep their value a lot longer. In that sense, it is a "safer" choice to buy a Mac than a PC. PCs devalue quickly and if you sell them after some months, you will have lost a larger chunk of money by then than if you were reselling a Mac.
Attention to Detail
With this I am referring to the backlit keyboard, the magnetic MagSafe, the left button to check your battery status, the icons in the F-keys... basically, tiny details that don't matter too much when it comes to performance, but that make your experience overal more comfortable and pleasant. How much you value this point is up to you; I personally don't find it decision-making, but consider it a "Nice Plus" instead.
Design, Brand
These are minor points for me, but are possibly big selling points for others. Having an Apple-branded product is for some a sign of wealth and fashion. This could or could not be important to you regarding how much importance you attribute to how others see you.
After enumerating the plus points, it is only fair that I also point out the minuses. As I mentioned in the beginning, I too am still not decided on what I'll be buying, and as such I'd be biased if I did not write the following section.
Price
Apple Products have the infamous Apple Tax applied. Some argue that it's "alright" because you get a product that is ready to use and unfilled with unnecessary software like PCs are. This is true: the price you pay for a PC is lowered by the "sponsoring" of the third-party (and useless) software that comes pre-installed. Others furthermore argue that you are also buying the OS (which you do not get when you buy a PC). Finally, you also get the iLife suite.
Notwithstanding how true those arguments are, the net result is that you have to pay more for an Apple product than for a PC. How much value you put into those arguments is for each one to decide, but what is not opinionable is that your wallet will surely feel lighter after buying a Mac than a PC.
Not-so-Premium
Apple products are often regarded as "Premium". Recently, however, only its brand allows it to keep that status. The Unibody construction, the chiclet keyboard, and the big multitouch trackpads are being mimicked by other manufacturers in their laptops. Apple might've been the first to introduce them, but the truth is that right now, a number of other laptops also sport these features. So if you look at it from a practical approach, it's no longer an Apple exclusive feature.
Ubuntu
I do not know if you like Ubuntu or other Linux distributions. If you do, Macs are not the best for it. For some reason that I do not understand, apparently PCs are suited best for this OS, and as such, if you intend to use this OS perhaps a PC would be a better choice. I believe it has something to do with drivers?...
The Keyboard
I dislike the Mac's keyboard. The keys feel like they bend when you press them, and they wear out after a bit of use. It might just've been my luck with the MBP I tried, but I cannot say I was too impressed with its quality.
The Ports
Apple's obsession with design made them put all their ports in the left side of the MBP. While it looks good, this can be bad if you have wide USB Pendrives, since occupying one port could mean losing access to the other one.
The current MBPs also do not have USB 3.0, presently more commonly used than the Thunderbolt port. This will be fixed though, since Ivy Bridge will support USB 3.0 natively.
The Hardware
I discussed the Hardware-Software integration earlier. However, it is clear that PCs offer better hardware for lower price, and that software cannot always do miracles. There are a number of laptops which offer better hardware at a lower price, be it more RAM, HDD Storage, Processor... In my country, I have seen better offers from Asus, Toshiba, Sony Vaio and Samsung. The one I have liked the most is the 14'' Samsung Series 7. In comparison to the current 13'' MBP, it costs 100€ less and offers: bigger screen (in a 13.3'' chassis nevertheless) with higher resolution (1600*900) and matte finish, better CPU (marginal improvement), more RAM (6GB), bigger and faster HDD (750GB 7200 rpm), 8GB of SSD for caching, and a dedicated GPU (AMD Radeon HD 6469M). You can check Anandtech for a review by MacRumors Moderator Hellhammer:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4716/samsung-releases-series-7-laptops
Something else Macs do not offer is Blu-Ray. I personally see no problem in this (indeed, I wish they'd take out the Optical Disc Drive and put in more battery/a dedicated GPU in there for the 13'' MBP). However, if you have a lot of Blu-Ray Discs, you might have issues with this. You might not like if Apple actually decides to take out the ODD (lately, there have been some hints towards this move).
The current MBP is also quite poor resolution-wise. While I suspect this will be fixed in the next revision, the current resolution is laughable by current industry standards. Not to mention the lack of option for a Matte screen in the 13'' laptops (Glossy screens look great indoords, but outdoors not so much). And these last two paragraphs cannot be countered by the "software-hardware" integration argument, can they?
That is all I can remember for now. I hope you found my post useful, and that a healthy discussion can ensure right after this.
Good luck with your future buy, whichever it might be !
