*Well I'm not a programmer, *

c and java compliers come standard. There may be others but these are the only ones I've used. And let us not forget Unix running under the hood, an OS with over 40 years of development and security (yawn)
 
*though I am a gamer, and I don't " just go with what [I] hear".
I'm a computer builder, and that alone will prevent me from ever even considering a Mac, even if there were no other reason.

I like to tinker as much as anyone else, but having hardware and software that are designed to work together - let's just say that I've come to appreciate not spending days on system maintenance and configuration. I can actually spend my time -gasp - working.

*And it's a very valid reason, too. You can't just build your own Mac, and you certainly can't do it for a third of the cost of buying one.

Not entirely true.

When I switched, there were several support programs that I missed. I found that several support programs were no longer necessary. The only program I truly miss is HDR Shop, but as mentioned, a dual boot or emulation can easily fix that.

I've tried a release candidate of Windows 7. Definitely an improvement over Vista, but reminded me of several things Windows that have always annoyed me. So I would recommend a Mac for anyone that does not want to use Windows but needs more programs than what's offered for the Linux platform.