It could be called, "the battle as old as time", it could be called, "the battle of the nerds". Whichever the case may be, there has always been the battle between Mac and PC users all over the world over which computer is "better". Of course, since the ultimate failure of Window's Vista (and now, 10), it would be quite obvious to say "macs are better!" and they absolutely can be...for certain people.
I'm not going to shove my own personal preferences in terms of computers in your face, but rather give you the fullest comparison I can between the two, and which operating system is right for you.
College Students
Before I even get STARTED, it needs to be understood that when any retail store or business is targeting sales for "college students", it does not mean that it works best for you. It just means they're trying to sell you something you may not even need for school.
So, if you are going to be majoring in something that needs heavy-duty graphics, production, graphic design, computer art, computer science, etc., a mac is almost always a pretty solid choice. The Macbook/Macbook Air, though, aren't usually the choices that you'll find from Apple with the heavy duty graphics capability. Macbook Pro's/iMac's almost always have a quad-core processor installed, with some models reaching 4.4GHz (pretty flippin' fast).
However, there are also a range of Windows laptops that also offer the same thing (for a much better price). The HP Envy Laptop, for example, can run $1,000 cheaper than a baseline Macbook Pro. It includes an Intel Core i7 chip WITH NVIDIA G-Force Graphics Card. Its capabilities are almost identical to the Macbook, without the extra cash.
Ultimately, if you aren't going to be doing the heavy duty memory/graphics, you may want to stick with a laptop that is in your price range.
Business
While more and more colleges are trying to migrate to the Mac operating system, about half of businesses that are computer-based are about half-and-half. This a large jump compared to the early 2000's, but windows is still somehow in the game.
A large part of the Mac migration is in part due to the reliability of Mac computers. Most last 5+ years and, if you have purchased serves like AppleCare, getting any hardware/software problems resolved with a Mac is much easier than with companies like Dell or HP.
However, it again depends on the primary use of the computer. If you're working with a company that does a lot with filing and data (meaning, Excel, Word, etc.) then you may find the Microsoft Office the best software on the market. But here comes heavy-duty graphics; companies that primarily work with advertising, marketing, photography, and memory storage usually find that Mac is the easiest to use.
At Home
Either computer, for a simple internet, at home use, is not a bad choice. Nor are other competing companies like Google with their Chromebook. This kind of computer use/choice is really up to you.
Gaming
I am not a gamer by ANY means, but if you're looking for a laptop with awesome gaming capabilities get an Alienware laptop. It's state-of-the-art, specifically, GAMING specs which you can never ever go wrong with. And the prices can be as low as $899!!!
