The argument about OSes has long since left the realm of useful debate about relative merits and become some sort of brand-identification circlejerk. Apple is always going to win that war because Windows, for as long as it is dominant, will always be bourgeois. It's the same with Sam Adams vs. Budweiser.
That's the price you pay for achieving ubiquity. You forfeit the hipster dufus demographic.
It's funny, because I remember that before Apple switched to Intel, the only reason I could see to buy one was that the machine/OS looked cool. Now their hardware is considered superior (at least for laptops), so all the nerds love them, but I still have the stigma in my head that anyone using a mac is just a trendy hippy (or hipster dufus, as you put it) trying to show off how stylish he is.
I'm slowly giving up on that idea now that their hardware actually wins... but it's still hard not to chuckle at some kid in the coffee shop with political stickers on his macbook pro who is most likely using his $2500 laptop to watch youtube videos.
I don't think it's accurate to say Macs win on hardware. There are clearly some Windows OEMs who make hardware that's generally better (Lenovo for instance) though I'll give Apple credit and say that they're pretty good.
I've yet to see (in a store near me) a laptop that even comes close in features with what a MacBook Pro offers and that doesn't look like it was designed by monkeys.
If you know of such a laptop, would you mind posting a link to it? I would definitely take it into consideration if I finally decide to get rid of my MBP.
I'm a pretty big fan of Lenovo Thinkpads (don't think they sell their good line in stores). Most Mac users I know who've owned both agree that Lenovo kicks ass in terms of hardware. You probably won't like the design aesthetic as much though, but in terms of PCs, they're the top dogs right now.
The T series is probably the closest competitor to the MBP.
That's the price you pay for achieving ubiquity. You forfeit the hipster dufus demographic.