edh, you have many replies below that mention consistency, reliability, purity of color reproduction, use by various kinds of pros, etc, so I won't go into any of that, but will relate the value of my MacBook Pro 17, now nearly 5 years old and running finely and faithfully, as are my 3 EOS bodies and many L series lenses. One of the things that attracted me to the Macbook was the relatively much greater electronic storage capability. And I can and do run windows and allied programs on it, so it is versatile. It is obviously portable and yet it functions as well at home on the desk as it does in the car or on some temporary "airport" site. I got it after owning and using 2 different Dell. I then ordered a third and they couldn't even get it built to the specs we had agreed upon -- so I sent it back. Found a good price (of course more than the Dell) and went to the 17" MacBook with its beautiful reproduction and ease of use. Have never been sorry, and would NOT go back to the clumsy Dell types. They are cheap because they are cheap; okay if that is what you want. But you cannot go wrong with the best -- in usage and life of the product. I bought mine from the manufacturer -- at a fair price. Check them out. I saved money right off the bat by buying from their refurbished lot -- with a NEW warranty.
It's only over 5 years old but gives no hint of failing,,-- which both of my Dells did.
Preference is surely personal, and mine is for MacBook and for Cannon. I gave my Nikon (with 4 lenses) away; surely NOT because it was not a fine camera, but because of the myriad of possibilities with the huge array of lens from Canon, and the quality of their L Series lenses, and their great and tough construction. I shoot much soccer and you will see that the great majority of Pro shooters use those white L-Series lenses that you see lined up on photographers' row just off of the goal line. There are a variety of reasons -- but enough to nearly call it a consensus. Now if I want a good rifle scope, I'll probably look at the Nikon since they are now concentrating on that market and offer a fair selection, along with the Europeans. Cannon offers 144 lens at last count, and nearly a third of them are L Series. They haven't branched out even into rangefinders. Pardon the pun, but they focus on photography. Even the great Leica has for years built binoculars and spotting scopes and rangefinders. Cannon -- lens and bodies.
Similarly, MacBook concentrates on quality, speed, durability, reliability, portability, and life, all of which I sought, and which my MacBook Pro 17 has consistently provided to me. There is much good product out there, but none better. Try it; I think you'll love it.

Too, Mac is less broken into, simply because the type of person that does that tends to write egress programs for the "majority"
of computers, which leaves Mac out as the primary target.
Michael O'

I direct connect my laptops with an ethernet cable (cross-over) and in Aperture I import directly from my pc at 1GB. Works great.

Thanks.
I just cannot see the point of spending 3 or 4 times as much money for the same quality (or even inferior quality) plus having to wait a week to view the finished product. Makes no sense to me when I can have it in hand in an hour for so much less money. And if there is anything wrong, they will correct and reprint right away! I usually take care of my shopping while waiting, I never upload online as I do not trust the communication problem potentials of transferring from one server to the next. I always take my images into the store personally, never a question that way.

Tomorrow is here and I still care. I care enough not to spend more than 3 times the cost for very similar results. I also care about geting my results back in an hour or two compared to a week later.
And no matter how much PP is done, a crappy printer can still make it all useless. Hence, the comparison test was done.
Equivalent results considered, use a local quick processor and see your PP results almost immediately at a great price and guarantee? Or upload them to a far-off processor and have no control and not know what you will end up with for a week, and pay way too much for the priviledge? Your decision, I have made mine.