Keep in mind too that I'm using these programs in a professional context and as a result I'm probably putting a lot more strain on them than you are.

I dunno. Big pic is big pic, right? :).

But err... If I'm using them and put little strain on them and even then the PC runs better, doesn't that say it all? :D

I don't think "big pic is big pic" is a very good measurement. For one thing, using these programs in a professional context most likely means that the program is launched and running more often and for longer spans of time. It also means that the user probably has more things open simultaneously, is working with more layers, dealing with higher-res images, larger and more complex files, etc., etc.. I think it's safe to say that basically any tool, from a hammer to a piece of software, is going to get harder, heavier use from the person who uses it for their job than from the casual user.

Well, that's exactly my point. Having used numerous Macs and numerous Windows machines for work over the years, my experience has been that the Macs run better for what I use them for. Keep in mind here I'm not saying that Macs are better across the board or anything, I'm just saying that they work better for my purposes. I realize that my purposes are not the same as everyone else's.

Allright :)
Haven't noticed it so far.
Can mean two things
1. Macs are better when the going gets tough
2. Your PC's were ****ed up :D

Most of the time (and I'm not saying that's the case) it's the second option.

Agreed with Janszoon.

It would be a pretty crazy coincidence if every single one of the half dozen or so Windows PCs I've used for design work in the past 11 years was fucked up.

I never had any issues with Windows XP. My new build is going to use Windows 7 64bit, and I hear it's pretty stable. As far as being sluggish with certain programs, that usually comes down to the actual system's abilities. If you're doing a lot of rendering or what have you, you're going to want a multi-core processor and a lot of RAM. Intel's i7 quad core and 6 core line is probably a better investment for that sort of work, rather than placing importance on the OS only.
I do agree that Mac's OS is more streamlined for particular applications, but I think Windows 7, along with hardware that can handle processor-intensive applications, can be just as good of a solution as any. At the very least, I think the analysis of a computer's performance should be based on hardware first.
Unless we've done side by side comparisons, with the same speed/ability hardware on different operating systems, then we can't really be objective.

I just bought an iMac about a month ago and I will never go back to a Window PC ever!

Haha, that's not what I meant.
People often **** up PC's. There's a lot that can go wrong, both with hard- and software. THAT's a thing Macs have in favor of PC's. You can't really **** them up by accident. With a PC, much can go wrong, but that also gives you a lot of freedom (choose your own hardware, install drivers manually etcetera).

It is. There's two things you should take in account
- Some software won't work with Windows 7. It's just too old. If you, like me, love Nero 6. Good luck. Nero 7 works though. It's not as good, but it works.
- Auto arrange cannot be turned off. Which is awful if you ask me. When you rename something, it automatically arranges your folder, forcing you to scroll back to the file you want to rename next. I am forced to use a batch renamer to rename quickly, as I can't just go F2, type name, press arrow, F2, type name, press arrow etc.

Oh yeah, I hate the new taskbar. It works a bit like the mac dock. It can be set to classic mode though and if you miss quick launch, there's a way to get that back, too.

Apart from that, it's fast and stable and the new search function (just type anything in the box you get when you press the windows key) is brilliant. Want notepad? Just press the windows key, type notepad, press enter, there it is. Want a particular file and know a part of the name? Just write 'letter to Stijn' and it will find it for you within seconds. Anything can be found and started by pressing the windows key and typing the name of the thing you want to find. It's really convenient.
What I also love is that when you grab a fullscreen window bar and drag , it it automatically stops being fullscreen. When you drag it back to the top of your screen, it will go fullscreen again. I thought this was rubbish at first but I miss it whenever I use an XP PC now :D.

Why?