I think it's fairly disgusting how Mac ownership has come to be synonymous with fanboyism or simply 'doing it for the brand image'. I've never met anyone who's bought a Mac based on image value, simply because it's far too large a premium to justify. That and the people who would justify it based on brand image alone tend to be unintelligent enough that they're scared by a computer without a start menu.
However, people do buy Macs based on the fact that they're shiny and aesthetically pleasing. And that's not something I think you can judge people for doing - if you're going to do that, you can paint everyone without a 1998 IBM Thinkpad with the same 'image biased' brush. Of course we buy things that are pretty - it's human nature.
What seems to get on everyone's nerves is the insinuation from the traditional user that 'Macs are best', 'Macs rule all', 'All your bases are belong to Jobs' etc. Which I'll admit does happen... quite a bit. Not least from Apple's marketing department.
As for me, the image issues haven't tarnished my love for the OS. Mine's being repaired... again, and I'm currently using a perfectly acceptable Windows 7 PC that does pretty much everything my MacBook does, and only set me back £300ish. But it's the little things I'm missing the most. Screenshots, for example - I'm used to a simple keyboard shortcut for cropping and saving them to the desktop in an instant. Does 7 have anything near as quick and easy? No. I've also just bought an HD camcorder. Does Movie Maker include compatibility for AVCHD? Does it ****. That said, I've just bought a TV card and Media Centre is 1000 times better at doing anything useful. And this'll quite happily accept a Blu Ray drive while Mr Jobs is still brandishing it as the work of Beelzebub.
There are of course hardware difference too. Aside from feeling all upmarket and aluminium-ish, supposedly Macs are better made, but I'm not so sure. Mine's been stuck in a bag and taken hither and dither for 365 days of the year, but I'm still not convinced of the build quality. Ignoring what it's currently in the Apple store for (which, like the past 2 faults, have technically been Zurich's fault), the case around the screen decided to form fairly nasty fractures - simply because of the way it was designed. Clearly someone in Cupertino thought it'd be a good idea to treat the delicate edges of the screen like a 10 year old treats a plastic ruler; bending them repeatedly until eventually something snaps. Similarly, the case around the DVD drive is particularly prone to bending inwards and preventing the disk from ejecting - mine actually arrived from the factory in that state.
What's annoyed me the most is Apple's moneygrabbing tactics, however. The time has pretty much come for me to upgrade, but I'm finding that £1300 gets me less of a MacBook now than it did when I bought mine. Taking into account the natural progression of processor speed and decreased storage costs, a 15 inch Pro does indeed come with less. Matte screen, for example - mine has one as standard, but Apple now want £41 for the privilege. Mine has a DVI monitor port and was bundled with a VGA adaptor, but now Apple has changed to 'mini display port', I have to buy 2 extra £21 adaptors to do the same task. Same story with the remote - another £15. So that's £98 on top of the list price just do have a system that matches my own 3 year old base model. And that's before we even consider the fact that mine has a dedicated graphics card - you'll have to fork out another £200 for a model with one of those.
Anyway, I'll stop ranting now, but that's pretty much the situation as I see it.
), and the recent screen problems with the introduction of the 27" iMac, I'd say Apple has its fair share of trouble. 
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