I get what they're going for here, and I'm all in favor of any push to get PC manufacturers to install less crapware on their computers. However, it is an odd comparison, as the study assumes the PC users aren't tech savvy enough to install Windows fresh, but that the Mac users are. Given that this is meant to be an "Out of the box" test, Macbooks really shouldn't have been included. But perhaps this is meant for those Mac users that have Windows installed at the Apple store?
I always do fresh Windows installs on any laptop I purchase. From that perspective, my Macbook Pro was by far the worst laptop I've ever owned. The drivers were less mature or feature rich than most PC equivalents, and they ate relatively large amounts of CPU time for no particularly good reason. Optimizing things at a BIOS/EFI level wasn't really an option either.
Beyond the day-to-day frustrations, that machine had several hardware problems after the first year (CD drive, keyboard, LCD screen, track pad). All my Apple friends, that swear by their Macbooks, also have all had problems with almost all of their computers within one or two years. But their solution is just to buy the latest model every year.
festerovic :
Hah! Validation. I got laughed at when I suggested MBPs for executive laptop orders...even when I said "rip the Mac OS off it, and run windows!"
Or you could just do a fresh install on some actual PCs and get the best of both worlds at half the price?