Why are there so many Mac users?

Couple things: First MAC has between 5-8% of the installed PC base worldwide and roughly 6% of the browser market. No idea about iTunes. Second the reason that MAC do not generally have a virus issue is directly related to the above stats as well as the guts of MAC OS are UNIX and most hackers are running some sort of UNIX/Linux/? and they are not stupid enough to create something to bite themselves. Last time I looked there were 3 virus' (virii?) out there that could hit a linux system. Might be more now? Third by most credible sources the MAC platform is not more reliable than a PC. From a hardware standpoint there is nothing in it. The data is messy enough that a meaningful conclusion is frankly difficult. Bottom line on reliability is that a good PC and MAC will be about the same from a reliability standpoint. MAC should be better IMO as they not only get a premium price but have no off brands crudding up their reputation.

It really comes down to apps and usability. if you like the look/feel/taste than do a mac. Same for apps. MACS are good PC's but they can suck for some things just like a Wintel unit.

Jax2 I understand your response and and nothing to say to your experiences. I refer to statistical issues and not personal ones. I have a wintel gaming system that I have never seen hang or fail in anyway what so ever! I make no claims on wintel systems do to this. I have seen MACs crash and I have seen PC's crash. From a software stability standpoint I have to give the edge to MAC as they are far fewer players in that market and MAC has much better control of content. MS has lots of control but no where near the same. If you want a mess put a noob on a linux system and wait for the next kernel update or something. Personally I've spent lots of time on macs and can give some good examples of colossally stupid things like the lack of functioning dynamic memory allocation on OS9. OSX is a huge improvement. As for credible sources several companies have published their findings and there are regular IT reviews among that crowd. I dont count most of the stuff on the web in this case. THe last data I saw from one of the largest support groups in the world showed that there was not much between the units (hardware wise)
the reason you dont get virus is that there are few that can hit it. wait a while the number is increasing really fast. Ignoring the user feel (that is preference IMO) the big difference is that MAC has much better control of the system than MS. If MAC wants to get MS big they will need to give up control and then they will hit the same issues.

personally I have used every mac since the apple II, every windows since 3.1, and about every unix flavor and a dozen Linux distros and personally I've seen failures in all of them. My first virus was on a mac oddly enough. I am not insulting MAC Jax2, merely pointing out that the world is not full of exploding windows boxes and that the consumer needs to figure out for themselves what they like. PC's are tools, nothing more.

PAT 70 I think that in this usage the MAC would likely be a the best solution for you. While drivers can easily be an issue with new equipment in this case there are lots of examples of MAC's being used in this field and you will not need to invent anything. You are correct about the smaller software case but the mac build should work fine for you including ripping. I would suggest checking the PC audio forum and seeing if you can get a "recipe" from someone. Personally I just got a mini for my father in law (intuitive and small form factor) and the mini version with the big HDD caught my eye for this application. This with iTunes and a good dac should be sweet.