I just run Ubuntu because it’s so common, but I’ve tried a handful of other distros. Some are quite nice. I do miss Omnigraffle though, and my Apple purchased music is unplayable. I should sue them and set legal precedent forcing them to unlock on request.
My laptops from college and law school both still work, and the one from law school (an HP laptop that was in many ways a rough precursor to MS' Surface line) still has 70% of its original battery life!
A key point in why I despite Apple products: the first year of law school, roughly 90% of the students used Apple laptops. By the start of the second year, 50% of the students used Apple laptops. By the end of law school, only a handful of students still used Apple laptops; all of them were the type that babied their computers. The problem is that Apple laptops simply weren't built to survive the rigors of school, and those laptops were stronger than the ones Apple sells today.
So, based on the experience of roughly 300 students at my law school, I say that Apple is only the best value for the money if someone else is paying for it and the AppleCare service plan. If it's your own money, Apple is the worst value.