Speaking about M1 laptop here, yes, the port selection is poor, however the laptop is so good that I will choose it any moment over my Lenovo with many ports. YMMV I guess.
In what ways (aside from battery life) is the M1 better than a comparable spec Windows Laptop?
Perhaps you're used to MacOS, but functionally, day-to-day there are not many practical differences with Windows unless there is some specific Mac only app you need.
Otherwise I would say Mac laptops are not especially good value, if you just look at the specs at face value.
I recently built a PC for ~$750 with an i7, 16GB ram, 1TB SSD and 3060 ti GPU. Something similar on Mac would cost maybe 3x more.
I've used Windows almost exclusively until the end of 2021, when I replaced it with Macbook Air with M1 processor, so I am very aware of Windows vs. MacOS situation. To be honest, I like windows management on Windows better than MacOS, I also like much better compatibility with e.g. legacy printers on Windows 10. Also updates are faster and with much less problems on Windows (I'd never thoght I'd write that).
The above being said, I bought the Mac it exclusively because of hardware. I am aware that you can build much better desktop PC for the money, but I need laptop for my use cases, I don't own any desktop computer and don't plan to.
Going deeper, I only paid around 960 USD for 16/512 configuration (in Europe), and for that kind of money I got great performance, great battery life, very good screen, excellent trackpad and usable keyboard. It's very thin, runs very cool and for the first time I can use laptop more like phone/tablet - only charging it when the battery gets low. Oh, and I have ZERO problems with battery drain during sleep, which on Windows is currently broken (connected standby).
What I also got is mediocre selection of ports and I am not sure how durable the machine is compared to Thinkpad, so I kinda baby it all the time.
YMMV, I personally don't care who uses what but since you asked, above are my points.
>What's that thing called when a kidnapping victim falls in love with their captor?
It's called pseudoscience:
Namnyak et al. (2008)
A research group led by Namnyak has found that although there is a lot of media coverage of Stockholm syndrome, there has not been a lot of research into the phenomenon. What little research has been done is often contradictory and does not always agree on what Stockholm syndrome is. The term has grown beyond kidnappings to all definitions of abuse. There is no clear definition of symptoms to diagnose the syndrome.[35]
FBI law enforcement bulletin (1999)
A 1998 report by the FBI containing over 1,200 hostage incidents found that only 8% of kidnapping victims showed signs of Stockholm syndrome. When victims who showed negative and positive feelings toward the law enforcement personnel are excluded, the percentage decreases to 5%. A survey of 600 police agencies in 1989, performed by the FBI and the University of Vermont, found not a single case when emotional involvement between the victim and the kidnapper interfered with or jeopardized an assault. In short, this database provides empirical support that the Stockholm syndrome remains a rare occurrence. The sensational nature of dramatic cases causes the public to perceive this phenomenon as the rule rather than the exception. The bulletin concludes that, although depicted in fiction and film and often referred to by the news media, the phenomenon actually occurs rarely. Therefore, crisis negotiators should place the Stockholm syndrome in proper perspective.[7]
Perhaps you're used to MacOS, but functionally, day-to-day there are not many practical differences with Windows unless there is some specific Mac only app you need.
Otherwise I would say Mac laptops are not especially good value, if you just look at the specs at face value.
I recently built a PC for ~$750 with an i7, 16GB ram, 1TB SSD and 3060 ti GPU. Something similar on Mac would cost maybe 3x more.