Unless you can point out that OSX is more comparable to Pro than to Home. I mean, go bullet point to bullet point of the differences between Pro and Home and show that OSX has almost all of them.
I think I can do that fairly easily - from
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/howtobuy/choosing2.mspx, the differences between XP Home and Pro:
Remote Desktop: Yes, Apple provide a VNC-based remote desktop app. That said, and I've never used it, I'd bet it's not as good as Remote Desktop. Remote Desktop (and its big brother, Terminal Services) are both excellent systems in Windows, hooked in at a much lower level than VNC's basic "take a screenshot, sling it down the network" approach.
Offline files and folders: I'm not 100% sure if the Mac supports this for Samba/CIFS connections, but it can definitely do offline synchronised folders over WebDAV with .Mac. I'm not convinced that this works as broadly as Windows support does, but I've not tested it.
Scalable Processor Support: Yes, OSX supports at least dual dual-core processors. I don't believe there is a software or licensing limitation in OSX, but to my knowledge this has never been proven.
Encrypting File System: Yes, the Mac has FileVault, which encrypts your entire user folder and equates roughly to Vista's new BitLocker function.
Access Control: The Mac supports Unix permissions, but I believe ACLs can be implemented whenever requested. Additionally, different classes of user can be created, such that certain users don't have access to screw up the system. Even XP Pro doesn't have the level of user isolation that Mac OS and Unix do.
Centralised Administration: Yes, in fact, I can administer a lot of Mac-related settings and security from within a Windows-based Active Directory network. Alternatively, for even more complete control, OSX Server has more features.
Group Policy: OSX supports this to an extent, but I've never explored how far the support can be taken. Again. OSX Server has more support.
Software Installation and Maintenance: I'm not sure there is an integrated "push" installer for Macs as there is for Group Policy in Windows, but I know of a few third-party products that can do it. The Mac loses out on a corporate level here.
Roaming User Profiles: I believe this can be done fairly simply with folder redirection (Aliasing on Mac), but again, I haven't seen it working.
Remote Installation Service (RIS): Macs natively support NetBoot equivalents and that can install the OS, or so I believe.
Finally, it's not on the list, but:
Ability to join and authenticate against an Active Directory or Windows NT domain: Yes, OSX can do this. Incidentally, OSX Server also supports Open Directory, an LDAP-based directory system similar to Active Directory, and which can act as a virtual Backup Domain Controller or Active Directory Domain Controller Peer (handy if, in a large organisation, you want one or more non-Windows boxes to keep your AD store).
So there you go. I'd say OSX has a fair justification for being compared to XP Pro, but that's just my opinion.
As for the good old Mac vs. Wintel argument, I have one of each, and I use a PC at work. I love my Mac, and I love my home-built Shuttle box. I don't do a lot of gaming on the Mac (well, a bit of Diablo II from time to time), but I do tend to use it for most of my day-to-day stuff at home. I find it pleasurable to use, partly because it's a break from my Windows-based day job, and partly because I find the OS to be easier to navigate in a number of places. It's also a pain in the arse for some things, but on balance, I prefer using my Mac for browsing the web etc.
The reason I'm interested in this announcement is that I'd like to buy a MacBook Pro, use it for .NET development in Windows, and then just reboot into OSX for non-work stuff.
God, this post took a long time to write.
Edit: Opera on OSX doesn't have a built-in spellcheck. This makes me sad, and an even crappier typist than usual.This comment was edited on Apr 5, 16:26.