Why is it that people become devotees of a particular platform?
  Why does a computer user defend that platform to the death?
  A qustion that is probably really only understood by the marketing bigwigs (even if they don't use it effectiveley).
  But more to the point, what makes a person decide which camp they will carry the torch for in the first place?

I think it boils down to ones perception of what a computer is, and what they use it for.
  Someone raised on a diet of BBC Micro's & ZX Spectrums, whos first exposure to computing was writing in Assembly Code & Trying to write a compiler that was fast enough to get the job done is probably going to lean a bit towards the UNIX side of the table.

Oh waht joy to recite the UNIX Shell Metacharacters by heart!

No, I don't really mean that. If my brain had the capacity to understand the intricacies of UNIX & harness its multitasking, processor time allocating, memory protecting abilities, I would... but I it can't.
My brain just can't cope (I know, i've tried)

My hat goes off to every UNIX Sysop.

If your initial foray into the Digital World was more like Dig-Dug on an AT, then you're probably more comfortable swearing at a Command L.ine.
This was mine... and then I met Macintosh.

Being slightly design orientated, my mind tends to think of things in a graphical, or literal sense. When I was learning the concepts of how a computer worked (as opposed to how to use a computer), I sat with a friend who was in the know, who explained it to me as if I was a three year old, slowly enough so I could draw mental images of how the components and circuitry worked together.
  I would say, "So how does RAM work?", and he would say, "Well think of RAM as...", and after much confusion I managed to put the picture together.

Don't get me wrong, before the Mac & I met, I had used Intel boxes & the Redmond Devils OS for 10 years as it was all I had access to. Even then I thought it was a pain in the arse.

Turned out to be a missing full stop ("Period" to U.S. viewers) in the config.sys when specifying the CD driver.
Personally, I like to get things done, but to each his own.

As for Win 95, tee hee!! Mac users know.

As you may have gathered, i'm a tad Mac Biased and freely admit it, but not blind. There are good points to Wintel boxes i.e. price/performance, widespread parts availability, and a realistic secondhand market. And if per chance, one day a generic PC could provide me with the same Joy of Use, I may switch, but I doubt it will happen.

Point being... If you are a Mac newbie and just bought a Classic Mac (old isn't in my vocab) stand your ground. You've perchased a machine which will do what you want a a bit of coaxing and some kind words of encouragement.
  Your mature Mac will be like Yoda. It will teach you Patience and Discipline, and when the time comes to step up to a newer Mac (or Mac Clone if Apple doesn't doesn't continually screw up in that department), you will know how to squeeze every last Hz out of your processor with the skill of a true Jedi.