Mac vs. PC, the final decision

[damselfish]

I'm narrowed down my search for laptops to the Dell XPS M1330 and the 13" Macbook Pro. Or maybe just the Macbook, not sure yet. They're both relatively light, though the Macbook weighs a fraction of a pound more than the XPS.

Dell Pros:
- Lighter
- Compatible with my other toys
- Easy fixes. Seriously, I can just take it in to a shop anywhere I feel like or ask a friend to fix it, also free Microsoft Office. I have yet to find a word processor I like for writing papers as much as Word. Abiword comes close, but it's not nearly as polished feeling.
- Stands out in an environment that is 98% Mac. I know, this is a very shallow reason, but part of my cringing at getting a Mac is the fact that everyone else has one and Macs are not so good at the whole individuality thing. Granted I'd probably slap a case or a skin on it anyway, but... but ick!

Dell Cons:
- Shorter battery life

Mac Pros:
- Much longer battery life
- I like the OS more
- Runs better on the same hardware
- Tends to last longer, from what I hear

Mac Cons:
- The proprietary everything. Mom's iPhone crapped out and we had to deal with the genius bar, and ugh. I try to tell myself it's not that bad but the Mac store makes spiders of unease crawl up my spine.
- Dubious compatibility with my toys

I need Office for Mac, though I hear rumors that I can run Windows Office on a Mac via a program even more fun than bootcamp? Can anyone explain how I'd do this? Like I said, I own Windows Office and the idea of paying $150 for three licenses (ugh, the idea of limiting licenses will turn anyone to software piracy) for a new environment is just ridiculous to me.