You've heard they're not the best dev machines? Really? I find that pretty weird. Any unix-based os is going to be hands-down easier for development than windows. Just go to /any/ tech conference, all you will see are mac and linux laptops. Maybe a single windows dude.

The only real exception to this is if you're using a fully microsoft-centered stack, like windows development with C# and such. Their internal dev ecosystem is pretty good.