That said, I agree that this remains the big difference between OS X and Windows -- especially now with large monitors being standard. When I first switched to OS X it took me years to get used to a true "multi-window" environment, but now I have I find Windows to be claustrophobic by comparison.
I think this is something that often trips switchers up, because OS X and Windows look similar enough that they don't realise there's an actual philosophical difference -- OS X has a window-as-a-document model rather than a window-as-an-application model, and once you realise that, it all makes a lot more sense (e.g. the application menu bars pinned to the top of the screen, and applications not quitting when you close windows).
The mini-debate is only about the default.