Considering that Macs are easier to use, more secure by design, include lots of useful bundled software, and are and less vulnerable to viruses and worms, it's exactly the average user who needs them.
What do you consider to be an "average user?" I have to deal with support calls from end users asking why nothing is happening on their screen ("you need to turn the computer on first") to advanced network and server troubleshooting for fortune 500 companies. I see all sorts of different "average users."
For a user outside of a corporate environment, where they don't need (and don't know) MS Office apps, or in a small office environment, nothing beats a MAC. If a home user doesn't need to use their computer for work, and if Apple would reduce the price, I would have to say that there's no better "average home user" computer than a Mac. The level of frustration I see on home users with Windows computers where I work is unbelievable. We had a guy who was livid when we told him that it appeared that his brand new WinXP Home system got hit by Welchia while he was registering it with Microsoft over his dial-up line! He didn't even have the time to download any patches or install his anti-virus software. Macs simply aren't as vulnerable to virus infections because there aren't that many out there for Macs right now.
And I hate having to deal with clients who I call us angrilly about being told by Dell that to fix their problem they need to back-up their data and reload the system (on the average, 2 or 3 a week). Usually, it's due to something that they did, but they blame windows, microsoft, dell, and occasionally, us. We've got a large installed base of Macs at a few of our clients, and we rarely get support calls... Mostly regarding hardware problems.
Mark