If you look purely at what is needed to build a web app - the programming language you'll use, an editor and a web browser - and you're a lone developer (not working with a team with existing tools that you too will need), it's hard for me to come up with a solid argument for buying a Mac purely for that (though I'm a huge Apple fan). You can also use apps like Gimp on Linux to create graphics.
Just about all business-ey apps you might need can be gotten for free from Google Apps if you aren't worried about the big G having all your information.
If you already have a Mac though...
I also agree with the points of other commenters here. If you're working on the same OS you're deploying to and have the exact same software installed changes of FUBAR'ing the server by accident are reduced.
If they're smart, they'll wait until we annihilate ourselves or destroy our planet, and then walk right in. Less resources will be expended on their side.
If they do come, and don't have an ability to morph into beings like ourselves, people will crap all over themselves and the government will probably try to nab them.
Who knows what would happen. If they are out there, and I believe they are, and they do come, I hope they're cool and don't just wipe everyone out and start over. I also don't fancy being a pet.
I started my business many years ago with no formal business training and no business experience. I've learned a lot along the way. I am now completing an MBA, and my experience is very different than what the article's author describes. I'm going to school while running my own company (read working 12-16 hours a day), attending business and tech events, speaking, and trying to spend time with my family. My experience with the MBA program I am in is that it has made me a better business person from the standpoint of knowing what to look at and measure with my business. I didn't understand nor pay attention to any of that the first go round and the company did horribly. Having said that, anyone that comes out of business school expecting to know everything, and acting like it, is sorely mistaken. That's not how anything in the real world works. As with anything, you need experience, and that takes time. An MBA gives you a fundamental business education, not experience.
There is quite a bit of good advice here. I too was in a similar situation a number of years ago when my (as in I owned it) company was taken out by the post 911 meltdown. I closed out with more debt than you.
My suggestions (as someone who is not an attorney or a CPA) are:
1. Talk with the hosting company to get out of the contract.
2. Call all of your creditors, and tell them your situation. Ask them to help you and see if you can work out a payment plan. My creditors were surprisingly willing to help.
3. Get a full time job, work hard, and pay off your debt.
4. Keep your products on simmer until the time is again right. If you built a company once, you can do it again.
Being in debt sucks, and it took a number of years for me to get out of it; however, declaring bankruptcy will ruin your credit and be on your record for years to come. If you have that on your credit record, then creditors will stay away from you for years to come.
The economy is taking out companies left and right. Small and large alike. Just remember that nothing is insurmountable. Keep up your spirits, and keep moving forward. There is only one direction to move, ahead.
Thanks to all for your comments. We built prioritiz'd for the Rails Rumble, and as you all mentioned, there is more we need to do with it, including links to OpenID providers, and providing an option for creating a traditional username/password. We are currently working on a single sign-on application for our entire suite of applications, that will cover that last part.
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. Please leave any other feedback on our support site so we can continue to improve the app. Thanks.
Just about all business-ey apps you might need can be gotten for free from Google Apps if you aren't worried about the big G having all your information.
If you already have a Mac though...
I also agree with the points of other commenters here. If you're working on the same OS you're deploying to and have the exact same software installed changes of FUBAR'ing the server by accident are reduced.