Comment by peterkelly

I don't like this behaviour at all, and find it frustrating at times (e.g. apps slow to launch when my internet connection drops out temporarily).

Having said that, it's not enough to get me to switch platforms. I'm able to work around the problem (using Little Snitch, see other replies), and there are a ton of factors that go into my decision of which hardware/OS to use, all of them involving tradeoffs. The only viable alternatives, Windows and Linux, have their downsides too. Some people prefer those over macs and that's fine; it's a choice people make based on their particular situation.