I'm sure plenty of people would also blow a gasket over the GC-MS I have at work that's running on Windows 98. From playing with the software, Windows 2000 is pretty much the end of the line, and I'd have to pay a nice sum to get a version of the software that will even work there.
Once again, virtualization isn't an option. The software needs to access an ISA HP 82335 or 82341(I'm mildly alarmed that I know those numbers off the top of my head) HP-IB interface card. I've found the PCI 82350 touchy, and I MUST use the Hewlett Packard card-a similar card from National Instruments or the like is a no-go. There again, virtualization is out, much less finding something modern with ISA slots.
I have a newer GC-MS sitting right next to it that ditches the bulky(but rock solid) HP-IB interface for LAN. It runs on Windows 7. The new one is used by most people, but the old one serves as a backup(even simple routine maintenance usually means a full day of down time) and also overflow since the systems essentially give comparable results(I've done some upgrades to increase the sensitivity/signal-to-noise on the old one, but the new one is still an order of magnitude better-an irrelevant amount most of the time) and the old one actually has some capabilities lacking in the new one.
We're talking about $50K for a similar system at current new prices. 10 years ago, when we bought what I call the "new" system, it was an absolute necessity and the money materialized. The "old" system is one I found stuck in a corner abandoned and I brought it back to life, but $50K is a hard sell for limited funds just to add redundancy.
That's not a Mac application, but it's another good example-for me-of a place where I can't virtualize.