Hmm. Really?
Interesting "facts." I got my first computer (Mac Plus) in 1987, and used it quite happily until I upgraded in 1994 (that's 7 years) to a PowerMacintosh 6100, which I used happily until I upgraded in 2000 (that's 6 years) to a Mac G4 Gigabit Ethernet, which I am still happily using. My partner has had to replace his PC 4 times since 2000; his brand-new HP had the C: drive die of hardware failure 1.5 months after he bought it, and my ancient Mac still run Photoshop more than twice as fast as his brand-new HP. He was making fun of my (smoothly-functioning) Mac even as he sat cursing his PC for "misbehaving."
I, and most Mac-users I know, don't really care what anyone else chooses to use. The most rabid foaming-at-the-mouth computer users I have known were PC loyalists harrassing Mac users.
I'm still undecided about the newer Intel-based Macs, and have seriously considered switching to PC when I replace my G4. I'm by no means a Luddite, but I really have no interest in iPod or especially not in iPhone. I want my phone to send and receive phone calls, period.
Oh, and I think this thread illustrates perfectly what I said above about the PC snobs v. Mac snobs...
As for the OP, I will not pay $5 to walk into any store.
Pecker, you were correct about it sounding like something from The Onion. It reminds me of one of their "headlines" about 4 years ago: "Microsoft Patents Ones and Zeros."