Have you tried Fastmail? I switched to them a while ago and haven't looked back. Their web UI isn't as nice, but they have an honest business model with a much better privacy policy and migrating is pretty straightforward.
* Command-F3/the Exposé function button to reveal the desktop (on Apple keyboards, or you can change it; just search for Exposé in System Preferences).
* Enable right click in System Preferences > Mouse or Trackpad.
It just takes a little getting used to. But in the end all that really matters is what makes you most productive. All this elitism is stupid.
I wouldn't say Objective-C is "elegant" in the same way a scripting language can be, but it and its common libraries (i.e., Cocoa/NextSTEP) illustrate some very sound API design, and object-orientation in the Alan Kay-intended/SmallTalk sense.
edit: sorry, missed your edit. I'd probably agree with you and chc now. Obj-C was a clever hack for its time, but compared to modern dynamic/scripting languages, it's not really that special -- outside from being relatively high-performance due to its C compatibility, as you mentioned.
Why doesn't she simply offer App Store coupon codes to existing users? Seems like that would solve her "PR" problems, and they expire after their first use so there shouldn't be any worry of piracy or anything like that, as with serial numbers.
I'd bet the likelihood of Apple finally finishing resolution independence is much higher now, considering how fine the resolutions of the new Macbook Airs are (which, as Jobs said, are probably going to become their most popular computer in the near future).