But you're missing a vital point in your price comparison.

It's going to cost ~$170 at shutterfly.com + $20 s&h to get those 14 rolls developed, so that 1GB microdrive isn't looking quite so expensive - only $100 more. And the microdrive is reusable for the next trip, and the one after that, and so on. Whereas the film and processing costs are going to keep mounting every time you take a photo.

And you're comparing a 'P&S camera' with a 'good digital camera'. Why not a 'good P&S camera', such as the Leica MiniLux Zoom35-70 ($849), or the Minolta TC1 ($899) ?
(www.bhphotovideo.com)

So the cost argument isn't going your way. As for robustness, I'm trying to figure out how a camera with a finely balanced mechanical mirror, mechanical film winding, and mechanical shutter can be more robust than a camera without.

Your opinions and arguments are certainly worth considering - but I think that the numbers that you gave presented them in a rose-tinted light.