" 'Cause its shiny and expensive thus that means it is better right?"
Well, most people using Macs are conned into thinking that expensive = better, but for some people eg. those using specific industry software, audio packages, terminal, or making use of the Unix architecture, a Mac is required - but these people are about 1 in 100 of actual Mac owners.
1 - Who cares about the outside
With electronics what matters is the inside, not the outside
So cheesy, but in thise case it is true.
2 - Dell also offer upgrades, and the horrific time it takes for Apple to renew their products makes the hardware inside a downside as they become very dated, very quickly.
3 - All laptops have them (bar firewire as nothing uses it).
4 - Battery life is a problem on most laptops, but new batteries are lasting at a comparable rate to Macs. Also some batteries don't last as long as the hardware is far more powerful.
5 - the software being so optimised is also limiting as it prevents many programs running smoothly on the Mac compared to a PC.
7 - That is sadly a myth and very wrong. The life span of Macs is the same as any other laptop, and you have no support if you do not continue to pay through your nose for Apple care. The fact is any compact electronics (laptops, smartphones etc) will break within 18 months + due to heat damage, thus you want to find the laptop with the longest warranty possible.