"...the market-share of Macintosh computers has not changed substantially in the years of rumor frenzy.
i.e. even in all the hype surrounding Apple as a company, there isn’t any indication that there are more potential switchers than before..."
What makes you say that? Any numbers backing this up?
According to Gartner Research, Apple's U.S. market share was 3.2% in 2004. Which was 6th place among computer manufacturers. It was 5.8% in 2005 (4th place)... While that still isn't much, it nevertheless is quite an impressive increase in one year.
The Curse of the Apple Rumor Mill