well that one linked thread seemed to indicate alternate points for the USB +/-, gnd, data or whatever, so even if the pads are toast you can connect some small wires and epoxy a new microusb adapter onto it. I wouldn't say this is difficult compared to some of the stuff I've done...
Wii
PS2

PS2 was my friend's work, it didn't boot, but the Wii I did and was fine. Anyways, my point is that I have no experience with soldering and I can do that so I'm laughing at you guys afraid of the microusb! I would not attempt this without practicing on something else though, it's too easy to drop a glob of solder onto the wrong spot. You need to have some flux, solder sucker, and desoldering braid for sure. Also a sharp tip on the soldering iron helps. You should just get a new one for $6 for dealextreme or somewhere if you don't have one of those. Just make sure you get the right voltage for your country if you buy it from there! You can also get a cleaning pad or cleaning ball for pretty damn cheap...

Oh, you might want to try buying one of these and see if it comes apart easy (looks like it would) so you can get a microUSB connector for $2.50 while you're at it.