I would like to help my clients move off PIC. Many seem to like the low cost of entry, use it to get started, and then come to us asking us to finish. The PIC platform is not the best for what they need. What would be some good alternatives?
To echo the previous comment, yes, there are a myriad of boards available from a number of vendors, some costing less than the shipping fee )
I'd also highlight programs such as mbed (http://mbed.org/) enabling online tools with a variety of platforms (http://mbed.org/platforms/).
Let me know if you need more info.