I recently found out after wanting to do a quick repair on my (very cheap, Asda's own brand) toaster that it uses Torx security bits to prevent people from accessing the internals! Buying a set of quality bits is more expensive than just buying a new toaster... It boggles the mind.
And that's why Torx is also better: it's easier to identify find the correct size of the driver needed for an in-the-wild fastener :).
And if you're expecting people to have a nice collection of PH drivers, you might as well expect them to have a collection of T drivers...
If the computer had used Torx screws in place, I'd never have had the issue since the force required wouldn't have stripped the head while a PH head had cammed the driver requiring the excess use of a drill.
A builder picking up a pack of screws won't buy something he doesn't have a screwdriver for, and a basic toolbox will only have screwdrivers for the most common screw heads - giving these things quite a bit of inertia.
So an American might consider Torx a widely used screw that everyone has a driver for. Whereas a Brit might rank Torx as an obscure security screw, like pentalobe.
The fact that so many companies use Torx bits means that a lot of people have them handy now, but still, it's more faff than a PH/PZ bit, where almost anything with a thin flat edge can be used to turn it.
Torx are designed for high torque applications. Whenever they are used for low torque applications it is for "security" (read: we don't want you messing with this) purposes. I'd argue that a case does not need to be torqued that high (and if you do you probably risk cracking the case).
The only reason it isn't more popular is it was patented until a few years ago.
If the toaster is "totaled" over 6 dollars, that's because it was built to be one step above disposable and no one should reward them by buying it in the first place.