>We haven't heard from the other side yet.

Sometimes there isn't another side!

I apologize if this is a bit off the main tack but I thought an historical 
footnote might help (or amuse):

I don't know if it still happens, but once upon a time we had organizations 
such as Share and Share Europe whose users would formulate requirements which 
would be voted on and were then, if they received sufficient support, submitted 
to IBM. IBM would normally respond along the lines "Future Objective" or "Long 
Range Consideration", (how noncommittal can you get?), but at least it was a 
democratic process. The requirements were then left on the shelf to gather 
dust. A few years later someone might notice that, in the meantime, the 
competitors had provided the requested features, but by then it was too late. 
There may still be some old-timers in IBM who can remember all this though I 
suspect they've been swept out of the way.

Bob Matthews,
University of Geneva.