>> Microsoft have loads of applications that use all the power of modern computers and more (if the performance of my wife's laptop is to be believed). Their problem is in trying to do something useful with it rather than using it to power a bloated user interface. <<

Well, that is a novel solution to the old issue... Power, you see, can be used for Good, or for Evil, or, (as it turns out), for the User Interface, which obviates the whole Good Vs. Evil quandary.

KWL