Although I'm primarily a hardware type, I've written a lot of (working!) code in my time, and Clippy et. al. personify what I call 'Software just smart enough to be stupid'.

What's amazing is that most people put up with crapware (it's an interesting exercise to turn off animated menus when confronted with them for the first time), but in this case it was so detested that 'Kill Clippy' became almost a cult call.

I use a number of very expensive tools from PCB design suite vendors, and the disconnect between those specifying the software and the needs of the users is astounding - just as with Clippy ;)

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A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a Unicorn.

Western Electric was the manufacturing arm of AT&T.

AT&T required it's subscribers to rent telephones from WE; they were not permitted to buy their own.

Sounds just like the thing going on here, doesn't it, with the difference that Comcast buys the set top boxes from a third party; the key is they are forcing subscribers to use this one and no other to enrich themselves via a forced revenue stream.

This issue was a major factor in the modified final judgment that broke up AT&T.

Yes, AT&T was a little different, but not that much.

Apart from that, the Communications act 1996 required that set-top boxes be freely available for consumers to purchase to prevent this sort of thing.

It would not surprise me one bit if this thing really gets off the ground.

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity.