Isn't it too soon to slam ipads (and tablets in general) as a flop? There were mp3 players before the ipod, and they weren't must have. People had CD players and radios just like now they have smartphones and laptops. Were ipods an immediate must have? Let's wait for the market to mature a little.
Your word processor should be able to auto-replace specified strings. Not sure if/how you could enter the symbol for infinity, but I'm pretty sure greek is available. And "inf" isn't a killer to input anyway.
I hit 1 when I get voice mail to get to the beep. Rarely works. One friend is kind enough to say press star at the beginning of her message. On another's I need to press 3, and 1 disconnects me. I'd write more, but the point is brevity. Or at least standardization.
I work for a huge company and we do exactly this. If you offer an idea such as a process improvement that saves the company money, you get 1%. I'm not sure if there is a time limit. It might just be within the first year, but I've still seen some coworkers get sweet perks.