"Why can't it be a something bought as a commodity?" If a business model, and supporting computational models, become a commodity, then that business had better move on, evolve or die. So just as business must evolve, so must its supporting applications. "Seriously, does a HR program have to be more flexible than a spreadsheet? Should an ERP program require more expertise to setup than a wordprocessor?" You clearly have never worked in a sufficiently complex business environment where spreadsheets and word processors generate more manual work and human errors than they prevent. It's all about exploding complexity with growth. Once an organization and its processes grow beyond a certain point, it becomes increasingly necessary for those processes and the business rules within to be codified into the supporting applications to help people do their jobs faster, with less manual intervention, less repetition and less errors.

Yeah, CastrTroy is spot on. Sam's was an icon to previous vinyl/cassette buying generations but they failed to evolve. It's sad that this Toronto landmark on the busiest retail strip along Yonge will soon dissappear, but unfortunately that's what it has become--a garish nostalgic symbol of yesteryear. I feel bad for the dedicated employees, but they should be pissed at their bosses for not running the business better.