Re data processing: I'm not competent to say whether it is a minority position though when you're "it" the applicability is 100%. dotNET is simply unsuitable for what I'm doing at the moment. We first checked it out in 2002 using the beta and twice more as the framework changed and it would have been insane.

That's a very good point - when you're in the position where you HAVE to do it, the fact that most don't, is hardly a comfort. I still sincerely believe that SPs are the starting point - but if this capability indeed makes it into LINQ, it will certainly ease the transition for people in need of auto-spanning.