Sounds like mostly FUD to me.<p>* Yes, new server-side features require a recent version of the OS. No one is forcing you to use iCloud.<p>* No, you are not forced to install apps from the Mac App Store<p>* auto-termination? OS X isn't IOS. Apps don't "auto terminate".<p>* OS X 10.8 uses HFS+ with Journalling, just like the previous versions of OS X.<p>* SSDs are still optional on most Macs, if you don't like having ultra fast, reliable local storage.<p>As for the "memory manager" issue - I don't know what the hell you're doing, but I've only <i>just</i> (as in, February 2012) replaced my mid-2007 17" MBP. It had 4GB of RAM (from factory) and still performed perfectly well for development. I only upgraded because my employer offered a new one.