...
3) That being said, it did take way too long to get here (way, way too long - more on this in 5) ) and have to agree that what we have right now is something that, to the casual end user, doesn't amount to something that feels much different than NXT and other altcoins. Even the transaction speed is kind of underwhelming. I mean, what is it that NEM can do now for the casual user than any other coin can't do? It does beg the question of how much of what we've gotten was worth the long wait. I mean, 70 devs were involved? Really?
I think the client is great.
I think harvesting is a much more satisfiying experience than forging in other coins because even people with lower importance do forge.
I don't know what you mean about the tx spead. Blocktimes are way more consistent than other crytos.
Overall though launch was just the first milestone. It was clear at least to me that at launch NEM would not be much better than other platforms. That takes time.
...
5) I think one of the big issue facing this and a lot of other coins is that it's apparently really tough to code new features into cryptocoins -- either that or devs that code quickly in C++/Java in this space are few and far between - if that's the case - and I'm not sure whether it is or not - maybe it's because the financial rewards aren't large enough compared to what they could be getting elsewhere, or C++/Java are just tough to code period, or all of the above). It just seems to take a very long time to introduce or test even the smallest new changes on this coin and most other coins from what I've seen. I think this also factors into the delay in getting this on other alt exchanges (not that there are many left anyway these days after Poloniex, Bittrex and Cryptsy).
Agreed. There is good reason for this though. If any platform is to be reliable it needs to be developed carefully and well tested. That takes time but it's time well spent.
However even the most basic feature i.e. payment hasn't been adopted by a significant amount of people yet so that's where I'd focus on.
Everyone is eager to see new features but that's worthless if noone is using them.