I completely agree with you, and I am feeling frustrated with a number of their current practises. The problem is there aren't many other options for the average user if you want a quality OS. I have no problem picking up a Linux distro, but others (my family members for example) can't handle the under the hood tuning it can sometimes require.
Add my vote to the Arduino. I picked one up a while ago, in the same situation as you. There are lots of DIY projects that integrate the Arduino. Make magazine (makezine.com) for instance has quite a few projects that are not too complicated.
If I lived in the states I would certainly be trying to make my voice heard by my representative in congress. I really hope users are able to hold off the monopoly current radio broadcasters are trying to reestablish.
I don't think Django == Betamax, but I do agree it certainly was a quiet release. Hopefully the improvements and the quality of the release will be sufficient to generate some buzz.