Second Life Blues

So, I have been pushing it, and I want to do it, but I have had some not-so-great experiences and they are overwhelming the good ones to date:

1. Tried to buy an island. It's been 2 weeks and still no word. How long does it take to put something on the grid? Take my money - PLEASE!

2. Tried to participate in an "event" from my home computer. My computer is a few years old but still a pretty decent Dell. NO CAN DO. I was at the ivillage Girls Night Out Fashion Show and the seats wouldn't even render. Leads me to believe that there is definitely a finite number of people who can be in the same place at the same time without the system really feeling it. And is it worth all that work for 150 visitors?

3. Red Cross - I had so many high hopes. Not sure why they are on their own island that has others on it. Confusing and uninspired from my friends with the massive budget. Don't bother to search the Red Cross site - no discussion of it there.

4. What about the other worlds? Virtual Laguna Beach - built by MTV is on it's own platform and Marc Sirkin is thinking of doing the same in Machinima- but without some sort compatibility or at least collective registration, how can we pass from one sim to another? Is there a future for a standard platform? Maybe one just for nonprofits?