The phone i own was sold at 1 Euro in a promotion event. So the smart phone descision had not to be made. It has a Multi-MP Camera, MP3-Player, UKW-Radio and some other crap and can phone too. Internet access is possible, but the price is a mystery, so stay away from that option. Until it breaks i think about the smart phones as much as i think about porsches before my mercedes breaks.

It depends on the compiler. Most compilers on embedded system don't have good warnings in C++, so you are on your own anyway. You need good optimization on embedded systems, since poorely optimized C++ tends to eat up all the space you have. The STL is useful some times, but if it comes to predictable timing, you cannot rely on it. So using C for embedded projects looks not that bad.

If your CPU drops below 80% you have bought too much hardware for the task. Just do it. Its normal usage. If the system cannot stand it, blame the manufacturer. Especially MacPros should do this easily. You paid for it.

And staying with the computers from the space shuttle will save the money for reprogramming everthing. IBM may be a bit short in supply, but if you bribe a bit, many things can happen. At least, you don't spend to much money on engineering and leave that budget intact. IMHO pairing with the ESA on the development of some space electronic building blocks would save a lot of money in the long run. For that, you have to use the metric system of course. But this would lead to competition on sub systems, which is not wanted by manufacturers of space equipment long expensed. No car manufacturer makes the elctronics these days. And for the mechanical parts: The german or japanese machines in the production line just need a firmware update and are ready for the metric system. America producers, would want to sell to the world can do this too. They just don't speak about it.