If we need to go to Cisco and say, "Hey, make a GSR that does BGP updates faster", then that's what we need to do! Imposing limitations on end users which make the internet less useful is not a solution to the problem, at best it's a kludge which reduces the headache for backbone providers, but doesn't actually solve any long-term problems.
Gee..., why didn't anyone else think of that? Cisco, are you listening? You need to make a GSR that does BGP updates faster, ok? While you're at it, you need to write bug-free software and build routers that never fail, ok? As for the "imposing limitations on end-users which make the (I)internet less useful", well, personally, I'd trade "less useful" for "available" is a second. Though you should understand that those limitations aren't imposed because folks have nothing better to do, they're imposed because people with experience attempt to design things that are reliable, scale well, and are manageable. Having worked for several large service providers, I assure you, hacks and one-offs don't scale well. -danny