Something along these lines Jaba.
I mentioned onboard weight & balance systems in an earlier post, it seems the Airbus certified system is complex and consuming of maintenance hours so the latter (dollars) would seem why it hasn't gained favour. The 744F has it as a standard fit and I've asked a question on freight dogs if anyone can proffer their experience. Earlier in this thread one gentleman mentions the system they had on the Merchantman as being robust and reliable, surely its not beyond the ken of us all these years later to come up with something to do the job. The Honeywell system advertises +-1% accuracy and certified as a primary or advisory dispatch system on those aircraft for which it is certified (747 & MD-11 thus far). And no transposing of data from laptop to FMS which seems to be where this accident stems from.