ACLS65 -
One of the problems with this "progress" is that the only ones benefiting from it are the manufacturers. The airlines are in hock up to their ears buying all this new equipment trying to convince their passengers that they are equipped with the latest. The airlines have to cut costs to pay for all this. Whereas you could pull up to the gate in a DC-3 and people would still get on. FBW has its place, no doubt. But it was NEEDED to control high performance aircraft, not airliners.
As to: "Like any "new" technology there will be bugs..." The 'bugs' were pretty much taken care of with the "old" technology. Why put passengers through yet another learning process?
Whether or not new or old, we still have to get around the "pilot error" issue somehow, don't we? I'm not saying that was an issue with AF447, but there WERE other aircraft in or near that area in the same time frame that seemingly got through with no trouble. So.....was the crew at fault, or their systems, or the weather? Sadly, we will probably never know, as even if the recorders are recovered from, what is it, 12,000 feet?!, the data might not be useble.