Ayroplain - totally agree with you. It's gone from a swift/simple self check-in to a long winded one, for little perceivable advantage. I mean - what the heck does it matter whether I'm male or female when I'm checking in to a domestic flight of 1 hours duration?
Still, at least I still don't need to produce my passport/driving license etc as with all the lovely 'no-frills' airlines.