Sigh....I do feel for you, my friend. I feel I have been lucky. This is my 2nd WM device (my first was the MotoQ) and something like the 5th major firmware update between them. So far, I've come scary-close to bricking each time, but got lucky and managed to find (with the help of forums like this) a way out of the problem and complete the update each time (no, I have not tried MR3 yet). I, too, have always wondered how the heck the "non-techy user" would possibly be able to complete this given the variability of how it processes. Plus, with no quantitative information whatsoever, I'd have to say that the i760 update process was actually smoother than those for the Q. Sigh...

BTW -- unless I am mistaken (always a possibility!), the update process originates with the manufacturer (in this case, Sammy) and is then "altered" by the carrier (in this case, VZW). If so, then the responsibility for the challenging update process is either shared between them or actually originates with Sammy (on the assumption that VZW can "tweak", but not completely rebuild, the update process). I'm not attempting to defend VZW in any way, btw -- they are a "carrier" after all, with all the dread that word brings with it!

Cheers!