so, market forces will just kill traditional GPU based mining pretty much overnight unless ASIC based is all just a scam?
There are many different ASIC development companies, it's implausible that all of them are scams. It's just a pretty straightforward but challenging process.
i really do feel for those that have invested into GPU based mines although i suspect their investment is already paid back if they got into it early enough
"if" is the key word. I suspect most mining operations have been a net loss, and it's probably a good indicator.
By the way, check out
this thread. CoinLab is developing a platform that will rent your GPU for various tasks and pay you in BTC.