@ Hypostatization - good job!

I think he hit on most everything you were asking in the best way. To further add, you are right...a lot of the Ripple terminology seems confusing at first. I had a really tough time with trustlines myself. Initially, only trust the gateway where you've made your deposit.You'll find that Ripple is 'rebranding' concepts/words often used in the financial arenas in order to shed unnecessary baggage. So, for example, you don't wanna talk about 'credit' because it has a connotation of having to pay interest.

There is little doubt Ripple is the real deal of future financial transactions and currency exchange. Phone apps, multi-lingual support, ability to make deposits in cash, venture capital support, a proactive legal team guarding trademark infringement...and the ability to send any amount of any currency to anyone anywhere instantly...for free(ish). After they're out of Beta, the future looks super!!!