Regarding the "ether business model". What exactly do you mean by "fee regulated and thus require Ether to function" (see your post above)? How exactly does that work?
Again, this shit is waaaay over my head, but what i read that to mean is maybe like the transaction fees we already pay to send coins from our wallets?
That's my understanding.
Fee regulated = the network requires fees to operate and maintain (i.e. transaction fees, contract fees, etc). As I understand it, this is primarily an anti-spam measure, as otherwise looping contracts could be created which overwhelm the network.
Require Ether to function = I believe this is simply a nod to the point that Ethereum has an internal currency despite being able to build currencies atop. The paper states the currency (Ether) is to serve as both a mining reward and a mechanism for paying transaction fees.