pentimentosound
I don't really like the idea that the E tuner thingy is becoming "required reading" and you'll have to custom order one without it, if you don't want it.
They still make some fine guitars, though!
Once you get used to the automatic tuning, you become addicted. I wasn't around for the transition from pegs to gears, but I would think it's sort of the same thing...
Yesterday I raised the Zero-Fret Adjustable Bridge a couple millimeters so I could play slide without fretting out. Set the tuner to open G, pressed a button, strummed a couple times...bingo, tuned for slide. When the slide part was done, I lowered the nut and went back to standard tuning. It was all very painless. I never got into alternate tunings before the robot tuning thing came along.
You can also create "sweetened" tunings where strings are just a few cents sharp or flat, and it even does tuning with a capo on now. Pretty cool.