The end of live pit orchestras?

I had to blog about this, especially after I read about this in the New York Times Arts & Leisure section a few weeks ago. It's a program that reproduces an orchestra, albeit with software. The difference this time is that this virtual orchestra is not playing off a CD, but rather from a laptop so it can respond to cues, changing tempos, etc. It's meant to "augment" live players, but apparently it can be used to supplant them instead. The musician's union in NYC is understandably upset about this. It's unclear what something like Notion will mean for the classic B'way live pit orchestra over the long haul. Will (p)it slowly disappear? Let's hope not, although frankly this is an excellent option for schools. Considering how limited budgets are for hiring professional ringers, and how students either lack the time or expertise to play the really good pit arrangements, having something like this makes a lot of sense for a school music director (to whom it is being aggresively marketed, I might add...) Say you have 5 really top players in your school, but lack some other crucial elements. You can mute the tracks you have covered, and let the others play. Voile! Yeah, it's not in the spirit of a live pit, but as someone interested in music technology in general (and composing and conducting in particular), I'm fascinated by this software. What do you all think? For more about Notion (and to listen to demos, click here.