The mkII got video basically because someone realized the chip could do it, and stuck his head in an office saying they could make it happen, and then did it. It pissed off the pro-video camera guys to no end. So, I'm guessing Canon is not going to let that happen again by letting the interns loose. It's goes against Sony's DNA to let features go out for free.
But seeing as this is HN, many a device has been launched of people tired of status quo and went and did their own thing to make what they wanted. You're welcome to post us a Show HN when you've fixed your problems that will make things easier for the rest of the world too. Or, better yet, sounds like it's ripe for disruption, so why not get a YC backed startup going to build a better camera. Try not to make the camera equivalent of Homer's car though.
Second, an hour was just an example. Most of my exposures are not longer than 4 or 8 minutes.
Third, I'm happy that you are fine with external controllers. But I'm not. I find them crude and unnecessary. I'm doing a lot of HDRs and I don't understand why I cannot simply preprogram my camera with sequence of shots and execute it without any gadgets and limitations. Say, there's this nonsensical limit for 1 minute or 30 seconds everyone seems to defend for some strange reason, (is there some sort of Stockholm syndrome at work?), at least the manufacturer could provide a better bracketing setting to compensate for it. It's not like it's rocket science. An intern could write the firmware in a few days. I cannot even patch the camera without voiding the warranty. I know they are always workarounds, but why make things complicated, when they could be simple.