RP isn't really necessary for the release. The tight schedule of new MC-Releases makes it very hard to make something stable. It isn't that much work that needs to be done from 1.4.2 to 1.4.4 but it is delay.
Thaumcraft and Redpower both have different reasons for not being in the pack at release. Thaumcraft just isn't finished. It is a mod that is barely done and it causes a lot of problems as it is often visible in Streams from ForgeCraft. A release is miles away and people should understand this. Redpower is in a better situation, but here and there it seems that small problems plop up which needs to be solved. There might be modders who would release the mod under this conditions, but eloraam should be known for not doing this.
I'm not sure if slow has spoken with eloraam, but he needs to meet her in a perfect mood to make her release something that she herself feels not ready to be released. That might be how she works, and nobody here is in the position to question it.
The question of releasing actually does not even exist. If people don't want FTB to be released without Redpower or TC3, they should just not use the pack without Redpower or TC3. But there are a lot of people out there that are happy to enjoy a great Pack with easy installation that gives players a lot of opportunities. Some might even use the chance to increase their knowledge over the other mods in the pack or maybe some are totally new to certain mods. Releasing the pack now just gives people the option to work with some of the mods to get a feel for them. I know, for people used to redpower this is pretty tough, since redpower leaves a gap, that is hard to fill with other mods. But it is totally possible to enjoy the FTB-Pack without Redpower and I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy it.
ive never used frames, and the little work ive done with the computers was hindered by how annoying forth is. ill stick to CC, lua is practicly made for scripting and thats all you really need it to do in minecraft. plus just being able to edit a program makes CC so far superior that the redpower computers are a footnote, i think eloraam should stick to what she started out doing making cool machines that are simple so we dont have to take a masters course to understand how to use it.
You should understand that the computer in Redpower has a completly different audience than the CC-Computer. You could do a lot more with the Redpower-Computer. The Redpower-Computer actually is a real computer. But you are right the CC-Computer has a wider audience, since programming with it is a lot easier, but well it isn't a real computer it is just software you access that uses lua, while Redpower emulates a real computer (well a MOS6502 if I'm not mistaken).
meh still sounds like alot of functionality i wont spend the time reasearching, ive never liked having to do in game reasearch, well there was one game, but that one it was a minigame that you had to play, with matching chemical compounds, for every level you won you got a new compound you could combine ingame, it worked really well.
Funny enough TC3-Research is just that. Every Item in the game and even some ModItems to have research-properties. To research you just have to throw the right stuff together to get the aspects for research you need and you are done. It is not really a timesink but you might need a lot of ressources for some stuff.
It is a pretty cool system that is not to complicated to allow easy access, but it is complex enough to make you looking forward for a new discovery.
Oh and TC3 now has the RichardG-Door that randomly trolls you by not opening (it is one of the bugs which are the reason why TC3 will not be in the pack
).