then the drive to get the price high enough for trending disappears, because its not the price that's dictating it.
it is not their drive to reach trending (other than some of the app announcements), their drive is the profits.
Can people now sign up for an account via another interface without actually having to go through the Steemit one at all?
Yes, there are a number who are creating accounts nowe including @steemmonsters and partiko i think.