[snip the good stuff]
>Does such technology really equal evolutionary advancement?
> Penny *for one, maybe, not using circular logic* stamp

It's thought by many that humanity is both evolving slowly [mutant children, etc. (mutant has no bad connotations in my book)] and quickly. The quick evolution of humanity has been considered to be the passing on of knowledge. I see it a little bit differently... evolution is an interaction between species and their environments. As a species, we're staying fairly constant. But, we're changing our environment at an incredible rate to fit our genes (the prosthetic limbs and internet world that you mention are environmental changes). Other species will have to evolve to match the environments we're creating. It may all work out or it may mean there's gonna be a lot more roadkill.
Eu'not roadkill yet'gene