Convince me NOT to cancel my order.

[Sean Moss-Pultz]

Hi Alan,

alan at rotorgraphics.com wrote:

> admin at mmri.us...
> 
> IMHO, Your response here to Joe was uncalled for and frankly, rude.
> 
> I also resent the implication that I and others are "disgruntled whiners".
> 
> While gentleman may agree or disagree, there is little to no call for this
> kind response to such a minor observation or suggestion.
> 
> My point is starting this topic was to bring attention to the fact that
> probably 500 to 1000 potential developers were likely to get saddled with
> GTA01 phones right before the GTA02s were released and that FIC staff were
> not providing sufficient information about likely delivery dates.  We are
> volunteers TRYING to put up our time and money to move this along, but due
> to understandable circumstances many of us are being left out.  FIC should
> be more open about the schedules if they expect volunteers to contribute
> time and effort.  It would also be quite understandable for a potential
> developer to be annoyed that he just payed for a GTA01 and the GTA02 come
> out within days.  FIC should proactivly mitigate this possible scenario.

I really wish we could give more accurate timing information. But please
understand that what you're seeing is a product being built from
scratch. We're not using reference designs. We're not using 3rd party
software. We're doing this from scratch. And _very_ publicly. You can
track on code and comments every day if you like. We don't hide
anything. Bugs and all.

Product development is messy. There are literally hundreds of components
in this device, all needing to be sourced with different lead times from
different vendors. If SDRAM becomes scarce, we suffer. If a vendor has
yield problems, so we do we.

I encourage you (and everyone else) to see this project for what it is
-- a truly unique opportunity to take part in the development of an open
phone. This is a personal dream of mine for years. Even though we've had
our fair share of delays, I'm still incredibly excited about where we
stand now.

Your support, by buying hardware, or just making constructive comments,
will allow us to grow and help change this industry. We're still small
now, but we've got grand plans ;-)

> More on the future shape of the Neo...
> 
> Another reason to square off the bottom is to make it stand up on a flat
> surface or MORE IMPORTANTLY, sit upright in an off-the-shelf bluetooth mini
> keyboard.  You should not be restricted to landscape mode useage when off
> device keyboarding.
> 
> Remember, were not just talking about a PHONE here, but portable
> microcomputing.

Try to think more about the complexity of this device. I don't know of a
single "microcomputer" that has 4 RF systems. FIC makes millions of
computers a year. I can promise you that it's significantly easier for
us to build a computer than a phone.

-Sean