Someone Kill Me Now

[rabidpoobear]

Insisting on a Christmas delivery is a perfectly normal human thing to do. No American would pay full price for fireworks on July 5th. Or a jack-o-lantern on November 1st.

[edit:redacted]

 

[VRAndy]

Well, those are seasonal.

Anything can be purchased for the Christmas season. Especially a small electronic game device.

Can you honestly not see how a Pandora might be very valuable to someone on December 23rd, but much, much less valuable, perhaps not at all on December 26th?

Really?

Did you perhaps mean July 5th? Because I'm pretty sure the 4th is when everyone buys fireworks!

Of course. I edited my post to fix this stupid, stupid error.

 

[lulzfish]

Well, those are seasonal.

Anything can be purchased for the Christmas season. Especially a small electronic game device.

Can you honestly not see how a Pandora might be very valuable to someone on December 23rd, but much, much less valuable, perhaps not at all on December 26th?

Really?

Well, I could sort of see that, but I think most people would find a Pandora has much more value proportionally on December 25th / 26th than fireworks do on July 5th.

So anyway, don't buy Pandoras for Christmas, ever. Problem solved.

 

[xweb]

I pretty much consider that money gone. the only way i win at this point is if they deliver. this is a project that has never been attempted on this scale before by a motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal. to produce a device they would be proud to put there name on(and turn a profit doing it). I didn't just pay my money for a device. I paid my money to be a part of a phenomenon i believe in. If this project is successful it will serve as a model of how a community that was being poorly served by the big manufacturers banded together and produce a device that was designed by the users for the users. look at IControlPad already riding our coat tails.

When was the last time you bought a device that was designed around real quality and not just its appeal to the lowest common denominator.

sure there have been some bumps on the road but as any entrepreneur knows your jobs is all about putting out fires and moving the business/project forward every day. until you have take that role. you can't under stand how much pressure it is. why don't you try doing something impossible for a change and you'll under stand.

as for me i consider my payment an investment. and the only way I'm gonna get a return on my investment is to stick it out.

PS. we don't want OpenPandora to become and legend that eclipses even the duke nukum fiasco :blink:

edit: spelling/punctuation

 

[Monk]

Well, those are seasonal.

We live seasonal lives. This may be largely artificial, especailly now, but we still live by the seasons and by fixed events therein.

The Pandora is a device that's expected to have a high value for at least a few years

Let's say three, just to give it a number (which is, incidentally, three times the warranty period). One of those years has already passed.

 

[bzar]

I pretty much consider that money gone. the only way i win at this point is if they deliver. this is a project that has never been attempted on this scale before by a motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal. to produce a device they would be proud to put there name on(and turn a profit doing it). I didn't just pay my money for a device. I paid my money to be a part of a phenomenon i believe in. If this project is successful it will serve as a model of how a community that was being poorly served by the big manufacturers banded together and produce a device that was designed by the users for the users.

Hear hear!

 

[Prometheus]

look at IControlPad already riding our coat tails.

You might well already know this (I'm afraid I can't quite tell from your wording! Sorry!), but the iControlPad is by the same folks.

 

[xweb]

look at IControlPad already riding our coat tails.

You might well already know this (I'm afraid I can't quite tell from your wording! Sorry!), but the iControlPad is by the same folks.

No, i did not know. i have only recently become aware of the iControlPad project. none the less if this model proves successfull i can look forward to at least OP/ICP producing devices that apeal to my rather niche tastes.

 

[VRAndy]

Well, I could sort of see that, but I think most people would find a Pandora has much more value proportionally on December 25th / 26th than fireworks do on July 5th.

So anyway, don't buy Pandoras for Christmas, ever. Problem solved.

I was responding to a post criticizing someone for being an "irresponsible consumer" for setting a December 23rd "drop dead" date when he will insist on a refund. Perfectly reasonable. Presumably, Some small number of people's only interest in Pandora is as a Christmas gift for others. To them the constantly shifting release date is only acceptable until December, then it isn't acceptable at all.

Other people may have other, equally good reasons for drawing lines in the sand.

Just because some people can stand to wait, it should not be assumed that everyone who can't is an impatient bastard.

this is a project that has never been attempted on this scale before by a motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal. to produce a device they would be proud to put there name on(and turn a profit doing it). I didn't just pay my money for a device. I paid my money to be a part of a phenomenon i believe in. If this project is successful it will serve as a model of how a community that was being poorly served by the big manufacturers banded together and produce a device that was designed by the users for the users.

If you want a 'model' for a small motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal, producing a device they're proud to put their name on, a product so ambitious that many people said it couldn't be done by such a small team ... ... Then check out MakerBot.

They've created what people thought was impossible, a commercial, in-home 3d fabricator.

And they ship their units on time. (Mine came early!)

 

[rabidpoobear]

....

I edited my post to fix this stupid, stupid error.

What error?
*shifty eyes*
I see no error here!

 

[xweb]

If you want a 'model' for a small motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal, producing a device they're proud to put their name on, a product so ambitious that many people said it couldn't be done by such a small team ... ... Then check out MakerBot.

They've created what people thought was impossible, a commercial, in-home 3d fabricator.

And they ship their units on time. (Mine came early!)

Now thats what Im talking about. i might get one of these if i can think of a use for it.

 

[rabidpoobear]

this is a project that has never been attempted on this scale before by a motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal. to produce a device they would be proud to put there name on(and turn a profit doing it). I didn't just pay my money for a device. I paid my money to be a part of a phenomenon i believe in. If this project is successful it will serve as a model of how a community that was being poorly served by the big manufacturers banded together and produce a device that was designed by the users for the users.

If you want a 'model' for a small motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal, producing a device they're proud to put their name on, a product so ambitious that many people said it couldn't be done by such a small team ... ... Then check out MakerBot.

They've created what people thought was impossible, a commercial, in-home 3d fabricator.

And they ship their units on time. (Mine came early!)

Commercial... some assembly required...
Isn't this something the RepRap project has been working on doing for a while? along with other in-home 3d fabricator projects? Except RepRap is arguably even cooler since it is designed to have as many parts as possible that it can print itself. But that project is not commercial, so your point stands, and the MakerBot is still extremely awesome and if I had the money for one I'd be clearing a spot on my desk for it as we speak.

I'm mostly just questioning the comparison. 3D printing is not much more than CNC with a plastic extruder attached. That is, you could likely replace a router bit with an extruder in a CNC machine and all you'd have to change then is the control software (whether you consider that part of the CNC machine or not is debatable). Whereas the Pandora devs had to do some pretty complicated circuit design and suchlike. Also, it's likely the Maker fellas took on a lot of debt to fund the project, so I'm glad it's taking off. Also it seems to be their full-time job.

Anyway, it does have some relevance. I just don't feel it's a completely fair comparison.

 

[Monk]

If you want a 'model' for a small motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal, producing a device they're proud to put their name on, a product so ambitious that many people said it couldn't be done by such a small team ... ... Then check out MakerBot.

They've created what people thought was impossible, a commercial, in-home 3d fabricator.

How cool is that? I've seen such things on the net before today, but the price/skill set required is probably beyond me... but just how frikking cool is it? What've you made, huh? Huh?


err... ahem. I mean "well, that looks nice"

 

[rabidpoobear]

If you want a 'model' for a small motley crew of entrepreneurs with no experience and one goal, producing a device they're proud to put their name on, a product so ambitious that many people said it couldn't be done by such a small team ... ... Then check out MakerBot.

They've created what people thought was impossible, a commercial, in-home 3d fabricator.

And they ship their units on time. (Mine came early!)

Now thats what Im talking about. i might get one of these if i can think of a use for it.

Seriously? I can think of thousands of uses for this. If I had $750 I would no longer have $750 because those guys would have it.
Example: that stupid plastic casing around your desk light that you twist to turn the light on and off breaks. It costs like $15 to get a new lamp, and it's probably impossible to buy a replacement part. So just make one!
Or how about - you want an in-car dash mount for your Pandora. They don't have one out yet. So just make one!

It's amazing and it's going to be a big technological disruptor. Maybe not to the extent computers and other things have been, but it will be a big deal soon. Especially as they get the detail of the created items more smooth and the speed faster.

Did you watch the video of the salt shakers? Those were pretty fine holes that it recreated quite well (well enough for salt at least). I'd say if it has that kind of accuracy, as soon as these things get mainstream people will just shit bricks when they see the kind of stuff people come up with. It excites me to no end. I just hope that the open-source guys get in there early so we can have free models for pretty much everything, and it looks like they are. I doubt any major commercial company can justify entering a completely uncertain market like that, especially during these economic crises I hear everyone talking about.

 

[WizardStan]

Seriously? I can think of thousands of uses for this. If I had $750 I would no longer have $750 because those guys would have it.

The only reason I haven't bought one is the 4x4x6 limit. This is big enough for most stuff, but I can imagine times when I need something just a little bit bigger. You can't remake the Pandora case with one of these ones, for example, or a well fitting dock for it, either.
Something 6x6x6 would be excellent. Of course, then I'd come up with a design that needed to be 8" wide. Can't win.

 

[VRAndy]

Isn't this something the RepRap project has been working on doing for a while? along with other in-home 3d fabricator projects?

In the same sense that Pandora is something that Beagleboard has been working on in a while. Makerbot is only partially compatible with RepRap, even though the underlying technology is the same there are many differences.

Commercial... some assembly required...

Yes. Commercial because you pay money. Some Assembly Required because you didn't pay enough for the fully assembled unit, which they also sell.

if I had the money for one I'd be clearing a spot on my desk for it as we speak.

It was a bit pricey. If I'd known I was going to need a new car within a month after buying it, I probably wouldn't have splurged on it! (I plan on finishing mine up Thanksgiving weekend. If all goes as planned I'll let you know exactly how awesome it is!)

Whereas the Pandora devs had to do some pretty complicated circuit design and suchlike. [..] I just don't feel it's a completely fair comparison.

Not exactly, no. Makerbot is also doing smaller batches than OP. But it was the best comparison I could come up with off the top of my head.

 

[Asmo]

I've been keeping a beady eye on 3D printers for a while, it can only be a matter of time before there are online sales of 'spare parts' for anything you can think of, so you can make them yourself. Of course, they'll try to do it so you can only make one copy. Piracy will move into a whole new dimension.

 

[Monk]

I've been keeping a beady eye on 3D printers for a while, it can only be a matter of time before there are online sales of 'spare parts' for anything you can think of, so you can make them yourself. Of course, they'll try to do it so you can only make one copy. Piracy will move into a whole new dimension.

Seriously, several of these things are open source. You can make them from the plans if you have the time and skill (and access to a 3D printer helps because severeal of them now CAN make many of their own - mechanical - parts. The darn things are breeding!)

 

[lulzfish]

I've been keeping a beady eye on 3D printers for a while, it can only be a matter of time before there are online sales of 'spare parts' for anything you can think of, so you can make them yourself. Of course, they'll try to do it so you can only make one copy. Piracy will move into a whole new dimension.

Seriously, several of these things are open source. You can make them from the plans if you have the time and skill (and access to a 3D printer helps because severeal of them now CAN make many of their own - mechanical - parts. The darn things are breeding!)

I think Asmo means that people will be using printers to make parts that used to be a major source of revenue for companies.
Like if I had one, I'd use it to make Lego brick rip-offs. Lego's been a dick for years now, just selling movie tie-ins for Lucas franchises, even if I could figure out where to buy the original bricks and Techniques, I don't think I want to give them any money.

So yeah, I would pirate Lego bricks with my 3d printer, maybe sell them to other people to pay back the cost of the printer. Assuming, of course, that I can get the plastic cheap enough to undersell the biggest manufacturer of toy bricks ever. Well, maybe I would pirate custom Lego parts... Whatever.

 

[droneb]

XD, thats a nice one,

then i now know why the chinese factory never sends the parts layout neither the critical parts specs.
at most ive seen electric and hydraulic diagrams

thats ONE diference ive seen between chinnese factorys vs european(german) machinery.