+Stephen Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Tough call here. I know I will get it, and I know it will be a kick ass piece of hardware when I do get it. But being one of the first to pre-order (and told it was nearly ready when doing so), it is a rather long wait. Then seeing other projects being worked on before this is done adds to the frustration. Like I say, I know it will be done when it's done, I just wish there never was a projected release date 2 years ago. I still would have pre-ordered it, I just would have expected the long wait. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Something tells me prioritization has never been even uttered in reference to this project by those who collected money for it. Oh, quit your bitching. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retro Rogue Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I think there's a bit of confusion with people here. There are no other projects being worked on before the XM, there is no "non-prioritizing" going on. We've been working on the books since long before the XM was announced, about a good 8 years - and that has also been publicly mentioned in this forum over the years. It just so happens the first book is coming to its deadline (the 40th anniversary of Atari Inc. and the Atari brand) during the XM project. As Curt stated and has been documented in this thread, the XM was not intended to take this long, but several things needed to be restarted and redone during the process to eliminate bugs. You do not ship a partially working device as someone suggested, if people are bitching this much at taking more time to do it right, there'd be just as much outcry (and possibly calls of fraud) if a not fully working one was shipped. This is a home brew project being done by a handful of hard working, dedicated fans of Atari that wanted to see the XM come to light. Not a large engineering firm or corporation, and certainly nobody with deep pockets or time. Money had to be taken in advance for that reason, as it costs money for the tooling for the case molds and all the other parts of the XM that need to be paid for in advance and manufactured. I realize that people are anxious for this product, and we're looking forard to delivering it just as much. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 This project will be done when it is done. I am more than happy with receiving periodic updates which tell me where the project stands. IMHO, this type of project is one of those where we all know what we are committing to...it's brand new hardware. Not a homebrew game...hardware. In the very beginning, I knew that the estimated delivery was WAY over estimated. Yes, it is taking longer than I expected, but the reason for this has been explained thoroughly, time and again. As long as there are updates, there is light at the end of the tunnel...no matter how faint. Eventually, the XM will be in my game room, and I will be glad I waited for it. For those of whom are constantly complaining, keep this in mind...a few short years from now, when this has been released and it is long since sold out, would you rather have been: A.) an owner of the XM (who waited patiently) or B.) a non-owner who has to pay top dollar for one on eBay? I'm just glad I got in on this early, as I can see the XM becoming something of a holy grail in the years to come. Just my two cents. Thanks to all who are working diligently on this...I look forward to the next update! :thumbsup: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GroovyBee Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 B.) a non-owner who has to pay top dollar for one on eBay? I'm just glad I got in on this early, as I can see the XM becoming something of a holy grail in the years to come. Just my two cents. Thanks to all who are working diligently on this...I look forward to the next update! :thumbsup: Curt has said that XMs will be made for as long as there is demand so hopefully nobody will get scalped on ebay looking for one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybercylon Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I think people need to chill out a bit. Had I not sold off my 7800 plus a lot of other stuff back when I was unemployed, I would have ordered one by now (don't see the point without a 7800). This is a hobby for these folks, and it's done when it is done. I'm wondering though with all of the custom stuff that has to get made (plastic molds, etc) and the delays by bugs that crop up... are you guys even turning profit on this? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennybingo Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 hopefully nobody will get scalped on ebay looking for one. Hopefully, but doubtful. I give it a day or two after the first batch drops for these to show up on ePay at ridiculous prices. Even if Curt continues making these, how long will it be until a second batch??? I am sure that he won't be having shells molded for one-off orders. Same goes for the boards, face plates, etc. It could be quite a while before the late-comers and naysayers get a crack at this, so I am just glad that I am in for the first batch. I can continue to be patient...I know I will be glad that I did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 195 XM's were pre-ordered, we have parts for 500. I own the tooling and can run off 100 at a time if/when necessary, so there won't be ebay price gouging, nor should there ever be, its not at all likely to happen and if it does and people really have that much of a demand for more, then I'd run off another 100 at a time to fill the need, these should never become a price gouging product, ever. I don't like ever seeing it happen and I don't want to see it happen to something I have a hand in. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I am more than happy with receiving periodic updates which tell me where the project stands. I think this would do a ton to appease the natives, honestly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 195 XM's were pre-ordered, we have parts for 500. I own the tooling and can run off 100 at a time if/when necessary, so there won't be ebay price gouging, nor should there ever be, its not at all likely to happen and if it does and people really have that much of a demand for more, then I'd run off another 100 at a time to fill the need, these should never become a price gouging product, ever. I don't like ever seeing it happen and I don't want to see it happen to something I have a hand in Hopefully, once it's released, some of the big websites [Wired? Slashdot?] will give it some decent coverage if only to get the word out to [closeted, so to speak] Atari fans elsewhere across the internet who may be unaware of this enthusiast website [and others] that are keeping the scene alive. After all, there are a few million 7800s out there...hopefully more than just 500 of them left that are still usable. [i still have to order an XM for myself as well]... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 It was never done to make a profit, I was hoping it would be a break even project, but its actually an out of pocket cost project now, which is fine, its not a huge hit, but in the end, it gets something out the door and hopefully will lead later on to things which will turn a profit, for now, its a labor of love I guess would be the best way to describe this project. I think people need to chill out a bit. Had I not sold off my 7800 plus a lot of other stuff back when I was unemployed, I would have ordered one by now (don't see the point without a 7800). This is a hobby for these folks, and it's done when it is done. I'm wondering though with all of the custom stuff that has to get made (plastic molds, etc) and the delays by bugs that crop up... are you guys even turning profit on this? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 It was never done to make a profit, I was hoping it would be a break even project, but its actually an out of pocket cost project now, which is fine, its not a huge hit, but in the end, it gets something out the door and hopefully will lead later on to things which will turn a profit, for now, its a labor of love I guess would be the best way to describe this project. Is there any way to use it as a means of monetizing your Atari Museum website or is click-ad revenue for independent web sites truly dead in the Facebook age? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted June 25, 2012 Author Share Posted June 25, 2012 I would never do that to the website. As for being dead? I still get about 30K in hits a month, so I'd hardly see my site as being dead of ever being dead, Facebook is fine for posting chatter and nonsense, but people still want and need websites, those won't be going away 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynxpro Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 I would never do that to the website. As for being dead? I still get about 30K in hits a month, so I'd hardly see my site as being dead of ever being dead, Facebook is fine for posting chatter and nonsense, but people still want and need websites, those won't be going away I wasn't trying to insinuate that your site was dead. However, other site owners have complained about the Facebook-effect on their ad revenues/site visits. For instance, Nick of CHUD[.com] has often complained about ad revenue going into the toilet because too many people skip going to the actual site and try to get info just from the Facebook postings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 I see more of a problem with Wikipedia copying stuff from my site and sometimes its not even listed in the reference links. Also Youtube is famous for having site video content stolen and posted there, they used to take stuff down, but rarely do requests to remove my site content get any kind of response.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinks Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Facebook utube the corruption of the internet. I will never join facebook...people dont realize the amount of privacy they think they have untill it is all stolen. Its all these dumb kids of this new generation of entitlement that has zero common sense or respect for anything. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Facebook utube the corruption of the internet. Well, considering that Facebook Utube is the evil bastard child of Facebook and YouTube I'm not surprised. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletunes Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I will put an update on things up tomorrow... .have not been putting as much bandwidth as I want into the XM, Mark has been pulling up a LOT of the slack for me, have to wrap up this book so all of my time can be devoted back to engineering.... Any chance we could get a brief a status update? Thanks! Did I miss this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 nope, he never did give an update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R. Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Part of the problem for me has been coming to this late. The way it's been described and talked about, at least to me, seems a bit unclear and convoluted. Those primarily interested in it may be well able to understand and comprehend, and that may account for a majority of the audience who are hard-core hobbyists and tech-heads when it comes to this. But those who aren't are gonna be lost. As a newspaper reporter, I spend a lot of time making complex things simple, while still accurate. I have to break down jargon and "backroom language" so that average people can understand it. I've done that for 20 years, so I think I've gotten pretty good at it. If those doing the XM are interested, I'd be willing to to interview someone and write up something about the XM, gratis. They can review it before it goes anywhere, and if they don't like it, don't use it. Or I'd be willing to proof-read, copy-edit, etc. at the least. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh3-rg Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I think this thread might well be unclear and convoluted if you're hunting for facts, but the website is concise and to the point regarding the XM itself (specs). If you're referring to the problems and issues encountered as they've worked on it, I think the blog/diary does a job there, too. But that's not really the concern to those who just want to play with it. Threads on forums are often a complete mess to mine information from, especially when they're approaching 50 pages, as there's a lot of noise surrounding the signal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted July 8, 2012 Share Posted July 8, 2012 I will put an update on things up tomorrow... . Curt - would you mind terribly putting up an update on the XM site? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt Vendel Posted July 8, 2012 Author Share Posted July 8, 2012 Hi, I have stuff owed to Mark that he is waiting for, he has delivered final BIOS, need to put all of the new items together onto what is the final board, because I'm not making any further changes anymore to this design. Will be back on this project in 2-3 weeks once book is done and I can devote 100% of my time to this project solely. Curt 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trebor Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I have stuff owed to Mark that he is waiting for, he has delivered final BIOS, need to put all of the new items together onto what is the final board, because I'm not making any further changes anymore to this design. Will be back on this project in 2-3 weeks once book is done and I can devote 100% of my time to this project solely. Thanks for the update, Curt. It is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryH917 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 I've been trying for over a month to get my money refunded and nothing but excuses. Not a good way to do business with anyone... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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