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Matchstick - A streaming stick using Firefox OS [Kickstarter]

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40hz:
I understand delays, and I always thought their February promise was optimistic. But it really sucks that they'd wait until three weeks before it's promised in our hands to announce a 6-month delay. With a delay of this scope, it had to be something they've known about for quite a while; why wait so long to tell those of us who financed the project from the start?
-CWuestefeld (February 07, 2015, 10:01 AM)
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^This! :Thmbsup:



I'm a little disappointed since I backed this one too. I felt somewhat confident in doing so because they had already shown a working prototype.

I'm thinking they're having trouble clearing the legal hurdles for content licensing and DRM. If that's the case, all bets are off since those deciding on yea or nay can be quite arbitrary in their decisions - to say nothing of being subject to influence (i.e. pressured) by existing players who generally wish to shut newcomers out of the market. Which they can do.

Alternatively, there's also a very real chance that they're actively trying to find someone to buy them out and walk away. I say this because they've done a lot of talking about partnering with developers and content providers on a come-one come-all basis. So it's not like they haven't touched bases with companies in the same line of business.

A buyout might also be necessary because their open sharing of technology, schematics, etc. is more than enough to dampen the interest of venture capitalists. VCs like secrets and generally insist on exclusivity, preferring not to have competitors too up on what their funded businesses are doing.

The optimist in me thinks it's just a delay because they kids are letting their 'geek' get in the way of their business.

The businessman (as in pessimist) in me thinks they've either run into a snag that is not technological (i.e. legal, licensing, real or threatened IP lawsuit, etc.) -or- some of their earlier stated goals conflict with operating as a 'smart tech business' and therefore any hoped for "big money" investors are now giving them the cold shoulder. Which could mean serious cash flow issues despite the resounding success of their campaign. Especially since $500k doesn't go very far when you're tooling up for mass producing inexpensive electronic devices.

But since they're not publicly traded, they're under no obligation to share info about what the problem (if any) may be. And (if there is a problem) they've simply decided not to.

My gut tells me something unexpectedly went sideways on them and they're now trying to buy some time.

My heart tells me: "I want your gut to be completely wrong about all this."

Be interesting to see how it plays out. :huh:

4wd:
Just musing:

Rhetorical question: Do they really have a problem?

With the drop in prices of components, (eg. RasPi 2 still same price as RasPi 1), maybe they decided they could get better specs for a little more outlay.

With the presumed take up of their Flint technology by Philips/TCL it might be that other TV manufacturers will incorporate the technology, (since it's OS, why not?).
If that happens, apart from old AV equipment (some of which could probably implement it through a firmware update), the need for a standalone device starts to diminish except for those use cases of having something mobile "just in case", (eg. hotels, etc).

The problem with the delay as I see it is: What if in 6 months they find they can do more with a newer reduced price octa-core SOC, RAM, etc?

Will it turn into another Duke Nukem Forever?

Mind you, if they can put things like h.265 into silicon and ship it in 6 months I'll be happy to wait a little longer ... I guess.

40hz:
^Excellent point. I wouldn't mind embedded h.265 either. ;D But like I said, if true, their inner geek seems to be drowning out the business realities. Three of the most important of which are to: (1) deliver on time; (2) deliver what was promised; and (3) deliver on budget.

When it comes to tech devices, the speed of improvement is such that nearly anything you buy today will be a far less optimal purchase 6 months from now. As you noted, playing the "let's make it mo' better" card (which I don't recall anybody asking or expecting them to do - they had their goals and stretch goals - and we supporters were perfectly happy with those AFAICT) is a neverending treadmill. Fine if you're a patron of the art. But less so if you just ran a successful kickstarter campaign and you now have legally binding promises to deliver on. (Kickstarter can say what they want about "the need to be understanding and patient." If you don't deliver as promised, you can very easily open yourself up to a plethora of very real legal woes. And it can take as little as a single complaint to get those gears rolling.)

Suddenly springing a 6-month delay on their supporters  -  on top of their earlier two month "oops!" delay - calls their good judgement into question - and puts their credibility at risk.

I personally think some of the reasons they've given are pretty lame except for the DRM/licensing issues - which is one of the first things they should have gotten settled even before they started, considering those two things are the tail that wags the dog when it comes to content delivery.

I'm not getting warm fuzzies...but in the absence of anything concrete, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. For now. :huh:

4wd:
I'm not getting warm fuzzies...but in the absence of anything concrete, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. For now. :huh:-40hz (February 08, 2015, 11:30 AM)
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Since atm I don't actually have anything I could plug it into, (apart from my 1680x1050 monitor, which is rather pointless), I can wait awhile since the time at which I'll get a TV that can use it will be about the time my Sony Trinitron dies ... damn stupid reliable piece of technology ;D

I was thinking more for traveling when I could use it at hotels, relatives, etc.

But some people aren't happy: How do I get a refund?
Not to mention some of the comments on Kickstarter.

Naturally, this kind of makes me believe it's the start of a downward spiral - less happy people, less funds, slower implementation, less happy people, less funds, ...

I really wish they'd push out what was specified a couple of months ago ... then think about better hardware.

Still, I've wasted money on other more expensive techno-gadgets that I thought were a good idea at the time and have since consigned to the dung heap, so it's not going to break the bank ... it's just a little irritating.  I really hope they can pull it off and win back at least some of the good will they've lost.

40hz:
I really wish they'd push out what was specified a couple of months ago ... then think about better hardware.
-4wd (February 08, 2015, 07:05 PM)
--- End quote ---

+1!  :Thmbsup: That, in a nutshell, is exactly where I stand too.

I don't mind losing the money should it come to that. (IMO, if you can't afford to lose your contribution to a Kickstarter campaign, you shouldn't be pledging to begin with.) What bothers me is that things like this can contribute to undermining the whole concept of crowd-funding. And I think it's crucial that independent grass roots project funding campaigns like these exist. Otherwise everything innovative will eventually come to rely on government and corporate largess to make them happen. And we all know where that has gotten us so far.
 :tellme:

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