The positive thing about CUSA being American based is that it has created some jobs here in the USA and brought some money into this country.
To some extent I agree - and while I am Canadian and not American, kudos for them for keeping some things on our shores on this continent. But I am not about to give too big of a round of applause for selling the VIC computers at 4x price buff when there isn't a *******ed thing "American" about it. You can find one of them for $130 online, and you are paying $300+ more for a box and a rebadged Linux distro. I am not their market, I suppose.
They still share contact numbers with a furniture dealer and a therapist, so lets not get ahead of ourselves and think for one second they have anything but a boxing/packing facility going on. There's no Jony Ive of the future sitting there with pen and paper in hand, whipping up the next world shaker bit of tech in a back room. If tours are given at the place, I'd be happy to visit them next time I am down that way, in fact - I'd love to be proved wrong, but no NDA or "no photos" nonsense, lol.
Sorry, all the fancy pictures of their workstations and facilities might just be grabs off Google images just like their "factory" pics and their "prototypes" pic page that they removed credits from the original artists on. Or the promises that all these machines would be flying off the shelves of Best Buy. Or the, well - ad nauseum that could go on forever.
That being said, I am anti censorship, here and elsewhere - even in regards to C-USA. I can ignore what I like, but there's no re-invention of the wheel here, boys. C-USA has had a fervent belief and history here on these forums, using the free speech nature of it (A.org) is the equivalent of free advertising via sheer spam and such for them, and I just wish they would simply pony up and buy adspace. The fact they haven't is the sole reason I have never contributed one thin dime to the A.org kitty. Simple as that. I love this site, use it a lot - but why should I contribute just to converse when others use it as a viral ad campaign? C-USA is not alone in doing this, either - the difference is they have been rude, deceptive and outright hostile in the treatment of the community here. I won't contribute to this great community resource forums while others use it as a backhanded, vehement advertising dropzone. And anyone saying "derp, I don't care what they have said or done to people, let their products speak for themselves" doesn't deserve the eyes in their heads. The fanboys have made threats, insults, homophobic slurs, the works - that counts for something, doesn't it? Would you eat at a restaurant that the waiter says "Have a good day, you a$$hole, I hope you get cancer" when you pay your bill after it happened the first time?
These systems are less American than my iProducts, lol - at least Apple is making the A series chips in the US (Texas) facility soon, and the designers are Americans paying American taxes, the company employing thousands of Americans.