@Skyraker
This conversation was pretty civil until you showed up throwing accusations around. I don't give a #hi# what I happen to purchase, I'm still entitled to an opinion and I'm going to express it if I so choose.
Furthermore, these people that are "crying foul" as you put it are important because they are still potential customers. That's important here because Hyperion isn't a charity.
Let's put this another way: IF.. and I state IF.. Hyperion has $100k wrapped up in AOS4 development (and it could be higher, who knows) and they receive $50 in pure profit with each sale of AOS4, they need to sell 2,000 copies before they even break even. That's if they even receive $50 in profit off each sale.
How much they earn off AOS is going to decide whether or not they're willing to stick with it past their current obligations. Are you positive that with the sales from the classic machines and what Eyetech manages to sell they're going to be happy with the results? Can you guarantee them this in writing?
I would think that more potential earnings would be considered a good thing. The only thing we're really discussing here is that, in fairness, the licensing sucks. (Back to the part about opinions.)