Commodore USA - more delays? You're kidding?

[Darrin]

What is the production capacity of a single 3D printer?

[Darrin]

That was worth a read, especially this :
 
"Motorola believes the C64x mold is progressing well and getting completed in a week or two."
 
"I think it will be a moving experience to see the C64 coming down the conveyor belt like in the old days. "
 
1) Now they are saying motorola is making the cases?
 
2) Do they even HAVE an assembly line?
 
Leo is funny. I wonder if the stickers fell off his commodore pc yet.
 
Steven

I believe that it may have been a typo.  Our very own "Motorollin" pre-ordered a C64x so he automatically became the "Director of Production".  He was then mailed a 3D printer and is now busy in his bedroom churning out hundreds and thousands of cases.  Well, he's actually been at it for a week and has 21 cases so far (minus the one he stepped on).  The bad news is that Office Depot ran out of the "Diarrhea Brown" shade of printer plastic so he's having to make do with "Bile Green" instead.

[Darrin]

http://1prototype.com/index.html

Well they have the ability and claim a 1 to 25 work day prototype production.

[Darrin]

I suppose I just don't understand hyping a product for a year and THEN figuring out how to make them, or how the parts will be manufactured.
 
Seems like the chicken before the egg dosn't it?
 
Wait we're taking pre-orders and we don't even have the parts here yet?

Yep, it is worrying when they're still talking prototypes and "tweaking" designs.

Worse still, as the delay to production continues, how many people who pre-order will get "buyer's remorse" and cancel and how many people who initially got caught up with the excitement of seeing a retro C64 case design will now ask themselves "well, do I really need one?"

Having done sales myself, you need to excite the customer and then wrap up the deal immediately, and not ask them to wait 3 months.  It isn't like it is a Minimig or something that you can't buy elsewhere.  This is a PC and you can buy them anywhere.  Things need to move faster and in hindsight, the advertising should have been held back a month or two (however, that probably wasn't possible because of the TRON DVD release date).

[Darrin]

The best news will be when the headlines read "Barry Altman & CUSA head offshore to escape angry crowd who paid up front in pre-orders scam"...

Ah, but they won't need to head offshore to escape the angry mob, they just need to head to the lawyer and disolve the company.

"Commodore USA" is actually "Commodore USA LLC" and it is the "LLC" part which is very important because it stands for "Limited Liability Company".  What it means is that if the company does something "wrong", then you can only sue the company and the company assets for compensation, and not the actual company owner and his personal assets.  So, if the company becomes bankrupt or has no assets then you're SOL.

How do I know this?  Because my company is a LLC too.  

[Darrin]

Heh. All I'm getting at here Franko is the misconception that China makes everything.
Recent events in Japan are the source of many delays.

#6

I still can't see how events in Japan are affecting Motorollin's bedroom case production.  

[Darrin]

Pencils and underpants at the ready! :roflmao:

Meanwhile, I've unearthed an actual prototype of the VIC model in action:

[Darrin]

Heh. Let's face it Darrin. In the grand scheme of electronics, none of our motley crew gets to stand at the head of the line when parts are ordered. Throw in a natural disaster and that just pushes us further back in line, since the big boys will have the pull to get their supply lines restored 1st.

recent articles concerning supply, demand, and usage

#6

Oh, I agree.  When it comes to "ordering in bulk", we're not exactly fufilling the market that the majority of supply companies have in mind.  "First come first served doesn't exist", it is more "richest company first, peons to the back of the line".  

[Darrin]

In Australia it's a little different. A company that is Limited means a limited number of shareholders that company can have. But i think you are talking about Incorporation which means a company becoming its own legal entity therefore removing any liability from its owners. This is effective that it protects its owners from liability but it works only to a certain point, it must be lawful. Remember Barry is a director of a company so if he makes a profit and the coy goes into liquidation he might still be liable. Maybe you could get him on fraud or oppressive behaviour as a director? Whatever, but you could maybe get him on criminal charges and not just civil. My point is that if you can show he is dishonest then the LLC means nothing. If this happens in Australia, and he is liable, then they simply brush aside any limited liability. Not sure how it works in America though. Please tell...

P.S. what coy do you own, i wanta looky

I just own a very small company that provides services to the Petroleum Industry.  Nothing special, but the LLC bit should protect me if I happen to wipe out all life in the Gulf of Mexico.