thanks for this - it's really appreciated, i'm going to cc the mailing list, bcc'ing you, and taking out your email address.
there is something which i've not put on the page (however it has been discussed many times over the years on the mailing list). right now the last thing that's needed is for a huge number of non-technical individuals to come online at once and overwhelm the *volunteer* technical members of the mailing list.
you may not be aware of this but the total number of people working full-time paid-up to work on this project is presently ZERO.
as in: the total number of people with full-time funding to work on this project is: ZERO.
as this was an anticipated possibility as far back as 3+ years ago the page was *deliberately* designed to attract TECHNICALLY aware individuals and to DISCOURAGE non-technically-aware users: people who are self-starters, "tinkerers" and electronics experts.
from that base of people, when they receive their pledged items, a small community will grow at a pace that they can cope with, who will then be able to create the documentation, wiki pages, update the source code and so on.
by *that* time, *THEN* and ***ONLY*** then will the project be in a state where it can accommodate non-technical end-users. at that point people who can do "sales", companies that can take "orders" will be needed (because i cannot do that, due to being the Certification Mark holder).
at *that* point, the advice that you've given below will become relevant.
hope that helps clarify.
l.
On Thu, Jun 21, 2018 at 4:04 PM, Crowd Supply orders@crowdsupply.com wrote:
submitted a question about your project, "Earth-friendly EOMA68 Computing Devices":
The project page (crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop) can be difficult to read through & understand because of the heavy use of acronyms without accompanying long-names/full-names and ELI5 definitions. I have a general background in development & admin and I had to look up the long name and definition for a number of the acronyms used. This approach, while more concise, is going to be very off-putting to many people who are more used to buying pre-built computers than building their own. I love the idea of this project and want to see it succeed, but the harder the content is to read for non-hardware geeks, the harder it will be to convince non-hardware geeks to spend their money on it. Please consider reserving some of those terms for tech specs, white papers, etc., and replace them with descriptions &/or more generic terms that your neighbors, friends, or relatives who ask you to help them fix their computers or connect their new printers, etc., will understand. Better yet, ask some of those people to read through your copy and give feedback on comprehension and overall impression by non-computer geeks. If you don't want to reach that audience, then please pick the lowest technical knowledge customer group you do want to reach and get their feedback. Maybe it's the type of person who has never worked in IT, but can attach plug & play devices, set up Wi-Fi on their own, etc. Again, I really do want to see projects like this succeed. Best of luck and I've already bookmarked this for future reference.
Crowd Supply https://www.crowdsupply.com 811 SE Stark St, #300 Portland, OR 97214-1241 800-554-2014
On Thu, Jun 21, 2018 at 6:35 PM, lkcl luke.leighton@gmail.com wrote:
thanks for this - it's really appreciated, i'm going to cc the mailing list, bcc'ing you, and taking out your email address.
there is something which i've not put on the page (however it has been discussed many times over the years on the mailing list). right now the last thing that's needed is for a huge number of non-technical individuals to come online at once and overwhelm the *volunteer* technical members of the mailing list.
This is something that I see a lot of people not appreciate: People use their windows computers full time with absolutely no technical support. Even when they pay( and even for pre installed computers the notion of the OS being part of the cost exists subconsciously as I've noticed with a friend), they do not expect or feel entitled to technical support. It comes to show how important the maturity of a project is( as in even the worst OS currently available can run long enough to warrant the users not requiring technical support).
I think once the original crowdfunding pledges are delivered a first round of outreach will be required. I don't know how future sales of the project are going to happen( since as you said you don't intend to stay in the business of making them for long) or who is going to develop new cards but the project could definitely use some extra eyes. Personally I'm holding off a purchase both due to the fact that the A20 is too slow for anything useful for me and mainly due to cost( and I want to build a NAS at some point too).
On Sun, Jun 24, 2018 at 12:48 PM, Bill Kontos vkontogpls@gmail.com wrote:
I think once the original crowdfunding pledges are delivered a first round of outreach will be required. I don't know how future sales of the project are going to happen( since as you said you don't intend to stay in the business of making them for long)
ah you misunderstand, bill: i have NEVER been permitted to be in the BUSINESS of selling cards, EVER. a Certification Mark holder is not permitted to, as it is "competing with licensees". the only way to get the Cards out to people is to be an "Advisor" to ThinkPenguin, who has handled the finances and so on.
so let me be clear: ANYONE MAY CONTACT ME AND BECOME A SALES AGENT. or license EOMA68 and make their own Housings and Cards. if the design is entirely libre the licensing fee will be zero and i will do everything i can to help them.
or who is going to develop new cards
anyone may do so... under license [zero fees if it's libre]. i have been doing them up until now.
but the project could definitely use some extra eyes.
yep i know.
Personally I'm holding off a purchase both due to the fact that the A20 is too slow for anything useful for me and mainly due to cost( and I want to build a NAS at some point too).
rockpro64 for you, then. damn good board.
l.
On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 6:48 AM, Wean Irdeh wean.irdeh@gmail.com wrote:
rockpro64 for you, then. damn good board.
How does that compare to EOMA68 standard board? What things I will miss when I purchase that board?
the rk3399 has 6-cores, pci express 4-lane and USB3.
No, I mean, in terms of libre hardware
On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 1:43 PM, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton lkcl@lkcl.net wrote:
On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 6:48 AM, Wean Irdeh wean.irdeh@gmail.com wrote:
rockpro64 for you, then. damn good board.
How does that compare to EOMA68 standard board? What things I will miss when I purchase that board?
the rk3399 has 6-cores, pci express 4-lane and USB3.
arm-netbook mailing list arm-netbook@lists.phcomp.co.uk http://lists.phcomp.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/arm-netbook Send large attachments to arm-netbook@files.phcomp.co.uk
On Mon, Jun 25, 2018 at 9:22 AM, Wean Irdeh wean.irdeh@gmail.com wrote:
No, I mean, in terms of libre hardware
ok. so MALI is the only problem, there. i *believe* the video stuff is good and/or being worked on (v4l2), you'll have to investigate a bit deeper. booting, general-purpose use: absolutely no problem whatsoever.
l.
On Sun, Jun 24, 2018 at 3:07 PM, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton lkcl@lkcl.net wrote:
anyone may do so... under license [zero fees if it's libre]. i have been doing them up until now.
I am aware. My question was more on the practical terms of who is *actually* going to make future cards after the A20. Is thinkpenguin going to make them on their own?
On Mon, Jul 2, 2018 at 3:12 PM, Bill Kontos vkontogpls@gmail.com wrote:
On Sun, Jun 24, 2018 at 3:07 PM, Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton lkcl@lkcl.net wrote:
anyone may do so... under license [zero fees if it's libre]. i have been doing them up until now.
I am aware. My question was more on the practical terms of who is *actually* going to make future cards after the A20.
i don't know. anyone wants to approach me i'm *required* as the Certification Mark Holder to consider their approach [FRAND]
Is thinkpenguin going to make them on their own?
i don't know: that will be up to them as a business to decide.
l.
arm-netbook@lists.phcomp.co.uk