Is the MyDAQ available for anyone but US/CA students/educators yet? A agree that the specs are limited for its price.
Not yet, and I suspect NI won't release it to the general public for quite a while considering how a bunch of notable universities have already adapted the device with a nominal fee tacked on to the applicable course. In the face of surmounting budget cuts, some universities are using it as a means to reduce (perhaps eliminate?) departmental overhead associated with maintaining a dedicated lab (which is disappointing since MyDAQ is by no means a replacement for hand-on experience with proper lab equipment). Others--in particular, the larger, more recognized universities--are using it to supplement course work which has been historically driven by theory i.e. a 2nd course in analog electronic circuits at the University of Florida.
Which is the big deal really. To rephrase what you said in a different way:
Although NI MyDAQ has better specs it is still not as good as a simpler but Open Source instrument like the CEE.
Quite the contrary, really. Based on what's been revealed, CEE is inferior to the corporate-backed MyDAQ that it blatantly attempts to copy (what they refer to as a "SMU" on their website). The fact that it's open source is redeemable from a communal and ethical perspective, but anyone with the talent and inclination to make any use of this fact would discover that the MyDAQ can just as easily be catered to achieve the same goals. The MyDAQ really isn't all that either; it's just an educational "big boy toy" that enables tinkering at home (or anywhere for that matter) a lot easier. My doubts of CEE actually stem from MyDAQ limitations, viz. if the MyDAQ was mediocre at best, surely the CEE will be a disappointment...but that's the engineer in me speaking. The student in me says both devices will serve well as an enabling educational tool, but nothing more. As for the CEE being simpler, I highly doubt it.
NI's MyDAQ is not available to anyone except students and teachers. So it is really not a contender. It is just a marketing gimmick to give students their first LabView fix for cheap. The old "you need to get them while they are young" thing.
TI might be part of the deal, too. Because NI prominently advertises the fact that they use TI components. One could expect both NI and TI subsidize it from their marketing budget.
The CEE is a contender amongst potential student buyers (they admit as much on their website). All it would take is NI to release the MyDAQ for sale to the general public and Nonolith Labs would soon find themselves in high water.
I agree that NI is definitely attempting to suck more students into becoming dependent on Labview; I don't think it has affect EE much, but it has definitely permeated non-EE disciplines, notable mechanical. However, the device does have its own stand-alone interface that's actually quite intuitive; it's almost identical to their ELVIS interface.
No doubt TI has heavily subsidized the project; I even suspect TI engineers were responsible for designing the hardware. But as a consumer, that level of cooperation isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially since it means a lower price for potential buyers.
I'd wager to say that TI's involvement with MyDAQ was an attempt to improve the status quo of engineers leaving uni with a relative poor background in analog concepts. Your average undergrad EE leaving uni lacks a fundamental understanding and general appreciation for anything that isn't digital. At my uni, senior level analog courses would be hard pressed to have 30 students enrolled, while senior level digital courses are always 100+ jam packed; the same trends can be seen at just about any university across the nation, and industry knows it. TI has recognized this dilemma too, and considering how they're now the world's largest manufacturer of analog silicon, they're definitely looking to ensure continued interest in analog amongst young graduating engineers.