I would be very surprised if they weren't already keeping tabs on this thread. It's been linked multiple times in the backer comments area.
With the open hostility though, they would have to be crazy to agree to an interview.
Better to be thought a fool, than to open ones mouth and prove it !
...
With the open hostility though, they would have to be crazy to agree to an interview.
Why? Lots of businessmen that stand behind their product do that and walk away with head high. How believable are you when you only talk to likeminded reporters?
I would be very surprised if they weren't already keeping tabs on this thread. It's been linked multiple times in the backer comments area.
With the open hostility though, they would have to be crazy to agree to an interview.
From my POV, the "hostility" is directed only at bullshit claims, not at the Mu guys themselves, or the device itself. And the simple truth is that if the Mu guys have answers to reasonable questions, then they have nothing to worry about.
If you read the comments thread on IGG, the Mu guys selectively answer questions that they have easy answers for. They do not answer *any* questions that commit them to disclosing any details about the project, even those that only ask about logistical issues or project timeline issues and do not ever broach the technical aspects. For example, one guy asked them to explain why they previously said they had a case and now say they are working on a case. Another asked for details on how many revisions of the PCB they have gone through and if they had infact ordered PCB's. When the legitimacy of the project is seriously undermined, those are very reasonable questions - and they are questions the Mu guys refuse to answer. Answering them cannot betray any confidential or competitive information, so there must be an alternative reason they have refused to answer.
So yes, I think if they went on Amp Hour and refused to answer basic questions, they would not look very good to the audience. Which is why they are refusing to be questioned (through refusal to answer) - because the answers will make them look bad.
That's exactly my point. They would be tarred and feathered in an interview, because we are all quite confident that they don't really have anything of substance at this point. It's easy to dodge backer questions by ignoring them - but much harder to dodge an interviewer's questions.
The only way they could gain anything from it would be to pull a rabbit out of their arse and demo a functional prototype to an independent interviewer. (yeah, right)
So if you have nothing to gain from doing something, then there is no point in doing it. And that's why I say they would have to be crazy to do it. It's just not in their best interest.
I suppose it would be a little entertaining though.
After 13 pages of conjecture, how about contacting them and interviewing them on the Amp Hour?
I doubt they would agree, but more than that I doubt they would have anything useful to say about electronics, which based on their updates, it seems they have little experience in.
Also, why would they say anything on the show that they haven't already said. They have stated they won't release information until they are able or willing to do so.
So asking them on the show would be pointless.
Send Chris with a camera to sneak in to their headquarters!
Alexander.
Send Chris with a camera to sneak in to their headquarters!
you mean that rented set? or owners house?
It would have to be Chris doing the interview, diplomacy does not appear to be Dave's strong point.
Nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade especially when this lot have not really given any good reason to be diplomatic. I think many people tried that approach at the start of all this but it appears that it only resulted in more wishy washy updates.
Streetview shows big garbage container at the spot they marked.
Perhaps I'm missing some sarcasm here. They didn't mark anywhere... The marker is just Googles plotting of their address. Street view simply locks in at the closest image anchor point to the address... The default orientation is looking down the street, not at the address. If you turn to the right you will see the entrance to their office. [The dumpster is across the street]
Another update. I think it goes without saying that they're exaggerating how far they are with getting it finished.
Hello All,
Sorry for the long silence. It’s been an incredibly busy week. New PCBs, new cases, new equipment. We will be sending out a new prototype run early next week if everything goes to plan, and then we will be assembling what should basically be the final product.
On another note, we’ve been getting hundreds of emails through our website from people wanting to pre-order cameras. So we’ve launched a new website with a pre-order form. The pre-order will be first come first serve, and anyone that is interested in getting the camera can reserve a spot in the queue. Our first production run will go to all of our IndieGoGo backers, and to a few large companies that have expressed interest in purchasing large volumes so that they can do an evaluation period. After that, as cameras become available, they will go to anyone that pre-ordered. Pre-ordering requires no payment, and does not represent an obligation to purchase a camera. So if you know someone who is interested in getting a camera. Send them to muoptics.com.
Cheers!
Sorry for the long silence. It’s been an incredibly busy week. New PCBs, new cases, new equipment. We will be sending out a new prototype run early next week if everything goes to plan, and then we will be assembling what should basically be the final product.
So they a final working prototype, a likely final PCB design, a likely final case design, and they
still can't show an actual thermal image output?
How many fracking PCB spins are these guys going to go through? [Yes I know, they probably haven't made any... but they keep saying they're making yet another one]
Interesting to see pre-ordering offered. I know money isn't committed by pre-ordering but it can be a useful leverage with the bank and backers to have a pile of pre-orders to show !
Dave's link to another forums thread reflects comments that were made here many moons ago, so EEVBlog members are not alone in thinking that the maths does not add up and BS surrounds the claims of cheap COTS technology. I will be honest and say that I have become bored with the whole sorry story and only want to know when they actually show something to their backers or disappear with the money.....the updates from the company are just chaff to confuse and delay.
Maybe I'm a sucker, but I'd bet they actually ship something. But the catch will be that the "something" will be ridiculously lame. Maybe a sensor with some IR sensitivity and a bunch of crap software pixel mangling to make it look like thermal imaging.
I had to laugh at this line
" few large companies that have expressed interest in purchasing large volumes so that they can do an evaluation period"
Has anyone ever heard of any company, large or small, purchasing a "large volume" of a product *that hasn't even been made yet* for "evaluation"? If I ever want to evaluate something, I don't buy a "large volume". Unless they consider 5 or less units to be large volume.
Just another BS claim, most likely to try to gain credibility by claiming large companies are on board with the idea, as well as to instill some fear in backers that if they request a refund, they will go back to the end of a very long (and growing) line.
Honestly, I think the stuff they are saying transcends willful ignorance or doe-eyed naivete and is maybe entering the real of outright lying for personal gain.
I had to laugh at this line
" few large companies that have expressed interest in purchasing large volumes so that they can do an evaluation period"
I suspect what this actually meant was "We are interested in purchasing large quantities, can we have a freebie to evaluate"
Something just clicked about their choice of processor "Atmel SAM3X" Wouldn't be anything to do with the Arduino Due using a Atmel SAM3X8E would it? No pics of PCB's because all they've actually been doing to date is playing with an Arduino? Nothing wrong with using Arduino's for product development in the early stages but you'd hope they'd be WAY beyond that by now. Of course this is all guesswork.
Martin.
I had to laugh at this line
" few large companies that have expressed interest in purchasing large volumes so that they can do an evaluation period"
I suspect what this actually meant was "We are interested in purchasing large quantities, can we have a freebie to evaluate"
You're right - I read it incorrectly the first time around.
I still have a hard time believing any company contacted them and expressed interest in a large volume purchase based on what has been shown so far. When one contacts a large seller (either retailer or wholesaler), the answer is an almost universal "sure, send us a sample along with a spec sheet and pricing info and we will take a look", which the entrepreneur contorts in their head into "they want millions of them!".
This project is like a gruseome car accident... you hate that it happened but you can't help but look
I still have a hard time believing any company contacted them and expressed interest in a large volume purchase based on what has been shown so far.
I'm sure there are plenty of Corporate Suits as clueless as the punters who've waseted their money on this.