Well Rob, although we all realize that Empeg had to be acquired by SOMEBODY to avoid becoming a casualty of the high production costs, SonicBlue has done little to endear itself to your average Empeg user. While you couldn't possibly comment directly on such an accusation, I think the facts speak for themselves.

We all know the realities of the situation... That it really *is* a small friendly development team, and I'm sure there are a lot of people elsewhere within the SonicBlue corporation who do focus on the customer. But the amazing promise of the Empeg was wasted away by the mid-sized corporation's big-and-bloated-company-like blunders, from the order fulfillment issues, to the complete lack of any perceivable marketing push, to the decision to give up on the RioCar line entirely when something stil could have been salvaged.

SonicBlue's recent RTV 4000 lawsuits are doing even more to make them look like a big bad corporation with no focus on the customer. That is what Joe Slashdot sees, and we wonder why people wouldn't give a $1500 product offering from SonicBlue a chance. The timing of the two announcements (the legal wranglings and the Digital Audio Center product announcement) could not be worse.

My point is that SonicBlue is investing in a lot of technology assets, but seems to be doing their best to make sure none of them succeed. I would venture to say that SonicBlue could purchase Microsoft and run them into the ground within a few years. Though Microsoft might be doing that themselves, these days...

Sorry I'm so critical of the company that signs your paycheck... I just believe all the facts should be out on the table here as we discuss the new product and its future.