That all makes perfect sense now.
I guess the way that Jeremy keept referring to SB as 'S3' all the time put peoples backs up - if he had referred to them by their correct name of SonicBlue then this would not caused as much confusion.
Jeremy also could have said 'this deal was arranged recently with Rob at CES2002' not just 'deal occured at CES' as Hugo,Rob etc have been to at least 2, possibly 3 CES shows that I know of and therefore it was difficult to know if this was a recent arrangement or a very old one.
And of course, when Hugo denied all knowledge that made it look worse. But then Hugo probably was not aware or [more likely] had simply forgotten about it as Jeremy said.
I think Jeremy is being perfectly fair to offer these units here first - the mark up is reasonable, especially as he does ship internationally [and at a very attractive rate] - much better than Fleabay.
Yes we can see now why he has no stock right now, but will next week - its probably still in transit from the UK.
Its probably why he was a bit hazy about exactly what he was getting also.
Yes its all legitimate - Rob says so.
So Jeremy - thanks for the kind offer to readers of this BBS.
Its just a real pity that some of the details now becoming apparent were not stated up front by those who had betterl knowledge of this arrangement and this has lead to this state of confusion and distrust.
Anyway, hopefully you will find lots of willing buyers now amungst the readers who want a extra unit [or their first one].
I must say if I did need another RioCar, my order would be on its way to you right now [esp. now I know the full story].
As I don't need one, that leaves room for another who does want one, to get one at a reasonable price.
Let the buying begin...