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Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

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51–60 of 72 posts

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#51
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False. The money is returned if the funding doesn't reach the goal. From the FAQ: What if you fail to reach the funding target? We appreciate every bit of support we receive during the 30 days, and every backer will be welcomed into the Ubuntu community. If we don’t reach our target then we will focus only on commercially available handsets and there will not be an Ubuntu Edge. All contributions will be fully refunde…

I asked the last time around, but didn't get an answer: who's on the hook for the $300,000 in non-refundable credit card fees incurred by this project? Kickstarter's page on this is unclear.

I thought they only charge your card if the project was successfully funded, so if it didn't reach its goal then no fees were charged in the first place.

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I question whether this was anything more than a way to test the waters and see if people would actually put up some money. Maybe they can use this as a benchmark to at least get some leverage with suppliers, and then set a more realistic goal for fundraising.

That sounds really dubious since Mark Shuttleworth explicitly said that there is'nt going to be an Edge if it fails to reach its funding goal. To me it sounds more like Canonical got over-realistic with their target. May be they got in the line of thinking that 40K devices are pinch of a much larger Ubuntu community that exists.

There isn't going to be an Edge, but there could well be other models of phones for Ubuntu.

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#53
post #48
post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many existing phones have hdmi-out, and can connect to Bluetooth keyboards and mice. Some also have USB-to-go. There was nothing new in the Edge hardware that would enhance that.

"We’ll choose the fastest available multi-core processor, at least 4GB of RAM and a massive 128GB of storage." My point is that smartphones today would still be a bit sluggish when used for typical desktop tasks. While basic browsing would be OK, I want to be able open thirty tabs simultaneously like I do on my desktop. And (in my case) run a compiler. Etc.

With a projected ship date of May (and who really expected it would hit that, even if it were funded?), the gap would have been narrow at best. It would be over a year after the Galaxy S4 shipped with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and probably 6 months after the expected iPhone 5S ships with currently-unknown specs.

You're comparing it to the current generation of smartphones. It's shipping with the next generation.

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#55
These hardware projects emphasize the product look (and by implication the feel) way too much. The Edge here looks super slick, cool to the touch, and pleasantly heavy, with perfectly smooth edges. The same was true of Ouya and its controller on kickstarter.

But making perfect hardware is hard, and in fact the finished product would never be so delightful. It'd be more realistic to offer lower-fidelity mockups instead of those beautifully rendered images.

But I guess "realistic" doesn't sell.

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#57
post #20
post #17

I'm imagining Canonical might chip in the remaining money at the last minute?

Mark Shuttleworth has specifically said that he will not do that. From the Reddit AMA: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1j166z/hi_im_mark_shut... "Lots of folks have speculated I might close the gap if it's close. But I think that would not be in the spirit of the project; rather I would hope someone smarter than me will come up with a better concept that DOES get greenlighted, because I really believe in the id…

I understand that he said this, and I think that he is being honest, but just to point out: if he was secretly planning on bailing it out at the last minute, saying that you will pick up any slack is probably not a good way to run a crowd funding campaign.

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#58
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

False. The money is returned if the funding doesn't reach the goal. From the FAQ: What if you fail to reach the funding target? We appreciate every bit of support we receive during the 30 days, and every backer will be welcomed into the Ubuntu community. If we don’t reach our target then we will focus only on commercially available handsets and there will not be an Ubuntu Edge. All contributions will be fully refunde…

I asked the last time around, but didn't get an answer: who's on the hook for the $300,000 in non-refundable credit card fees incurred by this project? Kickstarter's page on this is unclear.

Kickstarter's page is probably very unclear on the policies of Indiegogo. Indiegogo only accepts PayPal for "fixed funding" campaigns.

[0]: http://support.indiegogo.com/entries/20492953-Fees-Pricing-

[1]: http://support.indiegogo.com/entries/20566503-Fixed-vs-Flexi...

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#59
post #54
post #25

If the funding succeeded, I'm not sure how many company will actually let employee use this phone/desktop at work. Losing the phone is a lot scarier now.

Scarier than losing a company laptop?

which one is more likely? loosing a phone or a laptop?

Re: Ubuntu Edge - Less than 24 hours left, $20 million to go

#60
I would have been tempted to pay for this, if it was going through.

But with it clearly not going to go through, I wasn't going to put several hundred dollars in, just to get it back again two weeks later.

I wonder how many others thought the same way.

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