Jimbob wrote:
On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 11:43:30 GMT, "Dan"
wrote:


[snip]


I agree. The thing I am hoping for is economies of scale kick in.
We've increased the number of potential buyers from Europe to USA +
Europe. I don't think relative demand per unit has increased because
of the prices. I am wondering if someone might be able to turn the
corner and start some form of automation or parts sharing. The trick
here would be some form of modularization or partial automation. It
could drop costs dramatically.

[snip]

Jim,

Interesting economic proposal there. I wonder if its time for the
experimental community to consider something along the lines of a few,
open, i.e. GPLd designs, which manufacturers can build standardized
parts and tooling for.

I can imagine a few such designs, if taken to their extremes, could be
either built out as certified or experimental. In this way, the hurdles
for developing PMAd parts for these few designs could be shared over the
community, and not borne by a single manufacturer.

Evan