The TextBlade keyboard is superb, but you'll have to be patient

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Comments

  • Reply 101 of 1615
    So you are going leave unchallenged the fact you lied about a financial transaction on that public forum. 

    So if for example some one where to provide a proof of life picture showing that cheque and a newspaper you would acknowledge your lie? 

    I can show and did my first and the locations of all my interactions with juli were after she had decider to stop coverage. Yet you still insist I have anything to do with Macrumours coverage. It was your guy that got the threads taken down and got a permanent suspension from the macrumours forums.

    But let's not let reality get in the way of a good story shall we? I only came here to verify the status of the palletised textblade mention by the author of the article. You were the one who attacked me over and over again. 

    This venue is moderated as is macrumors and I am welcome in both places. I have been the victim of your willful slander for years and you wonder why I am here now? 

    I put it to you that since I posted my questions of the author regarding the pallets he saw and what he was told you have done nothing but launch a series of attacks on me over a number of posts. 

    This abuse is clearly and unambiguously targeted at me. 

    I would not be so crass as to imagine a motive like you love to do. 

    Palletised Textblades are not finished. They lack the firmware that is an essential componant for shipping. From your own words. 

    Now the author can either leave the article as it stands; containing a misleading inaccuracy or change it. That's his business not mine. I don't tell reporters what to say. 

    It would be nice for the author to lead us through the process that led to that line being composed, but busy people are busy. 

    R








    arkorott
  • Reply 102 of 1615
    arkorottarkorott Posts: 100member
     But I will ask:

    1. Can you give any idea when the new firmware will be made available for testers?

    2. Can you, at least in broad strokes, explain what the main remaining problems are (if any - since it could be they are satisfied with it, but still need to finish the new fork so they are only supporting one main version rather than two upon GR). For example, even with the problems any BT device may have, do you consider that "good enough" now? Are there any new hardware problems to be addressed? What percentage of odd, intermittent problems are you finding in your test groups? (I wouldn't expect much on this, but it is fair to ask).

    3. New treg membership has slowed in recent months. Will we soon see notably more chosen from the forums?

    4. Of course, any technical info they may be willing to release, but most customers probably will care least about these details so hopefully we get more of the other stuff.


    Thanks dabigkahuna. Pls do.  would love to ask that at WTF but I was unjustly banned.
    I get very frustrated when this type of info is hard to come by while WayTools has all the time in the world to write about any other unrelated topic.
    (Waytools - That is why I post here at AI, because you banned me very unjustly at WTF. No valid reason to do that. Only because someone disagrees with you does not empower you to silence them. You just do it at WTF because you can but you should not)
  • Reply 103 of 1615
    arkorottarkorott Posts: 100member
    Yeah, yeah - definitely.


    That’s how you summoned just the right tone to abuse that editor!  

    Definitely. Claymore mines in her cornflakes, breakfast email sort of thing, that’ll do it.

    Totally feeling it man.  Even Shrek’s donkey can feel that connection.  


    And for sure, the best cover - just point to the nerds. Their tech did it.  Yeah, there’s the culprit.

    Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!

    You know, the sociopath for hire, the abuse made to order!

    Shut down the writer, and dis the inventors in one neat step.

    Brilliant, perfect crime!




    I give up. I do not know how else to ask you to stop making these derogative comments full of resentment & contained anger.
    A serious company does not engage customers like this, (nor bullies & banns them at WTF - like you did with me).
    Much less in open forums such as these. You need to remain professional, not vindictive. Take the high road, not the lowest possible one as you are doing now.
    Change the person on communications or get him/her some therapy. Too much contained anger and resentment. Let it go.

    Think about this: do you think an outsider reading the article and then the comments & company comments, would be positively impressed and jump in placing an order ? Highly likely they would run away.

    That is why when you write all this crazy stuff you are only hurting yourself. Pls stop. Let the past grievances you might have be gone and move forward. Better invest the time to get the TextBlades finished and shipped.

    BTW, the only distinction we highlighted is that saying that the company has been shipping since 2016 when TREG started is misleading. 
    You have only shipped very few units compared to your total orders to the group (however you want to call them) to do some testing.
    That is WAY different from saying that you have / are shipping to consumers. Get it ? That is misleading.

    Also the availability tab of your site is misleading the readiness too. If you do not know when you will ship just say it clearly but with the "sold" and "estimated" marked months you sure are being vague and not very clear giving the sense it is almost ready / current months already soled / flying through the shelves, when in reality that same graph has been updated over and over sequentially for each season for the last 4 years.

    And also STOP bullying customers, stop writing on unrelated topics while you do not provide true updates. And lastly SHIP for God's sake.

    Need to focus on work now. Will catch-up on the thread later

    edit: corrected 2 spelling mistakes
    edited April 2019
  • Reply 104 of 1615
    On refund for Rolanbek -

    Rolanbek already himself posted that he got both an electronic and paper check refund.  

    He held both for a while, and then eventually cashed his electronic refund.  We can just see that he got credit on our order server.

    We didn’t look through 3 years of checks, but he now says he kept the check. Ok. We had paid extra to express ship it to him.

    So the reader can decide who is acting in earnest.

    And who wants to put a dark spin on honest action.




     
    Masteroftheobviouscolinng
  • Reply 105 of 1615
    WayTools_Support,

    I didn't intend to post here again, but since you have chosen to engage here and have declined to answer or even respond to this question when I asked it in private on your forum twice over the last 10 months, can you answer it here please?

    Why did you remove my ability to post on your forum?  I don't believe anything I posted there has ever gone beyond honest and reasonable questions and comments any of my fellow frustrated paying customers have asked or wanted to ask.

    --brad0

    arkorottalexonline
  • Reply 106 of 1615
    gmaddengmadden Posts: 26member
    ...  I don't believe anything I posted there has ever gone beyond honest and reasonable questions ...
    I wonder if it had something to do with you insinuating WayTools’ insanity, calling their delay reasoning frivolous and questioning the integrity of sales statements?
    Masteroftheobviouscolinng
  • Reply 107 of 1615
    Goodness this is an extraordinary demonstration of how not to handle public relations. And what a pity for this nasty back and forth to follow what really was a very positive article.

    If I had happened upon this thread and found two groups of people going at it hammer and tongs about whether the product was worth the wait, and whether they had been lied to or not, I’d have been happy to plough through it and come to my own conclusions, which would probably have been something along the lines of “sounds like a great product, pity there are delays, but I’m definitely going to keep my eye on this”. As it is, rather than remaining above the melée, WT waded in and demonstrated that they’re a company I don’t think I ever would want to have to deal with.

    I’ll stick with my Apple iPadPro keyboard/cover I guess.
    ericpierreRolanbekarkorott
  • Reply 108 of 1615
    Goodness this is an extraordinary demonstration of how not to handle public relations. And what a pity for this nasty back and forth to follow what really was a very positive article.

    If I had happened upon this thread and found two groups of people going at it hammer and tongs about whether the product was worth the wait, and whether they had been lied to or not, I’d have been happy to plough through it and come to my own conclusions, which would probably have been something along the lines of “sounds like a great product, pity there are delays, but I’m definitely going to keep my eye on this”. As it is, rather than remaining above the melée, WT waded in and demonstrated that they’re a company I don’t think I ever would want to have to deal with.

    I’ll stick with my Apple iPadPro keyboard/cover I guess.

  • Reply 109 of 1615
    First time AI poster here.  Wow, I had entirely the opposite impression of Waytools, simply forced to credibly defend themselves against some aggressive, long-term, less than honest trolls.  Rolanbek seems a bit deranged in my view, as Waytools gave him(?) a refund years ago and he is still around challenging Waytools and any authors who objectively write about the Textblade.  Why?  What a nuisance.   All for a $99 product, it makes no sense on the surface.  There seems to be a hidden agenda here to squelch this revolutionary product by one or more of these individuals in my humble opinion. Waytools, I am a buyer, good luck to your entire team. I am cheering for your success, seeing how long it has taken you to get here. Kudos to the author for an objective article.  Remember Andy Grove, only the paranoid survive. 
    edited April 2019 dabigkahunagmaddencolinng
  • Reply 110 of 1615
    Rolanbek seems a bit deranged in my view, as Waytools gave him(?) a refund years ago and he is still around challenging Waytools and any authors who objectively write about the Textblade. 

    I am not allowed to ask questions now? Is that how things are? 

    FYI I am still a customer of WT, whether they acknowledge it or not. 

    There seems to be a hidden agenda here to squelch this revolutionary product by one or more of these individuals in my humble opinion. 

    You are of course entitled to your opinion, but in what why was my posting here aggressive? I would love to know whether I am supposed to let WT lie about demonstrable facts?  I repeat what I have said previously, I had no part in the Macrumors debacle and I am on record there trying to get the coverage of the TextBlade reinstated. 

    There are all these funny things called facts interfering with the narrative put forward by WT. But then I don't expect you a Random stranger on the internet to care. But if you going to say I am dishonest, I would like to know about what you are talking about? 

    R

    alexonline
  • Reply 111 of 1615

    Yeah, yeah - definitely.

    That’s how you summoned just the right tone to abuse that editor!  
    Definitely. Claymore mines in her cornflakes, breakfast email sort of thing, that’ll do it.
    Totally feeling it man.  Even Shrek’s donkey can feel that connection.  

    And for sure, the best cover - just point to the nerds. Their tech did it.  Yeah, there’s the culprit.
    Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! 
    You know, the sociopath for hire, the abuse made to order!
    Shut down the writer, and dis the inventors in one neat step.
    Brilliant, perfect crime!

    Waytools,

    Seriously, are you on drugs? I have no idea what you're trying to say. You can come back with something like: Oh, yes you do... all you want but I honestly cannot decrypt your gobbledygook.

    Is it a response to any of my posts -- to which I can respond? I have no idea. You've only addressed my point-blank questions with cyclical or recursive words.

    What are you trying to say here? Who are you talking to? Do you talk like this in real life too? Do you see only alter egos in the real world too? Do you always think everyone is out to get you? How do you function in the real society, much less run a business?

    I don't know if you're a hired PR person or the CEO Mark Knighton, but I know you've been there for long time, as you always write like this. In fact, people have been commenting on your strange writing style even in your own forums. Quote:

    jacobolus

    The waytools representative here uses lots of big words, but in unidiomatic / incorrect / awkward ways, as if he’s a non-native English speaker writing using a bilingual dictionary, or a high school student who just got his first thesaurus. It’s very disorienting to read, especially when combined with his strong emotional responses.
    I suggest you take remedial English (if it is indeed not your first, or even second? language). More than that, though, I recommend getting some therapy to deal with your paranoia and hallucinations. Only then can there be a functional conversation. As it stands, communication with you (and your company) is futile.

    I'd like to reiterate that I am a fan of your product, and would love to see it actually hit the market (especially Amazon). Then and only then would I consider buying, since I'd be dealing with Amazon's great customer service and not your company or your PR person. And I hope it's perfect (as you're hoping it to be) and never breaks, because I'd never want to contact your support.

    edited April 2019 Masteroftheobviousarkorottalexonline
  • Reply 112 of 1615
    On refund for Rolanbek -
    Rolanbek already himself posted that he got both an electronic and paper check refund.
    The cardholder for that order got many emails from you demanding he cancel his order, and when he did not comply you sent them a cheque. 
    He held both for a while, and then eventually cashed his electronic refund.
    No the I think he said he hit the refund button when he got your note with the cheque. 
      We can just see that he got credit on our order server.
    Ok 
    We didn’t look through 3 years of checks,
    That's not really my problem. You made a false claim, you are in possession of your banking information so you don't really have an excuse there. 
    but he now says he kept the check. Ok.
    Ok? Not sorry for misleading everyone? Not Whoops we made a mistake? Ok.

    I think you might owe the guy who's order you cancelled an apology, but I really don't think that they want to talk to you. I will probably offer him one of my units should they arrive, maybe that will cheer them up. I'm not sure the will ever use my PC to order anything ever again but I suppose we all live and learn don't we?
     We had paid extra to express ship it to him.
    You were the ones who wanted to cancel the order. As it wasn't my order I don't see how I should care.
    So the reader can decide who is acting in earnest.
    I don't think that's how facts work. They are, or are not. I post a question to the author, your attack me for several posts. Make a number of false claims about me and when you are caught out you get 'huffy'. 
    And who wants to put a dark spin on honest action.

    Well that made me chuckle.

    ****

    Oh Ericpeets, believe that most of those jibes are meant for me as he is quoting my humorous Bio on WTF. He appears to be hanging on to the idea that if you run round upsetting people and they complain about it, it's a conspiracy not upset people looking for answers.  There are more than a few force cancelled orders out there, there are people wanting an update, wanting to know why the delays are so long, why there are so many words on Apple, Tesla, tragic plane crashes and so forth but no time to write about the work on the product people are waiting for on the forum created to put news of that product out into the world. 

    I find it baffling in that in a company designing and building a keyboard no one seems to want to type any news.

    But nice to Whomsoever is piloting the Waytools_support account as their output is becoming so histrionic, that I fear for their mental health. 

    I am somewhat concerned that we might be creating a wee bit of a moderation burden at AI. I believe in a robust fact based discussion  but when Waytools_support does not actually engage with others except to attack and make wild claim what is to be gained here? 

    I would like Author to continue their coverage, he has access to TREG members and to Waytools which puts him in a great position to actually put out some information regarding the progress on Textblade. It would be lovely to get some response from them regarding the clarifications given the "finished" pallets of product and what he was told as opposed to what we have heard from WT here. If came back and says "I not an electrical engineer, how am I to verify the completeness of the product? Sense of smell?" that would be fair enough. But as WT says here, those units are hardware complete but lack the completed firmware they require for general release, "Finished" looking like a bit of a stretch. Well a lot of a stretch as there is still work to do on them prior to GR. 

    R

    edit: and 'it' and an apostrophe.

    edited April 2019 alexonline
  • Reply 113 of 1615
    The original real name associated with rolanbek had one order of record, which was refunded in 2016.

    If there are other orders, say for colleagues he’s working with, they’d not show up as him on our server.

    In post 110 above, he wrote -

    “FYI I am still a customer of WT, whether they acknowledge it or not.”

    That sure sounds like WayTools did something wrong, yet again.

    Apparently he prefers to maintain an order, but under different names, presumably to remain incognito.

    The choice of phrase is useful to ponder.  It’s subtly crafted to lay fault at our feet, for something he chose to do.

    This is a recurring theme, and a signature element of the disparagement techniques.






    edited April 2019 gmaddencolinng
  • Reply 114 of 1615


    Rolanbek said:

    Oh Ericpeets, believe that most of those jibes are meant for me as he is quoting my humorous Bio on WTF. He appears to be hanging on to the idea that if you run round upsetting people and they complain about it, it's a conspiracy not upset people looking for answers.  There are more than a few force cancelled orders out there, there are people wanting an update, wanting to know why the delays are so long, why there are so many words on Apple, Tesla, tragic plane crashes and so forth but no time to write about the work on the product people are waiting for on the forum created to put news of that product out into the world. 

    Okay. I wasn't sure because just before that post, WT clearly addressed me (by name), but with your signature (sociopath for hire)? Now that I think about, I guess WT thinks you and I are the same -- alter egos or pseudonym -- according to their crazy conspiracy theories, where one person has multiple alter egos... or was it multiple people with one?? I need some sleep.

    It's like trying to deal with a petulant Sybil.
    alexonline
  • Reply 115 of 1615
    WayTools_Support said:
    The original real name associated with rolanbek had one order of record, which was refunded in 2016.
    Email auto complete has a lot answer for when filling out forms.

    Pretty sure I sorted it out later but It was what it was. 
     If there are other orders, say for colleagues he’s working with,
    or house guests with a shiny new tech habits who borrow your PC for 10 mins and then spend so long harping of about the keyboard they had just purchased that you picked up a couple a short while later for yourself, for instance.
    they’d not show up as him on our server.
    No they wouldn't, because I would guess that the original link between the forum account and the sign up email. That is as I have stated, a guess though.
    In post 110 above, he wrote -

    “FYI I am still a customer of WT, whether they acknowledge it or not.”

    That sure sounds like WayTools did something wrong, yet again.
    Well that was addressed to someone you have misled with you characterisation of me. So there is an example of a real reputational harm as a result of your disparagement me as some obsessed psycho with no reason to be following you 3 years after you forced a blameless advocate for your product to cancelling his order.

    Lets not mention the thousands of abusive PM's, and targeted harassment I have suffered every I have go in search of information regarding my order{s} for those years at the hands of other customers of yours. I can not blame you for their actions, but I do suspect that they would not have felt so emboldened to threaten me physically, without your characterisation of me as some shadowy 'Bad actor. ' 

    I am you customer whether you like it or not. I suspect 'not'. And all I wanted was a couple of small keyboards. 
    Apparently he prefers to maintain an order, but under different names, presumably to remain incognito.
    Somebody threatening to burn your house down will do that. 

    I wonder what would happen if you could link my orders by to this user name. Gauging by the lies and vitriol from you on encountering me here, I believe that they would be cancelled immediately. Seems like a good reason to leave them buried on your server to me. With tens of thousands of preorders, and a 3 year delay to check on a cheque I suspect you have better things to be doing than wasting time on your absurd vendetta against me. 
    The choice of phrase is useful to ponder.  It’s subtly crafted to lay fault at our feet, for something he chose to do.
    Oh dear I think you reaching a bit here. Not everything is about you dear boy. Sometimes though person can have enough of the constant victim blaming that goes on and has expectations that a corporate representative would accept their part in the chaos that has engulfed my username.
    This is a recurring theme, and a signature element of the disparagement techniques.
    The only recurring theme of note is your utter lack of empathy. 

    Look some friendly advice, go get some food/drink/sleep (delete as applicable) and then pop off an do a really nice and informative (but brief) update WTF. or even something nice on textblade itself. Pour over those battery logs, buff that charging software, anything, something that makes you feel right and proper.  

    I'll still be here, there, you know, around, waiting for a little keyboard. (or two) 

    R





    edited April 2019 alexonline
  • Reply 116 of 1615
    The language above exemplifies the abusive communication that many have endured from this person.

    It also illustrates a frequent tactic where he as perpetrator, ascribes blame for his misdeeds to his prey.  

    That misdirection is a defense he retreats to, when his culpability is very clear from the mutual conflicts in his statements.

    We regret that he chooses this path, and the disturbance it creates for readers who wish to discuss the article.


    colinng
  • Reply 117 of 1615
    I too have been using a TextBlade for a couple of years and very rarely use any other keyboard since the switch. In no way is this piece of engineering excellence vaporware! It essentially allows me learn one keyboard layout and use it against all the devices I use on a regular basis without having to worry about the differences in OS - I typically use Windows, IOS, Android and MacOS on a daily basis and often needing to switch between devices seamlessly. The TextBlade goes everywhere with me, so it allows me to use the most appropriate computing device for the situation at hand...for example, if I am going to a short meeting, all I need is my iPhone or iPad and the text blade...if I need to write a document that includes visio diagrams, then it's the TextBlade and my Laptop...the key being that every word is written using the same portable Keyboard that fits in my pocket and has a superior typing feel. I would recommend the TextBlade to anybody whose primary work involves sitting in front of a keyboard and I can't wait for others to have access to the technology.
    gmaddencolinngidea2go_twitter
  • Reply 118 of 1615
    The language above exemplifies the abusive communication that many have endured from this person.

    It also illustrates a frequent tactic where he as perpetrator, ascribes blame for his misdeeds to his prey.  

    That misdirection is a defense he retreats to, when his culpability is very clear from the mutual conflicts in his statements.

    We regret that he chooses this path, and the disturbance it creates for readers who wish to discuss the article.



    Guys, I don't know why you cannot let it go, and keep arguing back and forth. I apologize for giving you an advice, as you didn't ask for it, but you seriously should reconsider how you communicate in forums (or fora or whatever, that is not the point) - staying silent would simply be more effective, dissecting comments is unprofessional, and will not help you improving your reputation _as_a_company. I am sure that you genuinely feel hurt, and want to set things straight - but, arguing back and forth is like throwing your toys up in the air in the kindergarten: shows your frustration, but merely achieves what you want.

    The good news is that any new customers most probably wouldn't read more than one page of the comment section of this article (if at all), neither will they read the lengthy posts, so why wasting time on responses that are counter-productive to say the least?

    I have an order since the beginning of 2015, so I am a customer, needless to say, without a Textblade, as I am not in TREG. When I ordered, no 'pre-order' was mentioned anywhere on the WT site, and if my memory serves me right, introducing the term _itself_ took at least a year.

    I have been following the WTF since the beginning, the MR article and have also joined Reddit. It was sad to see how we got to Waytools lecturing customers, 'force' cancelling orders of people raising concerns (instead of trying to have an honest answer), and in general how the product shipping (GR) got delayed by more than 4 years. There was even a case study written about it: https://capacify.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/still-waiting-for-the-textblade/

    I am sure that the keyboard is amazing, and is very complex and difficult to create, but ultimately it really is still a keyboard - this gadget at the moment is attractive to a niche of keyboard/gadget lovers and early adopters. I am sure that the user base would expand with time, but for that, shipping should go beyond voluntary testers (TREG).

    The loyal customer base, who have paid for the product in good faith, and still sticks with the company for over 4 years, deserves professional communication / PR, and it is worrying that people have to spell out that they don't want a refund when voicing their concerns or asking the repeating questions on blockers / outlook etc - I get it, it is annoying to be facing the same / similar criticism, especially as it has been ongoing for 4 years, but I am sure as well, that employing a different communication approach would have saved a lot of time / effort / frustration: we would have never ended up here.

    As my name suggests, I am still hoping that Textblade would ship, but while I was heavily advocating for the product in the first year or so and have shown everyone how cool it was, urging them to order, I now just sit back and will see how the situation evolves.

    Good luck to all
    ericpeets
  • Reply 119 of 1615
    I think that last message encapsulates dealing with WayTools in a nutshell. 

    I am a customer, who got banned from your forum. You don't like the questions I ask and you don't like being made fun of, so to you I am filed under "enemy - attack on site; Literally worse than a 5 piece lounge combo with Vlad the Impaler, on bass, keyboards by J. W Gacy, and 3 Hitler clones providing percussion and backing vocals." 

    Your hatred of me seems to be your justification for every terrible thing you have said about me. For everything you have done or tried to do to me. And for even now publicly attacking me, your customer, on the forums where an there is article about your product,  about which have asked questions. 

    Reasonable questions like: How can an item be "finished" yet still have incomplete work items in it's pipeline? 

    Your flurry of answers indicate, that the apparently finished TextBlades lack the firmware that is an essential component for shipping as part of General Release. From your own words. Which is more information than we had prior to me asking the question, but does not answer why incomplete items are being referred to as finished. 

    I have a question regarding tokens: It is widely reported by you that TREG units were shipped with as limited life token which on expiry causes the TextBlade to become inoperable. In my opinion a sensible precaution for a test release under NDA. It is then later stated by you that the intent for those TREG units is that the token with be updated to a permanent one (one that has no expiry) on commencement of General Release. The implication being that an over the air software update will be able to alter those tokens extending the life of those units to be indefinite. You have said all units will ship with a same firmware, so do production units in general release contain a 'permanent token' as part of their shipped state? 

    R






  • Reply 120 of 1615
    gmadden said:
    ...  I don't believe anything I posted there has ever gone beyond honest and reasonable questions ...
    I wonder if it had something to do with you insinuating WayTools’ insanity, calling their delay reasoning frivolous and questioning the integrity of sales statements?
    Perhaps.  If so, I'd like to hear that from them!

    I didn't mean to sound insulting and they didn't react as if they were insulted when they responded to my post.  They clearly don't have a problem publicly admitting when they feel attacked as they have done very forcefully here and on the WT forum in discussing other posts and posters.

    BTW, the reply to my post actually implied that the number I (and apparently, you) interpreted as sales claims may actually have partially been anticipated sales.  And my point about the sales numbers wasn't to question their integrity, but to point out the shocking magnitude of the total amount of customers cash they are holding or using in a situation which wasn't supposed to be a 4 year long kick-start project.  Recall that it was marketed as a completed product with future firmware improvements.  This, in spite of the fact that we learned a few months later that the firmware update mechanism still wasn't completed.

    Over 3 years later, I did and do intend to question their delay reasoning.  As a payed customer, I believe i have a right to voice my opinion on this.  I believe that the nearly unanimous satisfaction and accolades expressed by all the customers on the forum lucky enough to receive a test unit justify my views.  And now, a second  review by the press coming in as incredibly positive are incontrovertible evidence that the product is ready to ship by any reasonable measure.

    If they believe, as they implied in their response to my post 10 months ago, that they might have difficulty handling the customer support demands of all the new sales they anticipate, then they have several options short of polishing the thing until it is perfection.

    For example, since WT believe that all hardware issues have been resolved, they could stop taking new orders and ship the existing well-tested firmware to existing customers in the order in which they were payed, as they promised to do at launch.  If the support burden becomes too much, slow down deliveries until the new firmware is ready or the support load is managed.  By all accounts, the existing firmware exceeds all reasonable expectations we had for the original product.  This didn't include flawless jumps (advertised to be implemented by a firmware update *after* launch) or tunable touch regions (never even planned as far as i can tell).  Nor had they allowed time for any customer testing or mentioned two classes of customers.  Waytools promised to ship earlier customer orders first as volume manufacturing ramped up, but now, as they pick and choose who will get a test unit while sitting on a huge pile of final hardware, it seems this incentive to order early has been largely voided.  They could still keep this promise in a meaningful way and earn back some of the faith they have lost.

    I believe the damage Waytools is doing to their reputation by continuing to take customer money for new orders and continuing to miss delivery estimates, for customers who have been waiting for 4 years is far greater than any damage they would incur by beginning to ship the existing product now to the oldest customers.  Imagine converting the most unhappy customers like me into happy, cheer-leading customers like you and just about every other TREG customer.  It is not a coincidence that there seem to be no unhappy TREG customers.  The product is that good, and has been for years.  Even the few customers who experience any remaining problems and have to wait for a major firmware update would probably be happier with slow support than they are now.  Early adopters expect rough edges.  People who pre-pay for a product to ship in a month tend to be early adopters and at this point. I suspect only the most dedicated of early adopters like you and I remain as customers.  OnePlus demonstrated that the scarcity of a slow roll-out of a potentially disruptive product can be hugely successful marketing.  As long as it it done fairly.

    One final thought;  What was the point of a promise to ship a possible improved model to early adopters in the first year if they then spend more than 4 years to perfect it before shipping to a single non-test customer.  It seems to me the point of such a promise was that perfection was not initially the goal for this first product!  Now, the hardware seems to have been perfected while struggling to get the firmware right and they have already tested enough of the new firmware design to be confident they won't need a hardware bump, so it is unlikely that shipping now will raise the risk of having incur this expense.

    In spite of the fact that perfection was not what I signed up for when I ordered and that I feel frustrated and abused as a customer, I am still excited about the product.  I don't want a refund.  I want my keyboard.  Even if it's not quite perfect.  I'm sure a great many other customers who were not chosen as testers agree that it is quite unfair and inconsistent with the initial commitment Waytools made to us as early adopters to delay shipment of early orders any further.  Even if shipping now makes support costs a little higher.  And please don't tell us that because you are a TREG customer you know it will be worth the wait.  That just makes the rest of us feel more cheated.
    alexonline
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