Commander X16

On 10/15/2021 at 5:38 PM, Scott Robison said:

David has said that the X8 is not a plan going forward as it turned out to be too different, and that Frank was looking at something that could be more like the X16. So I think you need not worry about fragmenting the ecosystem in that way. Maybe some other new and improved way, but not that way. ?

On 10/15/2021 at 6:27 PM, BruceMcF said:

tl;dr: "Huh, yeah, the X8 was an interesting proof of concept, even if they decided not to release it to the market."



 

On 10/15/2021 at 5:55 PM, Ender said:

Yup, I was relieved to see that.  I was about to say I'm still a little skeptical that that's actually what he meant based on the wording in the screenshot that's been circulating, but I did some searching on the Facebook group just now, and apparently they've come to the same conclusion, and I'm sure they would have been corrected by David or Frank there if it wasn't true (since they both seem to regularly post there).



Don't get me wrong, the X8 does sound cool, and I would probably buy one at some point, but I'd just feel better if the X16 came out first.

On 10/15/2021 at 5:44 PM, EMwhite said:

So what else can we talk about that is not this topic and not off-topic?  {crickets}



 

On 10/15/2021 at 6:27 PM, BruceMcF said:

tl;dr: "Huh, yeah, the X8 was an interesting proof of concept, even if they decided not to release it to the market."



 

On 10/15/2021 at 8:01 PM, Mtemal said:

I dunno if they have actually abandoned the X8 and dedicated fully to the X16 FPGA. Assuming you are referring to this screenshot from Facebook:



 

On 10/15/2021 at 9:16 PM, BruceMcF said:

Yes, there is nothing there that pins down what will be done, just saying what isn't going to be done and what the next step is going to be as they work out what to do.



So, nothing there suggests are implies looking at a "more compatible" "X8 style" design later ... but nothing specifically excludes it, either. It's just one piece of the puzzle in place ... not going ahead with the X8 prototype as designed ... and a mention of what the next step of work may be as they sort out how they are going to proceed.



 

On 10/15/2021 at 9:33 PM, Mtemal said:

And that's the frustrating bit when i comes to deciphering what's next. We don't know if they decided to completely abandon the X8 but it seems like the end goal is the X16 FPGA. Regardless it seems clear that we can expect an FPGA solution before the chip & dip

On 10/15/2021 at 8:49 PM, BruceMcF said:

What I am saying: just take the actual piece of information. Don't go spinning off into speculation not supported by available facts. There are no facts that warrant supposing that we can expect a "new X8" or an X16e before an X16p.



Now, if they had a definite plan, they'd announce it. So development work without a definite plan is quite plausibly going ahead in order to find something out which is not necessarily clear until an actual working prototype is available.



Proceeding with the (long planned) X16e design could be to sort out hesitation on scrapping it just as much as it is to settle hesitation on going ahead with it. Barring word from the development team, supposing it is one or the other is just guesswork.



Indeed, it's just as plausible to have a joint X16e / X16p DIY crowdfund or pre-order campaign, since that would make it easier for the first campaign to hit a target of 1,000+ keyboards in the first keyboard order.



 

On 10/15/2021 at 10:14 PM, Mtemal said:

Bruce, with the different tiers “P,E,C” I honestly don’t know what’s what anymore. I dunno which X16 variant ties to the Chip & Dip but it’s pretty clear what the Chip & Dip is vs the FPGA.