Kickstarter IS NOT A STORE!!! (just my 2 cents)

[UnixOutlaw]

I guess I was spoiled... I backed NextThing's "CHIP" and PocketCHIP... while waiting the 7-8 months till I could get my hands on a "CHIP $9 computer", I got heaps of updates, about alpha builds and forum updates by users of "alpha" boards, software development, and decided to buy a BananaPI SbC (almost same chipset as CHIP) while I was waiting, and the Banana was already 12 months old and reasonably "mature"...

So - I used that experience to tailor my expectations of Pine64... BOY WAS I WRONG!

I'm not about to return my kickstarter supplied products from Pine. But I just wish it was a bit more mature and professional...

Like if there was a ONE HUNDRED PER CENT "ready for prime time" production quality operating system for the >f--king< thing. Nothing is ready - everything is half-arsed and amateurish compared to my experience with NextThing. One half arsed build of Android Lollipop, that doesn't enable the Pine supplied 7" touchpanel, and another one without "root" access that does support the Touchpanel that Pine supplies.

No Linux support for the Pine supplied 7" touchpanel... The Bluetooth module on the Pine supplied WiFi/BT module/hat IS not supported or working in any "partially ready for pre-season prime-time" operating system, neither Linux or Android Lollipop (none that I've tried anyway)...

Poor "tlim" is jumping here and there all over this forum like a chicken with its head missing putting out fires... No disrespect to "tlim" he's one person doing the best he can.

And getting a package with a loose power switch floating around in the envelope and two overly large (surely the dimensions of the board could have been pared down!) system boards with rather ugly looking warps or "bends" in the middle...

I don't want my money back - but I wish I'd known some of the horror stories about kickstarter pledges before I was spoiled by my pleasant experience with NextThing and "CHIP - world's first $9 computer" and "PocketCHIP"... Pine even tried to ride on CHIP's coat tails by adopting the slogan "World's first $15 super computer"... Imagine if you bought a "super computer" off Cray that had an operating system on tape and only available as source code?

I still haven't got my PocketCHIP yet - I pledged in May 2015, and they said delivery May 2015, delivery in June is not really a problem - they prompted me to re-confirm delivery address last Friday..

I pledged with Pine in January - for March "promised" delivery - got my 2x 2GB Pine boards last week... Bent boards, loose power switch (only one for two boards), 2.5 months late, no proper software, i.e. nothing ready for PRODUCTION. Half the shit on the board doesn't work (no bluetooth, LCD touchpanel only supported with one single build of Lollipop that requires a Windows computer to burn the image to SD card)...

[lvcargnini]

You didn't purchase a board

There is no warranty.

you can't return it.

They'll probably swap it out if you got a bad one, though.... it happens.

I keep seeing posts and comments about not being happy with their purchase and wanting to return their product.

Kickstarter is not a store.... it's an investment portal.

That's why we're called "backers" not customers....  That's why they're called "Rewards" not sales.

and.... like every other investment opportunity in the free market, it comes with risks...

• the board may not work
  
• the board may not be delivered on schedule
  
• it may not do all the initial project had hoped
  
• it may get lost in the mail
  
• etc, etc, etc.
  

you did not buy a product... you invested in a group of people that had an idea with the hopes that your investment would yield a $15 linux computer.


NOTE:  this was my 1st KickStarter investment...

Sorry, but the deal was and is a working board, faults problems may occur, but you can expect to exchange for a working board, since the components and design where tested before scale production. Refund:. Nope, the deal is you are in for the long run, no returns, however exchange I think are completely acceptable and I would say a normal procedure.

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