Hi Folks, there is a LOT happening and not enough time to do everything that needs to be done like posting here. Here are some details for you.
1. The EFIKA is delayed. You knew that. There are a few reasons. First, the 5200B had problems. It worked fine for what it was designed to do, but had trouble doing what we wanted it to do (which was more). We posted the specifics here. You can find the details if you search for them. That is not really that important now. The problems have been addressed and we have a great solution. In the meanwhile, RoHS compliance has wrecked havoc in the EU. Not just for us, but many others. Component suppliers are *not* all in Europe, consequently the speed at which they adopt to the Directive is an issue. Only in the last week have the 5200B RoHS compliant parts arrived at the office in Frankfurt. Thomas is pulling his hair out trying to round up the last components. It has been a challenge. The EFIKA is coming. There will be a non-compliant board and then later there will be a compliant board. That is the situation.
2. The Open Server Workstation has been a very interesting development. This will make a very powerful and attractive system. Here are a few words on the development. The southbridge function comes from two Broadcom parts, the HT-1000 and the HT-2000 (verses the nVIDIA part we planned to use - nVIDIA did not want to participate). The Broadcom parts also just arrived in Frankfurt this past week. We expect to produce the first samples by end of the first week of September. Then we will need to bring up the boards. This will take an undetermined amount of time from days to months. We have never worked with the 970MP or the the 945 so we can be confident but not all-knowing at this point. We will keep you posted. The "Pegasos III" is this board. The Open Server Workstation is the system. We should be shipping the machine well before the end of the year.
3. Rumors, etc.
a. There won't ever be a dual G4 card for the Pegasos. The northbridge cannot support it.
b. There may be a 7447A card upgrade. We *have* made a few. They work. The issue is simply supply and demand. Send us an email if you would upgrade one for 200 Euros. That is about what it costs to make. This would simply be a _take care of you users_ gesture. We would do it if there are enough of you. You will pay for the shipping! It does not make any sense to do this with the 7448. We have explained this before.
c. We do make bread. It is much easier than computers. We can send your the recipe if you want it!
R&B
just follow such path and you will have users arround you in notime. I understand the limitations of the cards, as the marked is as it is.