We'll deliver 'in a few weeks' says troubled ZX Spectrum reboot firm

Troubled ZX Spectrum reboot firm Retro Computers Ltd has promised to deliver its Vega+ product in “a few weeks”. “We apologise sincerely for our forced radio silence (more on that) and delay in our promised updates, but please know we have been, and are still, working on the Vega+ final production and delivery,” said the firm …

[Robert Moore]

Still hopeful

My first computer was the North American version of ZX Spectrum (Timex Sinclair 1000)

So I am still hopeful that they will get this out to market. If they actually start shipping, I might take a chance and order one.

[DJSpuddyLizard]

Re: Still hopeful

My first computer was the North American version of ZX Spectrum (Timex Sinclair 1000)

I think you mean the 2068.

Still have mine in the closet - but it has a Spectrum ROM in it - which makes it 100% Spectrum compatible, but disables the cartridge slot, joystick ports, etc.

[Steve the Cynic]

Re: Still hopeful

Yeah. The TS1000 was the US version of the ZX-81.

[DropBear]

Re: Still hopeful

Same here - around here we actually had not one but several clones of it, mine was the CIP03 (which turned out to be remarkably more useful than the original in one specific way - the first 16K of BASIC could be altered freely)...

[conscience]

I'll believe it when I see it, RCL just cannot be trusted.

[werdsmith]

I'm carefully watching Planet Gemini Psion 5 reboot on IndieGogo.

I didn't back it, but I will buy in when they are ready and up to issue 2 desnagged production versions. They are now populating PCBs after weeks of no news except KB layout discussion.

[Mellipop]

robbing peter to pay paul

I bet the cost of production for the Gemini is less than investment from use retro lovers.

Speccy lives again thanks to a Psion clone.

[Mellipop]

robbing peter to pay paul

Gemini is Peter in this case.

[Anonymous Coward]

Tech projects on indiegogo it is always better to wait until it has been produced before buying it. As so many projects fail to deliver at least you will have saved enough cash to pay the bit extra that the production version costs and by then you can read the reviews - or you may find you no longer want the product.

[DropBear]

...unless your concern is that without supporting the campaign the $thing_of_interest might not come into existence at all. It's a bit far fetched of course to imply that your single, individual decision would have even one iota of impact on that, but hey - for some strange reason I swear I'll never understand nobody seems to have a problem with the same assumption when voting is involved...

[Zog_but_not_the_first]

Delivery in 28 days

Just like the original...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Delivery in 28 days

“a few weeks”.

I'll keep a close eye on the Bankruptcy section of the London News for a few weeks then.

Like all firms heading there, they try make out all is still rosy to stop people upsetting their plans to run with the remaining money

[asdf]

Re: Delivery in 28 days

Knew this comment wouldn't be far down. lol.

[Spartacus Mills]

amateur

RCL'S latest 'surprise' update in which they post a video of Europe's "The Final Countdown" (and then post another update also about the song) just looks extremely amateur and unprofessional, not to mention entirely unconvincing. I've treated headlice with more respect than RCL treat their backers.

And their continual assertion that they are being impeded by a small hardcore group of haters when it is obvious that it's a big hardcore majority of (mostly) reasonable people who invested money in them and are now quite understandably voicing their concerns, is laughable.

[Anonymous Coward]

Yay!

I might actually get mine!

(Stranger things have happened).

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Yay!

And MS will start listening to people and turn off all the slurp by default. And the NSA will stop spying.

[Your alien overlord - fear me]

Seems this is going to be delivered when my flying car gets delivered. Always 'just a few months away'. Better start buying shares in salt companies because a lot of people will a be taking this new message with a large pinch of salt !!!!

[Alister]

I'm glad to see that they are so keen on proving the authenticity of the Spectrum, that they are prepared to faithfully reproduce the production and delivery delays of the original...

[David Nash]

Irrespective of who did what, posting pictures of someone and their family is unprofessional, and I would say so even if the photos were of the guy only (and not his family).

[inmypjs]

Indiegogo

Scam after fail after scam after fail.

It is instructive and amusing to look at lists of backers and if they are linked you can go there and click on Campaigns to see what other crap they have backed and how those campaigns are doing.

Pretty much everything technical (if it isn't a scam just badging some cheap chinese crap you can already buy on aliexpress) will be late or failed or not performing as claimed.

[asdf]

Re: Indiegogo

Here you can simply use this template.

Silicon Valley Unicorn Brand X

Scam after fail after scam after fail.

[Chris King]

Re: Indiegogo

"Scam after fail after scam after fail".

I do laugh at some of the projects on Indiegogo.

This one always cracks me up because:

(a) You're going to look like a total spanner riding this through an airport departure lounge ;

(b) The sheer number of batteries are going to make it impractical as carry-on luggage, and

(c) Imagine what's going to happen if it falls out of the overhead luggage compartment. (Can you say "SQUISH!", children ?)

Having said that, not all Indiegogo projects are scams. Marty the Robot turned up the other day, a little later than advertised but with all functionality as promised.

What's not to like about this little guy ?

[inmypjs]

Re: Indiegogo

"This one always cracks me up"

And it still raised $600k - So I look and the most recent comment says:-

"It’s getting ridiculous. When you needed money you were quick on the updates and replies. Now you don’t respond other than to pop up every now and then to tell us how great everything is going. Tell us the truth. We don’t care about trips to China or videos of how hard everyone is working. We gave you our money in good faith and it’s now 8 months after we were told we would be receiving the bags with no end in sight. Your credibility has eroded. Start being sensitive and respond to our concerns."

[Anonymous Coward]

deliverable product

Is no part of the Sinclair heritage....

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: deliverable product

I'm half expecting these people to come up with a great idea for a 3 wheeled electric scooter.

[To Mars in Man Bras!]

Crowdfunding

Also known as 'Selling People Stuff that Doesn't Actually Exist'

[Lee D]

Re: Crowdfunding

To be fair, there are entire legitimate industries that do the same.

However, if you DON'T already know this, you really shouldn't be crowdfunding anything.

I've done a couple of things on Kickstarter. Received every one of them. Profitted massively on one because they were giving away graphics cards with a game as part of a deal with ATI so I got a lot more than I paid for. Another was "cancelled" (i.e. money refunded) because they managed to find funding elsewhere anyway, which I take to be an excellent sign for such a project - both the investment, the honesty, and the full refund (and they did deliver the product too).

But I'm VERY careful what I choose to pay for, go for projects / people with proven success, and I consider it donation / throwaway money, not any kind of serious investment.

It's all about not being stupid with it.

[Dave 15]

Re: Crowdfunding

Its just a simple exercise... you have an idea, the idea needs money, sometimes it will work, most times it will fail... funding a company doing R&D of a new project is a risk. Having shares in any company doing R&D is a risk (even big drugs companies can fail as a result of pouring lots of money into things that fail).

[DropBear]

Re: Crowdfunding

"funding a company doing R&D of a new project is a risk"

No, not really. Crowdfunding campaigns are not supposed to hinge on any kind of "R&D" (except any final product-for-manufacture details) seeing as how (at least on Kickstarter, which is, oh, only the biggest name in this game) you're supposed to have a complete and demonstrably functional prototype before you even launch a campaign. How that works out in practice is a different matter entirely which I'm not prepared to discuss without swearing profusely, but as a general rule of thumb, you're not supposed to get money for developing something that is a mere "idea".

[Horaced]

Indieyoyos

Ey’ oop ‘CL, canna know what cannot do. Delivers nowt, has nowt, like spuds onna serve, a side serving of nuts an’ snorts - and horseradish bless, ‘Up ya clackers!’, what I say, what they say. Giddit chum-chums, got it; served you good, gone away. Then come back. Givin’ it back now, coz’ been to Laywer Town, caked in brown. And back you trot, hot to trot, promises tucked, chuffed, ridin’ thigh-high in dubious pride, into dusty town ol’ Indieyoyo, falling facades, rotted wood and splintered underfoot you stand like owners, clink clink clink, but bills out boards and poles : ‘Wanted’, finks. You stinks.

[TheElder]

Not a buyer

I have one sitting on the shelf.

[eJ2095]

wonder if "Crapita" are a hidden investor lol

[fnusnu]

Can this story be banished until they actually deliver?

This is getting tedious now.

[Loyal Commenter]

Indie-no-show...

When it does arrive will it be powered by Mr Fusion?

[Anonymous Coward]

tedious?

yeah, who needs updates to an ongoing saga anyway?

um, we all do actually. I was being facetious.

[Anonymous South African Coward]

vapourware?

[Milo Tsukroff]

There's a sucker born every minute...

... "the company has taken their money but seems to continually extend the deadline for when it will give them a product" So many, many "entrepreneurs" do that. (They used to be called, "pirates".) There's a sucker born every minute. Crowdfunding = Suckerfunding.

[JulieM]

Authentic Experience

This is pretty much what happened in the early 1980s anyway, with the actual computers and accessories.

I waited a long time for a ZX81 "proper keyboard case" which I sent for but never materialised; and after several months of fobbing-off letters promising that their state-of-the-art injection moulding machinery was nearly ready to go to full capacity, ended up taking a partial refund and a less-sophisticated one (no full-sized space bar or repeat functions). Still way better than the ZX81's original keyboard, though. (On which I still managed to type enough to max-out the 16K RAM pack and leave precious little room for variables ..... because unless you were actually there, it's hard to appreciate that this was still way better than no computer at all.)

I suppose if I'd been a year younger, I'd have been waiting for Spectrum Microdrives instead .....