[Ardour-Dev] Funding: Build and Sell Hardware

[Patrick Shirkey]

Quentin Harley wrote:
> Patrick Shirkey wrote:
>> And sell them via the Ardour online store?
>>
>> We are talking about a major commitment to put this all together but 
>> it definitely has some merit.
>>
>> Running an online store is a full time job. Developing and 
>> maintaining an online store is a full time job. 
>
> Virtuemart
Or amazon, ebay, zencart, drupal extensions etc... Running an online 
shop is a 24 hour a day job because unlike a real brick and mortar the 
internet is never closed. It also requires a constant development effort 
to keep the site up to date and interesting for customers to revisit. 
There is a lot of graphical work required which is on short supply round 
here. When people purchase online these days they expect a quick turn 
around and anything less makes people annoyed, nervous and frustrated 
which is a real pita to deal with in support.

If all these issues can be managed then an online shop is a real 
business and can expect to generate income.

Maybe we should have a worldwide network to cut down on shipping costs? 
We standardize on hardware and cost and work together with dev and 
support for the common goal?

>
>> Building and shipping pre configured machines is a full time job. 
>
> Boost hardware?  Harley Studio Systems?

Linux Audio Systems too. There are a few companies that have aimed for 
this but no one seems to have pulled it off yet.
>
>> Maintaining a distro is a full time job for 2 people.
>
> 64 Studio.com  Their core business is creating and maintaining bespoke 
> linux distributions.
>
But do they want to work on a distro specifically for this purpose? What 
would it take to make it worth their while?

>> Developing Ardour is a full time job (or 5).
>
> Lets clone Paul - No matter what the American Government think about 
> it...
>
This has been suggested before, many times. With the new focus on 
science we may have a better chance to puling it off.

>> We need at least 5 committed parties to make this happen or else 
>> someone is going to have to be drinking a lot of red bull. I can get 
>> a good supply of the most powerful stuff here in Thailand but I don't 
>> drink it myself.
>>
>
> Red bull is a bedtime drink for me - doesn't work anymore

You definitely aren't drinking the original made in Thailand stuff then. 
It's much closer to pure amphetamines than the export version.




Cheers.

-- 
Patrick Shirkey
Boost Hardware Ltd.