WayTools' TextBlade Keyboard to Start Shipping to Test Group Users Next Week

[Kabeyun]

FYI

A 17-page post with lots of pretty pictures and promotional language, just to tell us it's probably shipping soon?

Really?

You're so smitten with WayTools it's transparent. I suggest you hand this story off to someone with objectivity who's willing to hold their feet to the fire they created. WayTools has been stringing us along for a year and there's criticism of that in your article. One could be forgiven for thinking they found a friend at MacRumors who can help them continue. We'll see when the general release happens but no one's holding their breath.

Just sayin'. And many here who aren't sayin' are thinkin'.

 

[ZipZap]

Let me correct some misinformation posted in some comments.

First, the TREG test group is not Waytools friends and employees. I'm one of them and I don't know a single person at Waytools. Others selected can tell you the same thing.

There was a request for testers on their status page. Anyone who checked their status after they made the announcement could see it and sign up.

They do provide straight answers to many thing. They also need to do so more often, but no need to exaggerate the issue!

Same for telling us what is wrong. They do this, but not often enough. No need to exaggerate.

TREG isn't all that secretive either. Sure, they don't tell us how they chose certain people, but what company does? We signed an agreement which is darn lenient, in my opinion. We can't talk about future products we may learn about. Nothing wrong with that. But we can report our experiences anywhere we want. We can even report on our communications with Waytools. I just did that yesterday as I was one of those called by Waytools about TREG. We talked about a number of things and I reported it on their forum for others to see. I'm not the only one called who did that.

Shipping is estimated for the latter part of next week but, yeah, that depends on how their other testing goes. Is this cause for concern? Sure. But is there really anything wrong with it in principle? I don't think so. Only if you assume it is just an illegitimate excuse to delay things. Assumptions aren't good. So it makes no sense to just declare we won't get the units in the near future, even if they miss next week.

There is no remote kill switch. Testers will have a temporary token which must be periodically updated by running the TextBlade app. If it isn't updated, the unit will stop working, but it is all internal to your system. This is just logical security. Furthermore, there are not two different builds (one for testing and one not). When testing is done, all units get a permanent token - thus the same code which simply looks at the token periodically.

The key logger is no big deal either. First, the USER has to turn it on. If turned on, it tracks the last minute of typing. This lets the system track what was happening to lead up to a problem. Second, IF you turn it on, then nothing gets sent until the USER gets to see what was logged and only then, IF THE USER decides to, they can upload it to Waytool to help with debugging.

There are plenty of things to complain about, but some of the complaints are either not true or are exaggerated. Accuracy is best so people can decide what matters to them if considering a purchase.

So to respond:

1) I have no reason to access the status site unless I have an expectation that something has changed. Since Waytools sends out ZERO information, there is no way for us to know they were looking for qualified testers. That leaves the field to the mega-winers and friends/family/employees. If they are going to do something this significant, we should have been notified formally in January so all of us could be considered.

2) No one cares about shipping to you. They care about product shipping that has been promised over and over and delayed over and over. Why? What plan have they been marching too? Where is the timeline? Do they have a measure for "Complete"? You might say I have no reasonable need to know this, and you would be right if they were on time. They are not on time, and now I am forced to try and determine if this will ever happen.

Here's a great example, Coin. Remember that product? Many of us hung on for years. That's right, years. In the end, all confidence was lost for me and I bailed. Sure glad I did. 6 months later they released a crappy card that did not work as promised. Everyone who got that card could not get a refund and were stuck. So many reported throwing it away.

Are we headed down the same path with Waytools?

3) The TREG seems to be a tiny fragment of customers. Seems like just another delay for those of us who have hung in there for this company. One designed to add months to the delivery. Lets face it, they could have done this TREG months ago.

4) The recent new hardware issue indicates that this thing may never reach a state of "Complete". Who knows what the TREG will discover.

5) What you describe is in fact a remote kill switch. If you dont check in, it will stop working. Permanent or temp, this is a means that can allow them to kill off a unit at any time since they can change that classification at will.

I am hopeful this testing will be brief and orders will ship...

The product idea is a great one but it have been mired in obfuscation, lies, and poor communication. That makes it really tough to hang tight for these folks. But I will.
[doublepost=1455985983][/doublepost]

FYI, I did ask some of these exact questions. I read the WayTools forums too and I tried to ask the questions that pre-order customers were curious about. I included what information I had in my post, for the most part, but here are some additional tidbits from my notes.

Dabigkahuna's post mirrors a lot of what I was told, too, so WayTools is sharing the same info with me that some of the TREG testers are getting.

1. March is not my estimation. "As early as March" is when the TextBlades could be shipping out if the TREG testing goes well. WayTools has "good inventory" on hand and is ready to start shipments when testing ends. They don't have a firm shipping date because they don't know what minor issues might be uncovered in the TREG testing. I've basically been told that it could be as little as a week or up to several weeks and that shipping will happen when TREG users sign off on the product.

2. There isn't a specific time allotment for TREG, but they are going aiming for a qualitative balance. Testing is "not going to drag on forever" but if a problem is uncovered by TREG, they're going to fix it. While they are planning to move forward based on the feedback from TREG, a few users won't be able to hold up the process. WayTools will review all of the feedback from TREG users and evaluate what needs immediate fixing and what can wait. Things they think will really interfere with the overall experience will be addressed, but rare use case "corner bugs" will be fixed later so every small thing uncovered won't result in another delay.

3. I didn't ask this because I was focused on the immediate questions surrounding shipping. I met the WayTools team. It's small. My personal guess on this question is that there's been a lot of work to do and there's no person on the team specifically dedicated to interacting with customers. I'm not making an excuse for WayTools, though. A lack of communication has been the major complaint that I've heard multiple times from people who have gotten in contact with me. Better communication could have gone a long way towards easing the wait and I understand the frustration. It's been very frustrating and upsetting for me, too. I have received angry and abusive comments and emails for writing about the TextBlade so I know firsthand how people are feeling about the situation. WayTools could benefit from a community person who's able to address these problems.

4. I specifically addressed this in my post. No hardware issues and they don't expect major bugs to be uncovered. They're working on refining software and firmware and think most of what will be uncovered will be "corner cases" where it's an unusual use case. Things that happen when you press a strange key combination. There are some instances where the TextBlade can get "stuck" and a key won't respond or it'll display the wrong letter. Those are software failures, and a lot of those have been fixed, but "some of that may come up." That's what they're looking for with the testing. I can personally tell you that so far, I haven't run into one of these issues, but a lot more pops up with a few hundred users vs. a handful.

5. I agreed not to share this information. They want it to be a surprise.

But testing has dragged on.

Why wasn't ALL of this information in your post?
[doublepost=1455986084][/doublepost]

Hi Juli,

Thanks for the additional info. I appreciate you taking the time to post it.

I'm sure you've taken a lot of abuse... Even now, folks are blasting MacRumors for "supporting" WayTools and the TextBlade when it's obvious to me that's not the case. I take it that MacRumors and you are attempting to help get answers for us folks who can't/aren't getting them from WayTools. (Maybe I'm just a naïve "glass-half-fuller" )

I'm not asking you to break any confidentiality agreements nor to ruin the "surprise" of the Early-Adopter Bonus. But WayTools told us long ago that the earlier one ordered, the more/bigger/better the gift would be. There has been some speculation as to whether that was still true or if WayTools had abandoned that paradigm. In your opinion, is it something that will scale to some level of Good - Better - Even Better - Best?

Again, I thank you for what you've told us and for whatever other information you feel you can or should share.

There should not be any confidentiality agreement between MR and WT.

 

[shareef777]

Thank you for this update, Juli. Many of us appreciate your coverage on Textblade and Waytools over the year.

While the Textblade itself seems like a wonderful technology that's unique (especially after reading your reading your current post), I feel morally obligated to warn potential buyers about the company that is Waytools.

I've never dealt with a company that's more backwards, opaque and downright hostile to customers than Waytools. They promised transparency and accurate status of your order on their website, but they never provide a straight answer to anything and the shipping status has become a joke within the forum. They always say they'll ship by end of such and such month, even after that date passed. They always say they worked out such and such bugs, never telling you what's wrong or what they're aiming to fix, leaving everyone in the dark and with false hope that it's going to ship soon.

They've been doing this every month almost like clockwork for the last year.

But it gets better (or should I say worse). A year ago, they went on a rampage where they accused everyone questioning their service as a shill or a spy for a competitor, and later even cancelling the orders of people posting complaints or otherwise negative things about them (mostly their horrid customer service), to a point where people had to put "Waytools: do not cancel my order" in their posts' signature, for fear of triggering another paranoid response from them.

But this TREG escapade is the worst by far. It's completely mired in secrecy and all this unnecessary cloak-and-dagger BS that Waytools seems to get off on. No one knows exactly how many were picked as testers, from where, by what criteria, for what purpose, nor how long it will all take. From what I can gather, it took Waytools about a week to choose a person, one week to send them a non-disclosure agreement, one week to arrange some sort of shipment schedule which may not happen for a while because they're still testing the testing units before sending out.

So, I'm shocked that you received one, because as far as I know, no one who signed up for TREG has received one yet, nor will they in the near future... nevermind the rest of the early adopters like me who ordered more than a year ago.

But here's the final kicker. They have implemented a remote kill switch and key logger into the testing units. Waytools has admitted to that and insists they're necessary for testing purposes, and that it will be removed after testing. So, unless they have a completely different build for the general release units, those two malwares will be present in every Textblade unit, whether dormant or not. Now, I may be overblowing the potential harm that can come out of this, but in the age of Edward Snowden and NSA's fallout, this is at best a boneheaded move on the part of Waytools, whether they're truly needed for testing or not.

With all that said, I still do like the idea of Textblade and the technology, but the Waytools company is the worst I've ever dealt with in all my years of being a tech gadget freak. At some point, it's not worth the nightmare of dealing with such a sanctimonious, pompous and horrendous company. If and when you do receive one, know that you're getting an orphan, because I guarantee you won't be getting any support.

Thanks for the well written and reasonable assessment of the company. I actually put in and order and went ahead an cancelled it because of what you wrote. I hope this company understands the type of loss they can incur because of treating customers as such. If you've reached out to them let them look up order #23G M397 SDP. That's my order that I put in, and cancelled after reading your review of the company. They need to understand their product is only half of the sale. Customer support is the other and reading all these reviews, I'm led to believe they're failing that angle of their business miserably.

Also like you, I would hope that MacRumors takes people's experiences with the company when reviewing products. If a company treads all over potential customers like them, then their products should have no place on this site!

 

[iMarc845]

There should not be any confidentiality agreement between MR and WT.

That's your opinion. Fact: Virtually all Tech companies have NDAs of one kind or another. And "Embargoes" on the media releasing their confidential info until it has been approved. WayTools are no saints; their communication has been awful at times (which Juli pointed out). But neither are they "Evil Incarnate".

 

[shareef777]

That's your opinion. Fact: Virtually all Tech companies have NDAs of one kind or another. And "Embargoes" on the media releasing their confidential info until it has been approved. WayTools are no saints; their communication has been awful at times (which Juli pointed out). But neither are they "Evil Incarnate".

While I'd generally agree, the premise here is that the device was sent (along with the NDA) to Juli because she was chosen to be part of the testing group. The issue is that no other person that pre-ordered was chosen (some that pre-ordered over a year ago). That seems, at the very least, suspect.

 

[jclo]

Hi Juli,

Thanks for the additional info. I appreciate you taking the time to post it.

I'm sure you've taken a lot of abuse... Even now, folks are blasting MacRumors for "supporting" WayTools and the TextBlade when it's obvious to me that's not the case. I take it that MacRumors and you are attempting to help get answers for us folks who can't/aren't getting them from WayTools. (Maybe I'm just a naïve "glass-half-fuller" )

I'm not asking you to break any confidentiality agreements nor to ruin the "surprise" of the Early-Adopter Bonus. But WayTools told us long ago that the earlier one ordered, the more/bigger/better the gift would be. There has been some speculation as to whether that was still true or if WayTools had abandoned that paradigm. In your opinion, is it something that will scale to some level of Good - Better - Even Better - Best?

Again, I thank you for what you've told us and for whatever other information you feel you can or should share.

This is exactly right. This post was written to share answers with people who have pre-ordered and who have asked me many times to write another followup.

As for the early adopter bonus, I should have been more clear. The plans have not changed. The earliest adopters get the best gift.

 

[KaliYoni]

Let's face it, the core issue is that WayTools accepted pre-orders for a product that was presented and marketed as ready for mass production when it wasn't. There were press releases, an announcement of a $1mm donation of TextBlades to schools (hmm, I wonder how that turned out), and the exploitation of MacRumors' reputation and credibility. The TextBlade should have been handled like a Kickstarter project but WayTools chose a path that was naïve at best...and has turned out to be extremely deceptive. Funders of Kickstarter projects would take most of what WayTools has done, productwise, in stride.

However, the toxic combination of holding buyers' (not funders' or investors') money for many, many months, an opaque ordering and status update process, and a consistently arrogant and defensive tone in communicating with buyers has led to WayTools having little or no goodwill with many people. That's why the TREG paid-beta test is making many angry.

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
Warren Buffett

 

[jclo]

A 17-page post with lots of pretty pictures and promotional language, just to tell us it's probably shipping soon?

Really?

You're so smitten with WayTools it's transparent. I suggest you hand this story off to someone with objectivity who's willing to hold their feet to the fire they created. WayTools has been stringing us along for a year and there's criticism of that in your article. One could be forgiven for thinking they found a friend at MacRumors who can help them continue. We'll see when the general release happens but no one's holding their breath.

Just sayin'. And many here who aren't sayin' are thinkin'.

Let's get something straight here. I am in no way "smitten" with WayTools. I have zero relationship with them and zero stake in whether the TextBlade succeeds. What *is* true is that just like all of you, I think that the TextBlade is a neat product that does something unique. I thought the TextBlade was an interesting product when I first saw it, and I was impressed with the hands-on time that I spent with it back in March. That's the sole reason that I wrote about it.

I have continued to write about it because I have been asked to do so from pre-order customers like you. Communication about the TextBlade hasn't been great, as you well know, so I have tried my best to share information with customers. Not because WayTools asked me to, but so people who ordered could have some background on what's going on.

 

[Night Spring]

Let's get something straight here. I am in no way "smitten" with WayTools. I have zero relationship with them and zero stake in whether the TextBlade succeeds. What *is* true is that just like all of you, I think that the TextBlade is a neat product that does something unique. I thought the TextBlade was an interesting product when I first saw it, and I was impressed with the hands-on time that I spent with it back in March. That's the sole reason that I wrote about it.

I have continued to write about it because I have been asked to do so from pre-order customers like you. Communication about the TextBlade hasn't been great, as you well know, so I have tried my best to share information with customers. Not because WayTools asked me to, but so people who ordered could have some background on what's going on.

WayTools haven't asked you to, and you don't have any financial or personal stake in the product, but you are volunteering to be a go-between to help WayTool communicate with their customers when they've completely dropped the ball on that front. This, for a product you found interesting, but you are not smitten by it.

With due respect, I hope you see why I don't find your statements credible. Something doesn't quite add up here. You either really like the product, to a degree that you are willing to give WayTool way more latitude than they deserve, or you do have some sort of stake in seeing them succeed that you aren't telling us about. And maybe the "stake" is something as innocuous as you like the WayTool people and wish them well. But it's interfering with your objectivity, in my opinion.

 

[dabigkahuna]

Some people need to get a grip. So you are, understandably, frustrated. Doesn't justify some of the things you are saying, including attacking the writer of the article. Most of the first part of the article is about past delays as well as the future delays for those not in the TREG testing. The ending also points out the negatives. But, frankly, some people are so wrapped up in your anger that you still imply the writer of being less than honest or unbiased. Frankly, shame on you. If you can't make rational arguments, you aren't helping anyone.

Complaints that Waytools didn't send out emails about TREG sign-ups and so only those already checking the site would even know about it are SOMEWHAT valid. But it also really isn't important. They weren't going to be able to take everyone. They wanted people who were particularly interested. Anyone can say they are, but if someone is checking regularly, that is at least evidence that they truly are particularly interested. Considering how low a percentage would ever be taken, this is a not important at all.

I found it funny that supposedly this made it only for "mega-whiners" or family and WT employees. I previously pointed out that neither myself or any of those I know about are family or WT employees. This is just another made up claim with no proof that it is true. As for "mega-whiners", this is also interesting as the exact oppose complaint has been made by real whiners on the forum - that is, that WT avoided the whiners and chose people that didn't complain (except all of them have made complaints). So, like I said, people are letting frustration overrule common sense (and sometimes basic decency in how they treat others, such as the writer).

 

[ryanide]

I placed my order almost a year ago.... Really? for a keyboard? I mean how many iPhones and computers have been designed and upgraded since then?

 

[dabigkahuna]

Some seem concerned that TREG is for a tiny fragment of customers. Really? This surprises anyone that testing is done with far fewer people than their are customers?

That it "seems" like another delay is, well, certainly possible. We'll see soon enough, won't we? Not that a delay would bother me. I mean, if they don't do it next week as planned, fine. But if it drags on for week after week, etc, THEN it would bother me. So we'll see. But not today.

That they haven't solved everything before now does NOT mean it may never do so. They did say that with the shield problem, it seems fixed and they don't know of any other hardware problems. Sure, TREG may discover something, but think it through. If you assume no other problems are even possible, you wouldn't bother testing any more at all, would you? So they are making sure with this step. And, yes, that is darn frustrating, but also understandable.

It isn't a remote kill switch, though the difference to some may be unimportant. But here is what IS important: WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT?

It makes perfect sense for testing, doesn't it? You don't want a tester who violates the agreement to be able to keep using the device. So if they don't check in with the app, it stops working. If you do check in with the app and have violated the agreement, they simply don't update the token. All very wise.

But, other than during the testing period, what reason would they have to shut you down, remotely or not? And if you think the present complaints about delays is hurting their business, just think what would happen if you got the device and suddenly they turned it off! The lawsuits would be massive. So, no, even IF they could, it isn't going to happen.
[doublepost=1456010021][/doublepost]

There should not be any confidentiality agreement between MR and WT.

This is an example of frustration leading to bad arguments. Pretty much all companies who are going to release new tech will have some sort of agreement like this. Have you never noticed that Apple may announce a product that won't be actually released for a couple weeks or so and then may be a couple days before release, you suddenly have a rash of hands-on stories about it? It's because various people in the media were given a device to work with but had to agree not to publish anything until that same date. It isn't coincidence that they all publish at the same time! In this case she was allowed to publish earlier, but not about everything (logical, since we are further away from release than just a day or two).

So how about we don't take NORMAL business/media practices and suddenly act like it is a big deal in this case. There are plenty of legitimate complaints to make - most of them coming down to lots of past delays or lack of more communication (I say "more" because some people have claimed there hasn't been any, which is not true).

I'll also point out that the last 4 time estimates they've given have been met or beaten. True, they are relatively minor items, but it still counts. The next one - shipping of TREG units - is the next big one, of course.

 

[Night Spring]

Doesn't justify some of the things you are saying, including attacking the writer of the article. Most of the first part of the article is about past delays as well as the future delays for those not in the TREG testingh.

The reason I'm questioning the writer's objectivity is, for example, the following passage.

After a long development period that has frustrated many early customers, WayTools is finally ready to begin shipping the TextBlade, albeit with a caveat - a limited number of test customers will receive the first TextBlades that are going out, to provide final feedback before a full rollout.

I wouldn't call the situation as described "ready to begin shipping but with a caveat." I'd call it "still testing software, but hardware is finalized."

I am pointing out what I perceive to be an obvious bias on the part of the writer in favor of WayTool. I hope she takes this as constructive criticism rather than a personal attack.

 

[dabigkahuna]

While I'd generally agree, the premise here is that the device was sent (along with the NDA) to Juli because she was chosen to be part of the testing group. The issue is that no other person that pre-ordered was chosen (some that pre-ordered over a year ago). That seems, at the very least, suspect.

Not really, but this is an example of an "no win situation".

First, did she say she was part of the TREG group? I don't recall that. I don't even know if she has ordered one!

Second, and about the "no-win" part of this. As it happens, a bunch of people on the WT forums who ordered have made an issue about the lack of any recent media coverage (which is fine to complain about). And some of them said they were writing to Juli to try to get her to do another follow-up.

So, what do we see? She does what was asked for and gets attacked for it!

Again, for the umpteenth time, frustration is understandable, but people need to be more careful about the issues they try to make.

I have continued to write about it because I have been asked to do so from pre-order customers like you. Communication about the TextBlade hasn't been great, as you well know, so I have tried my best to share information with customers.

No good deed goes unpunished! But I appreciate your efforts. Many others do as well.

With due respect, I hope you see why I don't find your statements credible.

Not much respect there.
[doublepost=1456010918][/doublepost]

I wouldn't call the situation as described "ready to begin shipping but with a caveat." I'd call it "still testing software, but hardware is finalized."

I am pointing out what I perceive to be an obvious bias on the part of the writer in favor of WayTool.

There is nothing wrong with what she said. She clearly said they are ready to ship, but at the moment it is only the TREG units. IOW, she was giving a COMPLETE picture of the situation. And you don't seem to actually know about what is and is not "finalized". While there are never any guarantees - not even after regular shipping begins (note some issues with past Apple iPhones for example), I have previously posted that they feel the hardware is fine and it is firmware they are trying to lock down (may have done so by now - or not). Yet you assume the hardware isn't finalized. Even if they had never said anything about it being about firmware, you wouldn't have any way to know it wasn't done.

So, I submit you are actually being biased, which leads to assumptions. Oh, I understand it, frustration and all, but it is still bias.

 

[Night Spring]

So, I submit you are actually being biased, which leads to assumptions. Oh, I understand it, frustration and all, but it is still bias.

Ok, I don't know all the details about what is finalized and what not. The point is, I wouldn't call the situation as it is "ready to ship," I'd call it "still testing something or other."

And yes, I'm biased on the side of the customers, and I'm willing to admit that. For what it's worth, I haven't actually ordered a TextBlade. I'm interested in the product, but I decided to wait until it was actually shipping to the general public before placing any orders, precisely because I wanted to avoid the kind of frustration the people who pre-ordered are facing.

Oh, and about the no-win situation the writer finds herself in. Tough. But that's part of the job.

 

[shareef777]

Not really, but this is an example of an "no win situation".

First, did she say she was part of the TREG group? I don't recall that. I don't even know if she has ordered one!

Second, and about the "no-win" part of this. As it happens, a bunch of people on the WT forums who ordered have made an issue about the lack of any recent media coverage (which is fine to complain about). And some of them said they were writing to Juli to try to get her to do another follow-up.

So, what do we see? She does what was asked for and gets attacked for it!

Again, for the umpteenth time, frustration is understandable, but people need to be more careful about the issues they try to make.



No good deed goes unpunished! But I appreciate your efforts. Many others do as well.



Not much respect there.
[doublepost=1456010918][/doublepost]

There is nothing wrong with what she said. She clearly said they are ready to ship, but at the moment it is only the TREG units. IOW, she was giving a COMPLETE picture of the situation. And you don't seem to actually know about what is and is not "finalized". While there are never any guarantees - not even after regular shipping begins (note some issues with past Apple iPhones for example), I have previously posted that they feel the hardware is fine and it is firmware they are trying to lock down (may have done so by now - or not). Yet you assume the hardware isn't finalized. Even if they had never said anything about it being about firmware, you wouldn't have any way to know it wasn't done.

So, I submit you are actually being biased, which leads to assumptions. Oh, I understand it, frustration and all, but it is still bias.

From her post: WayTools sent me one under the same confidentiality agreement as the testing group.

If no one else is being chosen, then there's obviously collusion between WayTools and Juli (or specifically, blog editors to help pilfer people's money for their vaporware). Your statement that people asked for a status update conflicts with itself. You said, "writing to Juli to try to get her to do another follow-up." This isn't a follow up, this is re-hasing the same exact thing. There is NO NEW information from WayTools and her showing us that she received preferential treatment to only lure more potential buyers (myself included) is what's suspect.When she states "WayTools is finally ready to begin shipping the TextBlade". Which according to those that have pre-ordered, is NOT the case.

 

[dabigkahuna]

Ok, I don't know all the details about what is finalized and what not. The point is, I wouldn't call the situation as it is "ready to ship," I'd call it "still testing something or other."

We don't know if it is ready to ship or not. Thus the TREG testing. We know they think the hardware is ready. The seem to thing the latest firmware is going well, but, yeah, if it continues successfully, they'll still do TREG as a final step to confirm - or not.

But the main thing is, you let your own biases lead you to an assumption that not only hasn't been shown, but is contradicted by what was said.

There are plenty of things to complain about so sticking to those things is better - and helps readers make an informed decision of their own.

I'm biased on the side of the customers

Not when you make assumptions to push your ideas. That serves no one well.

Oh, and about the no-win situation the writer finds herself in. Tough. But that's part of the job.

Not acceptable. You don't get to treat someone badly and inappropriately and then say it's "part of the job". YOUR job is to act like a decent human being. And, frankly, I think it is also the job of any member of society to speak up when others don't act decently. Used to be that way.

WayTools sent me one under the same confidentiality agreement as the testing group.

Yep, same agreement. Doesn't make her part of the TREG group. There is more to it than just following the same confidentiality rules. So all you really have is a pretty normal limitation on what media can say.

If no one else is being chosen, then there's obviously collusion between WayTools and Juli (or specifically, blog editors to help pilfer people's money for their vaporware).

Nonsense. There is nothing to show collusion at all. As for "vaporware", sure, it isn't available yet. But we know it exists and is still being worked on (hopefully about done). But, once again, you ASSUME they are pilfering people's money (and Juli is helping them). If they ship this thing even 6 months from now, obviously nothing has been "pilfered". But you and others just can't seem to stick to legitimate, rational criticism. No, instead you have to demonize people. That is wrong.

This isn't a follow up, this is re-hasing the same exact thing.

Anyone actually reading the article knows that is a false charge. Sure, some things are repeated - because most people aren't going to go back and read the earlier article. That's standard writing practice. But there most certainly is new info there and rather notably, a lot of it is about the long delays! Yet you complain. Weird.

And they ARE about ready to ship it - at least to TREG testers which, surprise, is what she actually said, pointing out that others will still be waiting.

It really is amazing how she gives the negative too, but it doesn't matter unless every word trashes the company!

There is lots of bias going on here, but it isn't in the article.

 

[Night Spring]

We know they think the hardware is ready. The seem to thing the latest firmware is going well, but, yeah, if it continues successfully, they'll still do TREG as a final step to confirm - or not.

But that is essentially what I said before. Hardware is finalized, software still requires testing. Then you said I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm making assumptions, jumping to conclusions, and whatever else you accused me of.

Not acceptable. You don't get to treat someone badly and inappropriately and then say it's "part of the job". YOUR job is to act like a decent human being. And, frankly, I think it is also the job of any member of society to speak up when others don't act decently. Used to be that way.

I beg to differ about how I'm treating the writer. Pointing out that I object to how someone is doing their job isn't treating them badly and inappropriately. And yes, if you write something and post it publxily then you have to accept people reacting to it, both positively and negatively. Yes, there are lines you shouldn't cross when objecting to somebody else's writing. But I don't believe I've crossed any lines of decency. If you can point out an exact quote from my posts where I have abused the writer, I'll take that under consideration. But just because I think the writer is biased in favor of WayTool and is not reporting objectively, doesn't constitute abuse.

 

[dabigkahuna]

I beg to differ about how I'm treating the writer. Pointing out that I object to how someone is doing their job isn't treating them badly and inappropriately.

You gave a particular example, which I directly responded to. There was no bias in what she said - from YOUR chosen example. She gave the complete picture, good and bad. Thus to claim bias is inappropriate.

Here is the MacRumors quote that you used to "question" her objectivity again:

"After a long development period that has frustrated many early customers, WayTools is finally ready to begin shipping the TextBlade, albeit with a caveat - a limited number of test customers will receive the first TextBlades that are going out, to provide final feedback before a full rollout."

Fact after fact:

1. Long development
2. Frustrated early customers
3. Ready to ship
4. But with the qualification that just to testers for now to get final feedback. Thus NOT regular shipping to all customers until they get feedback from those testers.

Anything else is just common sense. If you are having people test it, obviously further shipping depends on the results. If that wasn't a common sense factor, there would be no further testing by anyone! To claim bias here requires the reader be biased.

if you write something and post it publxily then you have to accept people reacting to it, both positively and negatively.

Yep, you have to "accept" many things. Someone may call you "fat" too. It happens. But here's the point. That doesn't justify someone saying such things.

Wouldn't it be better to, for example, just take that quote and maybe say, "Well, it may be ready for testers, but who knows how many problems they'll find and it may still be months before release to the general public"? No need to question someone's objectivity.

Have you noted how many things have been presented as fact in the comments that have no basis in actual known information? Why? Isn't there enough real issues to complain about without going overboard or questioning someone's objectivity when they actually gave factual information?

In all this TREG business, there are really only two things to worry about. One is that the testing they are doing right now will lead them to say that TREG will be delayed a bit more. And you better believe I worry about that! OTOH, they have met the last four things they gave time estimates for.

The other is that TREG may lead to having more problems to solve. And, yep, people will be understandably upset. Again. But you know what will be bad? Not the fact that they are upset, but rather the made up claim, already made right here, that the TREG testers are friends, family, and employees of Waytools so it's kinda a conspiracy!

It's not and we aren't. If I wasn't part of TREG, I'd still be excited about it because, just like with MacRumors reviewing it, I'll be getting information from customers rather than Waytools. Not that I don't trust WT, but this will be better and we'll probably have a lot more information than WT provides usually (another area it is fine to criticize).

 

[shareef777]

But that is essentially what I said before. Hardware is finalized, software still requires testing. Then you said I don't know what I'm talking about and I'm making assumptions, jumping to conclusions, and whatever else you accused me of.



I beg to differ about how I'm treating the writer. Pointing out that I object to how someone is doing their job isn't treating them badly and inappropriately. And yes, if you write something and post it publxily then you have to accept people reacting to it, both positively and negatively. Yes, there are lines you shouldn't cross when objecting to somebody else's writing. But I don't believe I've crossed any lines of decency. If you can point out an exact quote from my posts where I have abused the writer, I'll take that under consideration. But just because I think the writer is biased in favor of WayTool and is not reporting objectively, doesn't constitute abuse.

You nailed it. Apparently we're either 100% with the writer or we're against and therefore biased. I love how some people take things as gospel and any differing opinion is blasphemy.

 

[dabigkahuna]

Apparently we're either 100% with the writer or we're against and therefore biased

I took issue with three specific things you said. You then ignore them all. So let's focus on one. Please explain how you know there is "collusion" as opposed to it just being normal stuff done every day.

As I've already pointed out, a number of people from the Waytools forum contacted the writer specifically asking for another story on this. So what is wrong with giving them what they asked for? How is that "collusion"?

Oh, and you also got it totally wrong about being 100% with or against.

 

[Night Spring]

Fact after fact:

1. Long development
2. Frustrated early customers
3. Ready to ship
4. But with the qualification that just to testers for now to get final feedback. Thus NOT regular shipping to all customers until they get feedback from those testers.

I am disputing that #3 above is a fact. I wouldn't consider a product is ready to ship when it's only being shipped to testers, and the testing process may uncover more problems that could delay the product indefinitely.

Given that I consider #3 to not be factual, I feel justified in questioning the objectivity of a writer who stated #3 to be a fact.

Not the fact that they are upset, but rather the made up claim, already made right here, that the TREG testers are friends, family, and employees of Waytools so it's kinda a conspiracy!

That conspiracy theory does seem a bit overboard. But I didn't post that, and I can't be responsible for what other posters post. I repeat, I personally have not done anything other than question the objectivity of the writer of this article, and I don't consider such questioning to be a personal attack on her.

 

[dabigkahuna]

I am disputing that #3 above is a fact. I wouldn't consider a product is ready to ship when it's only being shipped to testers

Item 3 is the only possible iffy thing, but not because of your reason. You see, since she ALSO said the caveat, it means her statement meant "ready to ship to testers". It may also be ready to ship to everyone, but won't be until it is confirmed by the testers. She talked about that too. Context matters!

The actual thing that makes it "iffy", if you really need something, is merely that WT said the plan is to ship it this week to testers, but that does depend on the testing they are doing now continuing to go well.

But that isn't good enough to even hint at a matter of bias. She may have stated it better. Or maybe, at the time she talked to WT, they had updated to saying it would be shipping to testers then, thus not even iffy. I wasn't in on her conversations. Heck, as some other people who have talked to Knighton have posted what was said, I'm sometimes reminded of things I didn't remember when I wrote my report, which was the first one.

Just cut people a bit of slack.

 

[Night Spring]

Just cut people a bit of slack.

Let's just agree to disagree. I feel I stated my objection in a reasonable and respectful way, and that my objection is justified, given the circumstances. And I don't see any reason to cut this writer any slack. I can't think of anything else you could say to convince me differently, and I don't think anything I say will persuade you that I'm not being overly tough to the writer.

 

[dabigkahuna]

Okay, but let me point out what I mean by cutting people some slack. It doesn't mean to go easy on them if there is a legitimate reason to criticize. But I submit that you could make pretty much any point you wanted without questioning someone's objectivity and there simply isn't anything meaningful that was said to justify it in this case. It ultimately came down to thinking "ready to ship" only meant to everyone when the context was about testers and that others would have to wait longer.