I'd be willing to guess that a good majority of the users of this board are somehow involved with technology development, and we've all seen it before. Traditionally, when a talented group comes up with a good product and can take it end to end (concept > manufacturing), they spark the interest of bigger fish who do the same. Typically what happens is the upstart gets absorbed and the key creative personnel end up with two choices. They move into managerial/marketing roles or get fed up with all the BS and revert back to what they love. In both cases the early adopters are held onto for as long as cost effectiveness dictates, and are slowly phased into the new core product market.

However, Empeg, as a company has managed to fully develop a niche market from cradle to grave (with next to zero cadavers so far) and are virtually self supporting. The negative, as we all know, is the lack the volume to reach a mainstream price point and good penetration. This self sufficient entity is more likely to assume a divisional role in an acquisition than a cut 'n dry rape, pillage and plunder that many of you fear. In other words, from S3's standpoint, it would cost them more to micro manage Empeg into a slow bloated mess than to leave them alone and provide them with manufacturing support and IR&D funding for future key products.

Finally, if you look at the insanely low volumes (not to be harsh... it's good in this case) that have currently been produced, It would cost them orders of magnitude more money to support older products than to provide reduced cost replacements produced in volume. I'm sure if you looked at the long term projected sales of an empeg developed/S3 produced car player (these are deal makers), you'd quickly realize that the first couple thousand wouldn't make much of a dent.

So to make a short story longer, don't be upset when your MKI or II is no longer supported unless you get shafted out of the transition to the volume product. However, given the absurd level of dedication and customer devotion Rob, Hugo and everyone else has shown so far, it wouldn't occur to me that it was even an option.

Regardless of the outcome, I feel honored to have been part of this public beta trial (original registration #4041) and helped Empeg reach the level of success they have achieved so far. My only regret is I didn't have any stock options :D

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