For me, a deciding factor in whether to purchase an empeg will be the openness. I've been interested since last year and with each delay my enthusiasm has decreased. At this point I feel that for $1000+ I can change CDs manually. The only reason I'm still paying any attention to the empeg is that it is really a Linux based in car computer. If I can really use it as a full fledged programmable, configurable, in car computer I'll gladly buy one.

Unfortunately, the empeg web site really doesn't provide much technical detail. The newsletters mention ideas for what could be done with it, but no details. Has anyone seen any definite information to show that the empeg isn't just a closed box? If the unit is really shipping, I'd expect to see all the GPL code posted to their web site. If the UI is in Python I'd expect that I could download the UI code and run it on my own Linux box. I wouldn't expect it to be fully functional, but it ought to be at least possible to get a feel for what the UI looks like and an idea of how it can be enhanced.

Very few "user friendly" interfaces on consumer electronics appeal to my preferences. Configurability and reprogramability are the things that would get me to buy an empeg.