I've been 'cutting up' Nelson's schematics for quite some time now. That's what led to the Aleph-X and a few other things that I've got sitting around. It's a wonderful instructional exercise to play mix and match with these things. Beats putting together another standard three stage amp.
Fun, too.
Not to disparage his Zen papers, but I've learned more by flogging Nelson's patents than I have diddling the official projects. I still remember the 'eureka' moment when I cracked the mystery of the Aleph circuit. Man, that was cool. I had promised myself that I wasn't going to build one until I understood the blasted thing. Once I got it, I wanted to build a hundred variations on the circuit. It took severe self discipline to hold myself back long enough to build a pair of standard Aleph 2s. After that, it was Katie bar the door, here I come. For that matter, I've still got variations that I carry around in my head; they haven't been built yet.
Who knows, some of them might even work...
Grey
Fun, too.
Not to disparage his Zen papers, but I've learned more by flogging Nelson's patents than I have diddling the official projects. I still remember the 'eureka' moment when I cracked the mystery of the Aleph circuit. Man, that was cool. I had promised myself that I wasn't going to build one until I understood the blasted thing. Once I got it, I wanted to build a hundred variations on the circuit. It took severe self discipline to hold myself back long enough to build a pair of standard Aleph 2s. After that, it was Katie bar the door, here I come. For that matter, I've still got variations that I carry around in my head; they haven't been built yet.
Who knows, some of them might even work...
Grey
My $.02:
1. Go to the matresses! Offer more PCB's and parts. I doubt anyone in the world would prefer a knock-off to a genuine article designed and sold by Pass himself. Even if it costs twice as much. When the ZV4 PCB's came out I bought 3 pairs. I knew Pass boards would be of high quality, and proven.
2. Save a few projects for a book, or a DVD. Your tutorial explanations are worth their weight in gold.
3. Save a few projects for a "Top Secret" skunk works area on your site, with a dedicated forum. Charge a subscription fee. Sure the projects might leak out after awhile, but I'd be happy to pay a few sheckles to be "first" to see a project.
Nelson, I know what you mean about the low value-add in kits and such, but I think there's a market out there with reasonable profit margins to be had.
Even if it's just me
Nelson, I wouldn't pretend for a second to kown you business better than you. This is just my two cents. And probably a little self-serving at that!
1. Go to the matresses! Offer more PCB's and parts. I doubt anyone in the world would prefer a knock-off to a genuine article designed and sold by Pass himself. Even if it costs twice as much. When the ZV4 PCB's came out I bought 3 pairs. I knew Pass boards would be of high quality, and proven.
2. Save a few projects for a book, or a DVD. Your tutorial explanations are worth their weight in gold.
3. Save a few projects for a "Top Secret" skunk works area on your site, with a dedicated forum. Charge a subscription fee. Sure the projects might leak out after awhile, but I'd be happy to pay a few sheckles to be "first" to see a project.
Nelson, I know what you mean about the low value-add in kits and such, but I think there's a market out there with reasonable profit margins to be had.
Even if it's just me
Nelson, I wouldn't pretend for a second to kown you business better than you. This is just my two cents. And probably a little self-serving at that!
This wouldn't stop anyone to rip off the designs, this would just open fire in order to marketing, and actually the ideas come only from one side.
The problem would be there, and plenty of food. And the DIY gurus will stop opening their brains to whoever could listen to them, as happens now to our joy.
The problem would be there, and plenty of food. And the DIY gurus will stop opening their brains to whoever could listen to them, as happens now to our joy.
Raka:
I never suggested it would stop the rip-offs.
This problem isn't limited to Pass. Bill Gates, Sony and others face similar problems, and some unfortunately adopt very closed policies to protect their IP.
However, I think the open source movement is a wonderful thing, and companies like Red Hat have figured out ways to add value to a product that is essentially free.
It's not terribly unlike the problem the RIAA is fighting now with the Napster clones. The music industry can throw lawyers at the problem, which won't work forever. (the Internet's a big place)
Or, they can find new ways to market their products, and strike a balance between IP protection and revenue generation.
You're a music lover. If you had a choice of downloading a free song from some annonymous teenage pirate, or downloading the same song from Sony for say 50 cents, you might choose the latter, knowing that it has been recorded with great musical care, attention to quality and that the artist will benefit accordingly.
It's really hard to put the genie back in the bottle...
I never suggested it would stop the rip-offs.
This problem isn't limited to Pass. Bill Gates, Sony and others face similar problems, and some unfortunately adopt very closed policies to protect their IP.
However, I think the open source movement is a wonderful thing, and companies like Red Hat have figured out ways to add value to a product that is essentially free.
It's not terribly unlike the problem the RIAA is fighting now with the Napster clones. The music industry can throw lawyers at the problem, which won't work forever. (the Internet's a big place)
Or, they can find new ways to market their products, and strike a balance between IP protection and revenue generation.
You're a music lover. If you had a choice of downloading a free song from some annonymous teenage pirate, or downloading the same song from Sony for say 50 cents, you might choose the latter, knowing that it has been recorded with great musical care, attention to quality and that the artist will benefit accordingly.
It's really hard to put the genie back in the bottle...
I don't know what the solution is, but I do know it would be very sad for PassDIY to go away. As sad as it would be, I couldn't blame him a bit. After all, it is his IP they are stealing. All we can do is hope that this causes Pass Labs no financial losses and that Mr. Pass continues to enjoy being a leader in the DIY audio community.
mrothacher said:Raka:
You're a music lover. If you had a choice of downloading a free song from some annonymous teenage pirate, or downloading the same song from Sony for say 50 cents, you might choose the latter, knowing that it has been recorded with great musical care, attention to quality and that the artist will benefit accordingly.
It's really hard to put the genie back in the bottle...
Yes, you also have your point, no doubt.
jh6you,
Don't get offended on that, it's just a defect in today's way of speaking.
Nickolas, please, the sheeps are not to blame, just the black sheep.
I don't think we want to put the Genie back in the bottle, even
if we could. The problem is to harness the Genie, which I think
is the only reasonable approach.
I have no doubt that the Internet has given a big boost to the
DIY community, and that a balance will be struck by which
everyone benefits.
In the meantime, a certain amount of etiquette is required -
remember the quality of alt.rec.audio? I stopped looking at it
after a while, just like I don't watch the 6 o'clock news.
/pass/ very relaxed guy with no 6 o'clock news
if we could. The problem is to harness the Genie, which I think
is the only reasonable approach.
I have no doubt that the Internet has given a big boost to the
DIY community, and that a balance will be struck by which
everyone benefits.
In the meantime, a certain amount of etiquette is required -
remember the quality of alt.rec.audio? I stopped looking at it
after a while, just like I don't watch the 6 o'clock news.
/pass/ very relaxed guy with no 6 o'clock news
Well,
There are some occasions that I feel shameful to be from Taiwan. I guess this is one of the kind.
Some of diyers in Taiwan have tried to stop this Mr. Wu Limin from stealing Mr. Pass's design and trademark. But, this guy is a simply out of mind. The courts in Taiwan do protect intellectual right. I don't see why Mr.Pass's agent in Taiwan is still so quiet so far. There should be such a lawsuit.
Regards,
Lhchen
There are some occasions that I feel shameful to be from Taiwan. I guess this is one of the kind.
Some of diyers in Taiwan have tried to stop this Mr. Wu Limin from stealing Mr. Pass's design and trademark. But, this guy is a simply out of mind. The courts in Taiwan do protect intellectual right. I don't see why Mr.Pass's agent in Taiwan is still so quiet so far. There should be such a lawsuit.
Regards,
Lhchen
I was browsing diyzone.net with bablefish, and suddenly I thought that is a familiar photo;
http://www.diyzone.net/article.php?sid=409
the fourth photo from the top. It is MY amp which I build and which stands nicely on the floor of my living room! It seems it was used as an example for their shameless sale of the 500 copies of Aleph-X's!
E.
http://www.diyzone.net/article.php?sid=409
the fourth photo from the top. It is MY amp which I build and which stands nicely on the floor of my living room! It seems it was used as an example for their shameless sale of the 500 copies of Aleph-X's!
E.
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