Fellow Outlaws,

I have not seen much discussion of my biggest concern about the 950's design: the lack of means to upgrade its internal operating code.

The long delay has, fortunately or not, given me the opportunity to look closely at the features offered by competing units. After much soul-searching, my interest in the 950 is beginning to succumb to the much discussed "death of a 1000 paper cuts."

My greatest concern about the 950 is the lack of a mechanism by which the operating code can be patched/upgraded. I think Outlaw's decision not to include an RS-232 or FireWire port on the 950 constitutes a major oversight.

As with any complex computer software system, there is always a likelihood that bugs will be found. Also, as technology develops, new features and enhancements will become available. Unfortunately, Outlaw made a decision not to offer customers a means to incorporate those inevitable bug fix/features into their units. Their competitors did. As a result, I now have serious concerns about the long-term viability of the 950.

The inclusion of an RS-232 port would also have offered Outlaw the ability to sell upgrades providing them a source of incremental revenue with little manufacturing investment.

Without a means to upgrade the code, the 950 now represents a technological dead-end. It will remain a snapshot of the current state of technology that does not possess the ability stay abreast of industry developments. The Rotel and Anthem both offer that feature and, as a result, appear to have been designed with the long-term in mind.

I would gladly have paid $50-100 more for that feature. How about you? As it now stands, my excitement about the 950 is waning.

Any thoughts?

Santa Clara Jim


[This message has been edited by santaclarajim (edited June 16, 2002).]