Dean & Gonk:

Here's a dog's eye view, since as many fellow Saloon residents know, it can be a long time to get something into production.

* Product concept goes to drawings and schematics
* Drawings go to ID mock-ups, schmatics to breadboards
* Breadboards to first spin of boards
* Boards on a breadboard
* First hand built samples with boards being changes to reflect updates
* Software started, tested, de-bugged, tested, debugged, tested -- -you get the idea
* "Off-tool" samples with latest boards and software
* Alpha testing
* Pre-production samples/pilot run
* Beta test at the same times as environmental testing, shipping testing, safety agency approval process, FCC (or other emmissions/RFI/EMI) testing, licensing approvals as needed from Dolby, DTS and maybe others
* Fix bugs and hardware issues and then go back two steps to retest
* Keep repeating until the aspirin runs out.
* Get more aspirin
* Cartons, manuals, other fun stuff you forgot and now have to catch up on
* FINALLY: Production.....

As many here know from their own jobs, ain't it a peach!