Thanks for the update, tonlee, although it is discouraging that Raptor will
not be able to provide specifications. In my opinion, for the crowdfunding to
have any chance at all, they would have to provide a firm quote first,
including specs, price, lead time, warranty details. As you say, people would
need to know what they are paying for.
I am not surprised that they are not in favor of a notebook board, as that
would involve additional challenges, as I mentioned before.
Did you have any luck in contacting RMS or the FSF? Given Raptor's position,
I wonder if the best way forward might be to kick off some sort of online
petition, to gather signatures of those who would be willing to buy a new
Power9 board for $500, to try to gauge if the interest is really there. If we
could get 20-30,000 signatures, that might help to convince Raptor that the
project is feasible.
