Package management software helps a lot, but there is a real trade-off between the ability to customize, and the amount of work that must be done by developers/admins to support the many varieties of Linux.

But yes, we’re still in the early-adopter phase of e-books. I would expect, if Amazon’s Kindle experiment is a success, that in a couple of years we’ll be seeing models for about a hundred bucks.

The other question is what proportion of Amazon’s profits on the enterprise are on the reader vs. the content. I believe I’ve read that Amazon’s margin on the content isn’t huge on most titles, because of worry that they’ll kill the market if they price too high, so the Kindle isn’t following the “cheap, subsidized razor, expensive blades” model of profitability.

As for jhc, I am not in that particular field, but I suspect there are limits placed upon me. If the technical challenge exceeds their ability then most likely it will exceed mine, with potentially even worse yields. My assertion was not that they are incompetent, simply that they wish they knew more about their own process. This is, of course, assuming none of the needed techniques or designs are patented.

If you think you can sell Kindle’s for less than $359 profitably – either by improving the design or with different production techniques – then I think you ought to have at it. I’d buy one.

I’m anxiously awaiting Plastic Logic’s product. I really like the form factor that emulates a hardback and magazines in size but should still be very portable to anyone who has ever traveled with a laptop.

As for solar panels, I think that is best left as an external accessory to charge any number or variety of devices. For the car, I like thte idea of a fold-up panel that acts as a windshield shade. This hides your car interior and if nothing is in need of charging can instead make sure the car’s battery is topped of while exerting a little power to keep the interior cooled. I’d pay good money for that in SoCal summers and imagine it would score pretty high in Arizona as well.

The obvious answer is that evil corporations purposefully underproduce to keep prices too high for hard work middle class families.

That said, I wouldn’t read too much on the delays. My two-bits is that Amazon doesn’t want to be in the hardware business. They’re just using this as a means to stoke the fires. They’ll be happy to step aside when the time comes. But with essentially only Sony in the businesses they need more press to garner attention and sales that will drive mass production. And I think they’re onto something in acknowledging that the real beauty of this thing is having instant access to specific sources. I need to be able to grab that new Flex 3 book via my Kindle while I’m bored riding the train in the morning. If I wait until I’m at work, I’m probably not going to order the book but decide to just make do with info on the internet.