JonathanB72
There is clearly a need for a self - contained bitcoin point of sale device and if you get it right it could be HUGE! This is one of the BIGGEST pain point in greater bitcoin adoption, allowing merchants to easily and cheaply accept bitcoin as a form a payment at the point of sale.
(I don't know about you guys but I've seen more then a few Level-up devices popping up around the NYC area so clearly some business are interested in new technology.)
Regarding the google docs: You have a slick website, then you redirect to the google docs to sign up. I just seem a bit amateur and detracts from the slick website we've just experience.
Finally the whole announcing a product that doesn't exist then asking member to sign up or worse (PAY UP FRONT) just smacks of scam.
SEE the ongoing debate about BFL and now this SCAM
https://cryoniks.com/#!/app/tech/
It is my opinion that bitcoin business have to launch with a functional, and working product and if not launch in private beta with friends and word of mouth to test and work out the kinks before you make a PUBLIC announcement.
Otherwise, in my opinion, you are just joining the ranks of other scam businesses or bored developers how banged out a proof of concept that never goes anywhere
See
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=139627.msg1486866#msg1486866among others.
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, and I totally agree. The main thing we decided to leave out of the site were the prices. We won't charge anybody a single cent until we actually have a product available that you order and receive in 3-5 business days. We've been checking our budget, and maybe if we can get enough funding (From private investors, not from donations), we won't have to charge anything, period. So far, each device costs about $80 to make, but if we can cut the price in half, we may be able to give these machines out for free and just pay them back slowly with the percentage we take.
We're not going to send out a single email either until we actually have all the equipment to set up the prototype.
We don't want to come out looking like a scam, that's why we don't have a single donate link, no place to put in a pre order, or anything that would allow you to send money to us. The project may require some funding later on once production starts, but that will be private funding and not donation based crowd funding.
As for the proof of concept, just the fact that people actually signed up for updates is already proof enough in and of itself, we know there is a market for this type of technology (As you mentioned, a good example is Level-up), we just wanted to know if
we could fit into it, and so far the results say yes.
Also, thanks for the insight on why not google docs, you're very right, and I hadn't seen it that way. I'll be sure to change it as soon as I can.
Best regards,
-Jonathan