Geek Nation

Charging for the the part of the product that is INNOVATING leads to more revenue.
The Hardware is NOT what I am after.
Other SDRs also offer these features on basic hardware.
But still, even if the flex is the best hardware, its not going to get much better.
On the other hand, better hardware will ONLY enable better SW features.
Better SW DOES NOT enable better Hardware.
It only gets better in one direction.

The Chicken always comes before the egg.

Lets Take a closer look at the product.
The FLEX hardware cannot do much more than it did 5 years ago.
Designers think like this: “I want to be able to do this in 5 years.”
The pre-industrial agers thought like this:”what circuit can i design to…”
Now its “What hardware do I need to run this code?”
Once you are running from DC to Daylight, employ multiple receivers/transmitters,
enable cross-band repeating, offer duplexing, what is left to upgrade?
Nothing.
The hardware is done at that point.
Advances in DAC chips is about all you can hope for after that.
Flex throws in the other analog parts required and what do you get:
a regular knob radio without the knobs.
But without the SW, the flex hardware cant do anything.

The broken Flex business model is that:
The PowerSDR Software itself DOESN’T EVEN NEED THE FLEX HARDWARE!!!
PowerSDR IFStage version
The hardware is irrelevant! Duh.

All flex did did was ADD MORE of something that already existed: two VHF/UHF/HF radios in the same box.
Now the box has 2 independent radios. So what. I have that now.
THE only thing they can do further on the hardware side is : ADD MORE OF THEM. Which is what they did.
So what if they put 256 radios in the box?
It doesn’t matter because there are no new features.
The CDRX-3200 is no diff than 32 FT-9000s in a beer fridge box.
IT’S THE SOFTWARE that enables new features.
Did you notice that they changed the NAME of the thing:
Its function has changed so radically, its not called a 32-VFO 200KHZ radio in a box.
Its called a CHANNELIZING DIGITIZER.
Guess we’re not in Kansas anymore.

There are very few advances left to make in hardware.
Yes, dumb things like VFO drift, LO noise have all been eliminated.
But any hardware advances are simply ELIMINATING THE REMAINING NEGATIVES.

Not only that, there is now (due to the existence of the Power SDR software)
NO LONGER ANY REASON TO INNOVATE in Hardware!
(OR we would be seeing better hardware for less cost).
But we are not seeing that.
The Yaesu model number = the cost of the Radio these days.

ALL the innovation will be in software from now on.
That’s WHY Flex should be charging for the R&D costs of the Software,
not for the part that is already optimized.

A radio is a radio is a radio. It never changes once released.
Add-on modules and DSP firmware updates DONT COUNT as features.
But what comes over/is sent by that radio is ALWAYS changing.
Ten-Tek, Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu putting a DSP in the design is
not a “new feature”. Its simply “adjusting” an old feature: that same old analog HF signal.

Lets review the new features of HF radios that have taken place over the years,
AND THE ONES THAT WILL HAPPEN over the next 25 years.
(Add your own to the list, im sure you know of more than me)

First question to ask ourselves:
Will these features be quicker or easier or cheaper to deliver IN HARDWARE or IN SOFTWARE?

Features (Hardware or Software)
1) Direction finding using only two antennas….BUT AT ONLY ONE LOCATION – HW/sw
2) Binaural reception – HW and SW
3) 10hz filters without crystal-like tail fin artifacts- SW
4) Multiple VFOs (more than 12 within the same box) – SW
5) Multiple filters within a passband (my idea) – SW
6) Roofing Filters – HW and SW
7) RIT – HW/SW
8) Split – HW/SW
9) Cross Band Rpeater – HW/SW
10) Speech processors – HW/SW
11) Notch – HW/SW better
12) Noise Blankers – HW/SW
13) Tone – HW/SW
14) Variable Phase on those 2 receivers (Binaural and Beam Diversity)
15) Variable passbands – HW/SW better
16) More data modes than you can shake a stick at (HW = none, SW = ALL)
17) New modulation modes (CW, SSB, ISB, ECSS, AM, FM, PM, SS, any, any, any)
18) Tuners with 100,000 memories (freq, mode, width)– easier in SW
19) LO stability without TXCOs(ask Windows kernel designers how they achieve) – SW
20) IF Shift – HW/SW
21) GPS- HW always – needs receiver circuitry and sky view
22) APRS – HW and SW – but who other than Obamanations want to report where they are?
23) Propagation pre-predictors that “suggest” freq and mode based on real-time cluster info worldwide – SW
24) Automatic tracking of AMSAT/ISS/Shuttle passes – Def NOT HW
25) EME tracking – SW
26) AGC from none to fast – HW/SW
27) Spectrum, Waveform, Waterfall, Phase on ALL VFOs AT THE SAME TIME – SW only
28) Utilization of multiple core components to speed up processing – HW/SW
29) Change the display layout, colors and functionality to suit the user, not the manufacturer – SW only
30) The ability to monitor ALL the allocated HAM Bands AT THE SAME TIME – SW (HW=one radio per band required)
31) The ability to record for later review ALL the allocated HAM Bands AT THE SAME TIME – SW
32) Do speech recognition on a received or recorded signal and fire off email/text alerts based on decoded content – SW

Lets not forget the MAJOR and probably ONLY feature of SOFTWARE that is the motivating reason to switch to SDRs:
YOU CANNOT DOWNLOAD A NEW MOTHERBOARD.
But some would answer, yes, you can easily upgrade the hardware if its so cheap as you suggest then…
Then what?
Then the focus is STILL on the Software.

Should we compare this production model to the auto industry, or to the software industry?
Do the cars we drive get more features based on new tire design or what SITS ON THE TIRES.
Does APPLE develop a new thing AND GIVE IT AWAY?
Do new features from Microsoft come as a download that could easily run on XP?
No. They make you pay for the new feature ONLY BY BUYING THE NEWER VERSION.

Its just like the NAVY.
The marines just use them to get to the destination.
So the transport is irrelevant (unless its inadequate, then its replaced).

George’s Maxim of Machines:
Hardware should as close as possible to free.
Software should never be free.

Ever heard of “buy one cellphone, get another free?”
Do the Hardware Engineers at Nokia work for free?
Yes, they do actually, because the device is irrelevant.

If the hardware retained ANY value, it would not be replaced so frequently.

New computers can only run the SAME software FASTER, never the other way around.
Software is RARELY taking advantage of a new Hardware feature.
Its still: CPU, Display, Storage, I/O.
Period.

But in 20 years, 3D will bethe  standard.
Standard to do what? Watch 3D excel sheets?

I am IN the Flex camp.

I will probably buy one just to watch others steal their IP and do a bad job with it.

So, Flex is seeding the market for SDRs by giving away their IP to drive market adoption.

Then, when the market is mature?

There is nothing for them to give away!

Everyone already has the commodity: their software.

Dumb.

I just think their profit model is backwards.
They are not INNOVATING in hardware because there is nothing left to do in hardware.
They are throwing away money.
They are working for free.

The problem with saying, in retort, that they are making money by selling lots of these Flex radios
simply matches the failed argument for making money by selling more TVs, Cars, Computers and cellphones, which is:
Now that EVERYONE HAS ONE, how do I make money on hardware?
Just basing your income on designed-to-break-on-schedule hardware is NOT a business model.

(well ok , it is for cellphones, but they are handled alot, so they break.$5000 HF rigs are not)
The answer is to add new features IN SOFTWARE.

The hardware platform is nearly or actually FREE.
Hardware platforms for TVs, Computers, Cars, Cellphones and Ham Radios are simply
SERVICE DELIVERY DEVICES. As they should be. They are not the attraction.
What you DO with the platform is NEVER free.

That’s where Flex is missing the boat.
They created a one-time sale product.
And they know this.

Thats why they HAD TO JACK UP THE PRICE OF THE HARDWARE.
Because they made it impossible to charge for the Software.

Edit: June 2010
Looks like im right (again)
Nokia declares the hardware doesnt matter.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/062410-nokia-declares-itself-a-software.html?hpg1=bn

George
KJ4IPF