Re:New Electric Skateboard Models
by j00lz on Saturday November 22, 2014 @07:27AM
(#8645416)
They imply that providing a firmware update for free is a massive gesture of good will for existing users. When is this not the norm??
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The power and top speed upgrade exceeds the original specifications, and we have quadrupled the warranty coverage. This would be similar to your car getting more acceleration, more braking, a higher top speed, and a longer warranty, all remotely and for free.
Firmware update capability should be the norm, and to our knowledge we are the first and only board that can do this.
Re:New Electric Skateboard Models
by mschuster91 on Saturday November 22, 2014 @07:50AM
(#8645448)
Just take a PC... Windows is it's firmware and if you want to upgrade it, then you have to pay. (Or, switch to Linux).
Or take some cars which are different models, with different power/torque ratings, but mechanically they are the same - the only difference is made in the MCU software. Or cars with their maximum speed locked and only unlocked after paying a nice sum of money (iirc it was the VW Golf GTI).
Windows is it's firmware
For a PC I'd rather call it the software, or the OS, and call the BIOS it's firmware. Which can usually be updated for free.
Re:New Electric Skateboard Models
by mschuster91 on Saturday November 22, 2014 @07:59AM
(#8645461)
A PC with just a BIOS is unusable, though.
A skateboard without wheels is unusable too, and wheels are not firmware either.
Re:New Electric Skateboard Models
by clamprecht on Saturday November 22, 2014 @10:07AM
(#8645664)
A PC with a BIOS can run free operating systems such as Linux. In contrast, I assume this skateboard can only run their own software/firmware.
The difference is a PC is an open and well documented platform that anyone can write software for. This board and other embedded devices typically don't provide the details needed to implement alternative firmwares. That is the difference between windows on a PC and firmware on an embedded device.