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Emokit project announcement that led to this post: http://daeken.com/emokit-hacking-the-emotiv-epoc-brain-computer-0 http://daeken.com/emokit-hacking-the-emotiv

• sqrt17 16y ago
  The basic point seems to be this: * The Emotiv business plan seems to be based on some game-console like cost structure where developers would pay Emotiv so that they can release software, with the 300$ headset being sold as a loss leader and then recoups the cost through people buying software. Emotiv's investors seem to like that business model. * Having an open ecosystem around their EEG device would mean that the loss-leader business model doesn't work anymore and their investors are threatening to do ugly things if Emotiv doesn't get it under control. Now, which one is it? "Hooray, we can build an EEG at a consumer-friendly (for some value of consumer) price"? Or "We had a broken business model from the start, but we're going to blame our users"? Note that a slightly-expensive special-purpose device gets a significantly higher share of people interested in using it creatively than a tool that has a very obvious recreational and/or professional purpose, and already fulfills this purpose very well, such as a synthesizer keyboard. Trying the game consoles business model on an EEG device is similarly sensible as selling a 300$ CNC lathe that you can only use with bought programs that were written by random other people with more money on their hands.