At least they are admitting shit can happen and throw things off.
So nothing has changed then over the last two years, is what you saying ?
... Waiting for Josh to stop by and pontificate about how Bitcoin works ...
Yeah, but the terms are pretty clear about the risk involved:
"This is a Pre-Order product which is not yet shipping. If you're uncomfortable waiting until the development is complete and the product is shipped, do
NOT pre-order this product. Perhaps undesirable, but this is a pre-order market. Customers flatly demand to get in line for the new technology before it's finished development. This has created a lot of drama for the manufacturers but it's something we simply have to deal with. All manufacturers in this space have experienced some degree of delay with their first generation ASIC. Every last one of them, so we're reluctant to give a specific delivery date. However, this is our second generation, so we have much greater clarity on the process and
we feel our timeline to begin shipments
towards the end of the year is solid."
(Underline added for emphasis, bold is from BFL site)
In other words, do not order if you can't afford the risk of pre-order, experimental hardware being delayed. Plain and simple. So for however much people want to bitch and moan, BFL has plainly stated that they have an estimated timeline, they may not meet the timeline, so only order if you are okay with that risk. Otherwise, BFL's public record is quite public, so if people want to order then let them. Same for Avalon, I still see posts of people asking about hardware and refunds, so it's at your own risk to order from either company as their past is plainly known.
