The tape-out date (sending the final layout to the fab, ordering the masks and wafers) is the major milestone of any ASIC design project. Every customer/investor should be informed about when this is planned and when it was finally executed (this is at least the case in the "normal" ASIC business world). Because after that the "train has left the station" and the time until wafers leave the fab is somehow predictable.
The layout was probably not final in June, otherwise it would not be possible to change the package later on.
If there is no tape-out in July it is impossible that KnC will have packaged dies in their hands end of September (not talking about delivering fully debugged miners to end customers).
Nonsense, there no reason to inform the customers about what's going on behind the scenes, you don't see any of the big electronics manufacturers doing that, they would consider it commercially sensitive information.
Maybe they don't wish to be cast in the same mould as BFL? I'm betting that the way that they invited people to visit and have given out plenty of information and generally communicated with customers and potential customers makes for most people feeling much more confident?
I'm not 100% that they will manage their projected delivery dates, that would be unreasonable with a product that's at this stage. However, I'm pretty confident that I'll be getting a box from Sweden months before I'd have got anything from BFL , it will work and stay working and I won't be hearing "in 2 weeks" over and over when the time comes.
There's always a risk in this type of purchase, but count your blessings that you're not trying to even get an email reply from Flutterby Labs
A month late..that's overachieving over in Kansas.
