Ah hell. I can't stop reading this thread, so I may as well throw in 1 and a half cents.

Nope, no skin in the game. Not because I'm "smarter" or "holier than thou" about the prepay thing. I'm just less patient. I pony up my money, I want my machine now. I'm 2 years into the pins, so maybe its the newb factor. I need my fix now. I don't have quite the disposable income as some, so that may be a factor as well. But I'll get there. I certainly could see myself "prepaying" if I had 5x the income. If 9k meant the same as 2k right now, I could entertain the idea because I could have my "now" and "later". I don't see myself as having the right to judge anyone for their reasons to prepay (or their disposable income), or to be staunchly against it or anything in between. Comes off kinda "nanny nanny boo boo" no matter how you serve it up at times like these. Largely, I don't think it's intended that way, but I definitely understand it being received that way.

While I think the man is crazy, Bill definitely gets a thumbs up from me. Heck, he's doing something other than posting on pinside. Of course he doesn't have a ton of cash out there yet- would you? He isn't a charitable martyr. As someone said, he stepped in late in the game to see if this IP could be saved, regardless of his motivation, he is trying to move it forward. If he's doing it to see if he can make a buck, who cares? Its not charity. He certainly doesn't see "a gold mine no one else can see", so he has to be partially doing it because of pinball or the people in the shitter with him as Zidware customers? But at the same time, no way should he (I wouldn't, nor would you) start shelling out money to buy Zidware or assume the debt to the vendors... blah blah (I totally agree their best bet is getting this done as I am not hating, I hope they get paid, but that's all Bill right now- they know this). IF he came to the conclusion that he could operate in the black eventually, maybe he would/will, but that's for the man who is actually doing something to decide. I would doubt it after the bulk of the comments from this weekend. Not a ton of public support for the effort. I mean, cmon, what did anyone expect? There was plenty of upfrontness from the guys that it was going to be a flipping work in progress and they just wanted to show some effort. Machine not near done. But it was "to the show come hell or high water". They got that done. And have taken a ton of grief over it. I think they delivered exactly what they said they would, and that's a HUGE positive. Lot of teamwork from people here to get that done. Pretty awesome to see folks pull together for any reason.

And hey, if you have skin in the game, do what you and your family think is best. Just make your own decision for your own reasons. Don't be swayed by peoples opinions. Go with the gut. Sue if ya gotta sue. Clock is definitely ticking. I would in my situation, but it is not my place to tell you what you should do in your unique situation. Throw more money at it if Bill comes back with a business model or proposal. Or don't. It's up to you. I can't imagine having money on the line, because my "opinion" sways with the wind when I'm reading this. "Give him a chance...." "Sue that bastard before the money is gone..." and back and forth..... I cant even fathom what it must be like to have $$ on the line. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Go with the gut.