Quoted from merccat:

I don't see JJP's architecture as comparable:
- Off the shelf CPU board with a linux base OS vs proprietary CPU board with proprietary base OS
- Traditional single power driver board and power supply board with hole-through compnents vs node board modules with surface mount components.
In this way JJP's architecture is much more similar to P2K but actually simplified because there is no PRISM boards to worry about.
The one similarity is the lighting sytem which is a data driven modular design. I actually don't really see any other way to efficiently and cost effeively run RGB lighting if you want to have it, and I think this is one area where it is worth it.
However still not that similar because while an issue here will impact lights it won't take down the entire game. Also they have since addressed the issues caused by a serial chain by moving to a parallel system with a hub so if a light board goes out only the one light board is impacted. If nodes were architectured more in this manner I actually would be a little less concerned.

Quoted from Bendit:

Has there been a real-world documented case of this?
Linux is known for its generic drivers that work on pretty much anything.

Quoted from Bendit:

So there you have it guys. Awesome discussion. I suspect the issues listed above are from the JJP software that runs on top of Linux. So in 10 years, if nothing changes in the JJP software, you'd still have that sound popping. If reverting to software 5.x in WOZ fixes the problem, it's software-related, not hardware.
This thread seems to be about hardware sustainability. But since we're talking about JJP hardware, I guess we're off topic...

Quoted from Bendit:

Yes, but the first version of WOZ was 4 years ago?
JJP has been shipping items (for free) to make The Hobbit a sturdier game. I have yet to install my beast mech ball protectors, or the stronger drop target springs (even though my wife fixed one yesterday). I fix 'em as they fail (home use). Point is, they stand behind their hardware, no?
(I was not involved with the first release of WOZ so forgive my ignorance)

Quoted from jar155:

That's actually why I sold my GBLE. I love the game, but I want to be sure that it's not going to be a massively huge money sink. I had quite a few maintenance problems with it, and I just got scared off. I'll pick up a premium down the road if all is well, but I didn't want to roll the dice on Stern's ability to support the node board revision long term. Also, there are bugs they absolutely need to address in that game. It's unfinished at the code level.

Quoted from jar155:

The major difference is that JJP is working to increase the reliability of their games while Stern is working to make them more difficult to maintain and less reliable.

Quoted from jar155:

Whatever their intention,

Quoted from Jvspin:

More likely unintended consequences of reducing costs.

Quoted from jar155:

Do I think they want to make them harder to repair and maintain? Yes.

Quoted from smokedog:

thereby alienating the entire Operator market and a large chunk of the home market, and in turn, possibly folding up shop because they no longer sell games? You honestly think that's their game plan with Spike?

Quoted from Jvspin:

I do believe in the talents of the pinball community and expect someone will eventually figure out how to repair or replace the node boards to keep the games operational if Stern no longer supports them. in the mean time though, you may be paying $300/board if it's out of warranty or you're not the original buyer (at Stern's discretion).

Quoted from jar155:

Anybody who says that SPIKE is a step forward is either ignorant or lying. Objectively it's problematic.

Quoted from CaptainNeo:

But 10 years from now, I don't want to be trying to find and scrounge node boards to keep it alive.

Quoted from jar155:

It's more prone to failure than any other Stern system that came before it. That's the real kicker. If something is very reliable, then we don't have to worry so much about how easy it is to service.