Dear Jeff,
As is the case with many businesses, the Outlaws are scrambling to keep up
with the dramatic changes occurring in the world since September 11th, and
in particular the impact that those events have had on the national
economy. In addition, there is the constantly changing pace of technology
to deal with, not to mention the fact that the competition is doing
anything but standing still. Despite all the turmoil and uncertainty we
remain confident about the future.
With that in mind, you may have noted a departure from our usual practice
of all-inclusive "Newsletters" on a "kinda sorta monthly" basis. Rather
than wait and group things together for longer tomes it seems more
appropriate at this time to bring you the news when it happens in single
topic updates. You should have received one recently to inform you that the
ICBM is now available and shipping.
This time around we have a significant amount of news about the Model 950
that we felt could not wait until the end of the month. Thus, place your
tray tables in the locked and upright position, stow your carry-on bags in
the compartment above your seat and fasten your seat belt because we're
almost ready for take off!
Latest News From The Outlaws: Special Model 950 Edition
We're very aware of the fact that the forthcoming Model 950 has been the
subject of many hot discussions since we first announced it earlier this
year. Some of you saw a very early sample at the HiFi Show in New York, and
our most recent sample missed the Home Theater Forum gathering in LA by
three days. At this point we can report that things are moving rapidly
towards the completion of the project and our goal is to be able to deliver
it to you by Thanksgiving.
Before the naysayers have at it, we'll face the music up front with a
caveat or two. Things DO look good for the late November delivery date, but
it is always possible that problems with agency or licensing
certifications, supplier problems, software code delays or other unforeseen
issues might interfere. And, when it comes to the final testing, we will
not ship the product until it sounds right and works the way we - and you -
want.
The bottom line: Can we absolutely, 100% guarantee a ship date? No. Will we
do our absolute best to ship for Thanksgiving? You betcha! Will we slip the
date if needed to make certain that the product is 100% perfect? Did you
even need to ask?
OK, you might (and will) ask, if they are that far along, where's the beta
test? The answer is that at the end of this Newsletter you will find the
instructions for sending in your beta test application. Although the
hardware is mostly put to bed, our main interest is to exercise the unit's
software through the beta so that any major issues can be resolved before
shipment by changing the software. Sorry, that's all you get here. Read on
and you'll get the details later.
FEATURES AND SPECS
We've made mention of the unit's specs and features before, and we are
finally able to take the wraps off some of the things we have kept to
ourselves until now. In addition to answering many of the questions we've
seen in the various Internet discussion groups, the following should
provide answers to many of the individual questions addressed to us via
e-mail.
To start, here some information announced today for the first time:
-The Model 950 will be the first surround sound product to feature Cirrus's
new "Triple Crossover" capability. Developed specifically for us by the
software team at Cirrus (formerly Crystal Semiconductor) in conjuncti
