The Trailing Edge
I heard on the grapevine that the big “release” at the New Year’s Event will be the announcement of a huge new book printing plant in Los Angeles, a supposed “dissemination center.” In fact, it appears that it’s the old Bridge Publications warehouse on Bandini Blvd in Commerce, but with a facelift.
Of course, in this age of Kindle and e-books, only the Church of Scientology would consider a brick-and-mortar book printing facility as any kind of newsworthy breakthrough. To the rest of us, it’s kind of quaintly retro.
But what else is new? The Church has always been on the trailing edge of technology.
I remember being at Gold in the 1990s when a huge multi-million dollar state-of-the-art film lab was built to process film. Process film? Really? How quaint. The rest of the industry was going digital at a mad rate and the Church of Scientology was busy investing in analog film developing. Of course, within a few years of being built, the lab was largely obsolete and much of it had to be re-purposed. Who didn’t see the digital revolution coming to the film industry? The Church didn’t.
And remember the big “release” of LRH’s lectures on CD? That was 2002 when the first lecture series, the Philadelphia Doctorate Course, was released on CD. Let’s see, CDs and CD players have been available since the early 1980s. In 1985 Dire Straits sold a million CDs of their Brothers in Arms album. So, nearly 20 years later, the Church of Scientology suddenly wakes up and decides to release Hubbard’s lectures on CD. And announce it as a major technological breakthrough. Of course, by 2002, we had MP3 in full swing and CD sales were on the decline. Trust the Church to jump on a trend when it’s on the wane. Nowadays, every single LRH lecture could fit on an iPod. But do you see that in your Church bookstore? No way.
And how about the Mark VIII E-Meter? Most Scientologists don’t know that the latest e-meter, the Mark VIII, has already been manufactured. They were made in Taiwan in 2004 and have been gathering dust for the last seven years at that same Bandini Blvd Warehouse that they just announced as their “latest breakthrough.” And of course, they are already obsolete. Apparently they were made with serial connectors, not USB ports. So they have to be retrofitted with the right connectors. If they are ever released. Apparently Scientologists outside the Church have already developed software that converts any computer into an E-Meter – you just plug the cans in to a USB port. You’d think the Church would be working on something like that. But no.
So when will we see LRH lectures available as MP3 downloads? LRH books on Kindle? Software to convert your computer to an E-Meter? Don’t hold your breath. Probably not until those technologies have been replaced by something far more advanced.
Scientology likes to position itself as up-to-date and cutting edge. They like to think of themselves as being ahead of the curve, leading the pack. But the truth is, if you look closely and ignore the brags, they are followers, running to catch up with the rest of the world, always behind, always slow, always picking up on a trend when everyone else has moved on.
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Leaving Scientology 
I’ve wondered why they aren’t moving toward some sort of e-book reader for people on the Bridge, especially since Amazon has proven that it’s possible to have titles removed from individual users’ devices, which would make sense for “sensitive” documents.
They do now have audiobooks for many of the Basics books in multiple languages on iTunes now, which is a recent development. About $4.95 apiece. They probably don’t want anyone to notice how much cheaper they are there.
There are good reasons for this (if you’re the Cos):-
1. New digital media is usually cheaper to buy. It’s much harder to convince people to pay thousands of dollars for a download. Cheaper to buy = less profit for CoS.
2. New digital media is easier to copy and distribute. They don’t want it being easily copied by “Squirrel” groups, or appearing on the Internet where it can be scrutinised, and downloaded for free. Easy copying and ease of availability = less profit for CoS.
3. Paying staff so little to work in the publishing facilities makes it a no-brainer. It’s not actually expensive for the CoS to make millions of CDs or books, which can be sold to members of the church for hugely inflated prices.
If you have a captive market, who will pay over and over again for similar versions of material, and you want to keep your content tightly controlled, and your labor costs are minimal, you stick to books, tapes and CDs.
If you wanted to reach the widest possible market, and wanted to keep your content affordable so that anyone could access it, and you payed your staff a decent wage, you would switch to new digital media. In a heartbeat.
Jeff,
As a former executive at a manufacturing company, I became very well versed in the concepts of “Lean Manufacturing.” The idea is that you use only what you need to get the job done, and no more. Inventory is anathema. Waste is anathema. Your goal is to deliver product to the customer exactly on time, just in time, having just the materials and labor you need on hand, and NO MORE. It is HARD to do.
The so-called “state of the art” manufacturing facility in LA is an incredible example of how NOT to do it. They can produce almost a million CDs per week. That is insane. They can print half a million books per week. That is insane over capacity.
Every Scientologist should really see the puff piece video on the place at Scientology.org, under “Scientology Today.” This is where a video on Bridge and New Era’s new manufacturing facilities are.
Regarding raw materials: “Quantities are massive! As in minimum stocks of 20 tons of polycarbonate pellets to manufacture CDs and 3500 miles of paper. The point? Quantity equals purchasing power! So material costs are absolutely rock bottom!”
Any manufacturing guy would laugh out loud at that! This is very rookie. You don’t take delivery all at once just to get the price-point! You force the supplier to carry the stock in their warehouses until you need it, and if you are very good, you force the vendor to OWN the stock, even if it is your warehouse, until you USE it. You have the vendor manage the stock – refill it as needed according to your rules – without you having to think about it. AND you still get the price. In other words, you don’t commit ANY of your money (or “beans” in the FP/Treasure policy world) until you have to. You do not let money sit on a shelf – which is what over-stock, i.e. too much inventory, is.
You don’t have too much raw materials. You don’t pre-manufacture any stock, especially of you are supposed to be able to “print on demand.” Look at all the finished product in that warehouse! It is obscene. And, when they pull a box off the shelf, what do they do? They order a new one to put back on the shelf! Waste. 1.5 Million books and 15 Million CDs on hand AT ALL TIMES. That is crazy. It is a waste of money, space, and labor.
And yet, we are supposed to be impressed with this incredible technological achievement. Really, it is a monument to waste.
They have no clue as to what “print on demand” means. They think it means that you print when Miscavige demands it. Then the staff “sell on demand” and the public “buy on demand.” The result is massive waste, huge overstocks, the entire Scientology network becoming DM’s personal sales force, and stress from top to bottom. Any serious businessman would laugh at the insanity of it. The fact is, Miscavige couldn’t manage a lemonade stand (I can just see the event where he brags about how many gallons of lemonade he has stored in vats).
I agree Jeff.
That the lil’ guy probably couldn’t run a lemonade stand.
But ya gotta admit he’s damn good at selling Koolaid 😉
Anyway some of us back when we still gave a f*ck about the direction Dave’s Lil’ USG approved Squirrel Group was heading suggested POD and MP3 DLs through iTunes.
Guess what?
Sorry rhetorical question.
I (silly me) even suggested that SIR be made available to all Scientologists instead of just the WISE fat cats who wouldn’t know a policy letter if it bit ’em in the a…
Anyway.
You can imagine how popular I was with the current regime after that.
Almost as “popular” as when I suggested canceling the Golden Arches of Tech.
OD is right.
It has nothing to do with disseminating the tech and has everything to do with making money.
Also in creating some kinda of monopoly as well using their “friends” in the Government to enforce the strictures of DMCA.
Too bad for them the best laid plans of mice will be about as “successful” as the USGs efforts to shut down Wikileaks 🙂
Exactly – Print on DM’s demand. Then, shove the mountain down the throats of any channel they can think of – the Library channel being one of the ones pushed so often. Buy a Basics set for your Mom, for your library, for some library in Lower Slobovia. Invent money on account so that you can buy it. Of course, break up packages so you can buy books.
When the ends justify the means you get some very incredible means, to the point where we are now: there are no “ends,” only this soul-crushing money extraction machine that was built as “means.”
Aside from that GH,
Miscavige is so FOS.
Take this “new release” of ACC.
They’d already been released years ago and had been sitting on many Qual Library shelves in Apex Tape.
(Personally I have a high affinity for reel to reel.
In most cases the audio quality is far superior to cassette tape and even CDs even at 3 1/4 IPS.
Unfortunately they removed all the Reel to Reels from all Quals and the course rooms when they came out with the ‘Standard Tech’ (more like lost tech) Cassette Deck in the early ’90’s)
Same with this whole GAK BS.
(GAK is right!
Did you know Davy AKA “Finder of Lost Technology” (a guy who couldn’t find his penis with a flash light) hasn’t re-released what used to be one of the most popular LRH lectures i.e. ‘The Role of Earth’?
And most of the other lectures and the books have been “edited” almost beyond recognition!
So much for preserving the tech which is supposed to be his actual hat!)
That said or written or whatever.
The so called FOLT never bothered re-releasing any of the lectures that are required on any of the levels of SHSBC.
These are still on cassette.
(I’ve got nothing against cassettes.
The sound quality ain’t that bad and in many cases is superior to CDs especially with full Dolby A&B noise reduction and if they are recorded on Chromium Dioxide or any other metal alloy.
And the equipment is degaussed regularly.)
Many prior to the advent of Clear Sound.
(meaning they are on plastic tape and sound as crappy as anything else recorded at 1 7/8 IPS which was the reason why Lear came up with 8 track tape)
So it sorta tells you where the Lil’ CICS’ (an endearing acronym he uses on others that would apply more to him) heart really is which ain’t anywhere near training a so called “army of auditors” as he claims.
(I’m still waiting for this so called “army of auditors” to magically appear.
Must be being led by Stg. Fury or something like that…)
Since most of the lecture *re*-released so far have nothing to do with actually training auditors because they are *public* lectures with the exception of the ACCs which are nice lectures to listen to but are not vitally important in making auditors.
(The reason why is actually covered on the Saint Hill *Briefing* Course and is the reason why it is called the “*Briefing*” course since it condenses all this information.
In fact it is still part of policy that anyone who did one of the earlier ACCs is entitled to receive the SHSBC gratis for this reason.
Just as anyone who has completed Class VIII can retread the course as many times as they want at no charge.
Not only that but coaudit their OT IV as well.
Of course that’s in policy as well.
Along with the one about anyone who is dissatisfied with any service is entitled to a refund but it seems that mysteriously or not so mysteriously they no longer honor those policies anymore.
Sorry Jeff I’m on a roll here but I should be shutting down shortly.)
One of the reasons that the lil’ CICS FOLT can get away with this is through misapplication of the PL Tech Degrades.
This policy was mainly issued to prevent auditors from quickying grades and rundowns on PC and Pre OTs which from what I’ve read about the quote new grades unquote at Flag is exactly what they are doing.
Just as KSW was reissued to hold a standard on technical delivery of Scientology within a Scientology Organization and really has nothing to do with the field per se.
This is covered in the RED known as ‘Superior *Org* (emphasis added) Image’ (something the so called FOLT obviously hasn’t read) that he and his team of reprobates AKA “Management” violated from day one of their lil’ coup along with the policy known as ‘Ethics and Franchise’ (which has been changed to ‘Ethics and Missions’ to get rid of that awful word and most of the policies relating to franchises as well but that’s another story for another time) among others that would take several pages to list.
Anyway any Scientologist who objects to re-releasing all this material and forcing it down the public’s throat is pretty much tarred with the brush of committing a heinous “Technical Degrade” (seems the only one who is allowed to commit Tech Degrades is dear leader himself) and relegated to “ethics” (been there done that) while all the koolaid drinking morons who buy…buy….buy….buy all this BS totally miss the outpoint of “added inapplicable data”!
Because none of these new (re) releases are going to bring the Orgs any closer to making any auditors since they are totally unneeded in the making of auditors!
That includes that stupid ‘track map’ you and I worked on many years back when I did a short gig with you at CMU with ya Jeff.
Honestly when I was tasked to do surveys on that so called “product” I went WTF???.
Did you feel the same way about it?
Okay so I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath for me to close off this comment Jeff and just stfu 😉
But all I gotta to say that if there is any data that *are* “historical” and “background” it’s almost all these lectures that are being re released!!!!
You don’t need them to become an auditor!!!!!
There I’ve committed my “suppressive act” for the day 🙂
Now wait just a minute here! With “whole track recall” shouldn’t the Scientology OTs be “remembering” even more advanced technology that this planet doesn’t know of yet?
Jeff,
As always, you are spot on! The cult probably thought it was getting a “great deal” on that film equipment in the 1990’s…while the salesmen (selling it to them) were laughing all the way to the bank. Ditto again in 2002 for the CD equipment.
In fact, it has probably spread throughout the industry, that the cult is an easy “mark” for outdated equipment that can’t be unloaded anywhere else.
So much for homo novis, eh?
You can lay all of these strategic marketing gaffes at the feet of you-know-who. Great to see you yesterday, Jeff. Really enjoyed it.
Iheard that they are going to release the PDC lectures on eight track soon, is that true?
Well Jeff,
I actually do remember when the Church was on the cutting edge.
For instance the first E meters developed by Voley and later by my friend Don using solid state components when most electronics were still using tubes in the late ’50’s.
Before that Don used high tech recording techniques to record the original PDCs and many of the Washington lectures.
Also Dianetics itself and later Scientology were ahead of there time compared to anything else out there.
Then of course there was Clear sound and the Theta amp in the late ’70’s early ’80’s that could blow the speakers off anything currently available on the market back then.
You realize of course that SIR was way ahead of its time.
I mean basically a data base of all Scientology material with access by Date, Title, Topic, Relevant Phrases, etc that came out in the early ’80’s along with Streamlines and Incom.
Yet none of this technology was ever put into broad use.
Instead we have Dave living in the past stuck on the back track in some whole track incident building a B&M Bookstore while most of them are closing their doors and pressing CDs when iTunes rule.
What an idiot!
Especially this MK (VIII) Ultra fiasco.
An ironically apt name for this monstrosity built with serial ports about the time when the world was switching to USB.
No wonder people like us who left are not walking but running to the nearest exit.
What will that moron think of next?
*New Release!!!!!
*Gramaphone editions of all LRH lectures on vinyl!!!!!”
RJ, you wrote: “I mean basically a data base of all Scientology material…”
Was it *all* the material or was it just the policies? And did it include all the content, or just the titles?
Either way, it’s certainly ironic that the group with perhaps the most “bleeding edge” technology in human improvement at its fingertips has an organization with such a lost leadership.
Well Marg,
Actually when SIR was initiated it was supposed to contain *all* HCOBs, PLs, REDs, PABs, DABs etc. plus any transcriptions from all the lectures which was partly the reason for the “Tapes to Books” project that was started which later became known as the R&D series.
That’s why it was called “Source Information Retrieval”.
Actually dim wit Starky AKA Cap’n Morgan as Executor of Trust B was supposed to be in charge of the project until he was side tracked by the quote Tech Restoration unquote project “supported” Davy from his post as MIC of MAC double hatted as COB ASI who was the one who “signed” as in forged autographed copies of various LRH (one’s that the Ol’man had never seen or heard of) “properties” and soft core porn rendering based on Ron’s fiction.
Anyway as far as I know much of the policy was uploaded and then its access was sold to WISE members who were either FODs as in “Friends of Dave” or where willing to pay some outrageous membership fee for the privilege.
So much for making Scientology quote available to the (as Dave likes to call ’em) “masses”.
Nice to see the “Church” starting off 2011 announcing an Epic Fail as a The Next Big Thing. With such massive waste being perpetrated by the organization, there won’t be many more New Year’s events left for their public to endure.
Really good point Jeff. I’ve recently checked your blog and I can tell that you see the situation well in your other writings as well.
I’ve also noticed it just when they came out with the CDs. I was a bit upset to store all those materials if I buy. You need to update your home with a whole room of LRH library when everything would fit including text (with translation of course and full dictionary) on a single iPad.
It is clear that the intention is not about disseminating the “tech” which is on the other hand is also outdated and unauthentic in my opinion (regarding the tech I agree with your previous writings on the subject).
Now, the E-meter. You can turn into an E-meter a computer or an iPad as well…
It is just ridicoluos how these top notch OTs buy the huge loads of nonsense ideas from the Church.
Despite their “education” in LRH “technology”.
Yeah! Couldn’t have said it better.
And you say: Despite their “education” in LRH “technology”.
Well, it might very well be BECAUSE of the disabling conditioning by their education in LRH tech.
Jeff, you say, “Apparently Scientologists outside the Church have already developed software that converts any computer into an E-Meter – you just plug the cans in to a USB port.”
Are you sure about that? I personally own a C-Meter from Ralph Hilton, a small box that plugs into a serial port and puts the image of the meter dial on the monitor, and it works fine. The software is downloadable free from his website but it won’t work without the box. The cans plug into the box. I know of similar meters, but they are all separate boxes.
What you state would be a great improvement!
Paul
Just as a technical point, using USB there is no way to eliminate the box. The cans give you an analog signal, and the USB port accepts only digital input. The translation has to take place outside of the computer. However, the ‘box’ could be pretty simple. All it needs is an analog-to-digital converter chip and the rest could be done with software.
I frankly have to take PC-based e-meters with a grain of salt. If there is one thing that an e-meter must be, it is real time, and Windows is not a real time operating system. I can just see doing an assessment on a list, or a CS/53 on a PC meter, and having the “needle” glitch up because the PC decided to run some extraneous background process or another – dirtying the needle, or missing the read.
But, I haven’t seen one – I’d love to hear of experiences with it.
I agree GH.
Putting a computer in series to what is basically a Wheatstone bridge is just asking for problems.
As far as I’m concerned they screwed up the meter when they added variable sensitivity to the Quantum.
Who needs it?
As far as I’m concerned you can get to a point where “improvements” or “advances” can be detrimental in some cases.
I mean something like Kindle’s cool until your battery goes dead just before you find out “who done it” or something.
Sure books may be old fashioned and all but they’re portable and they don’t require batteries.
@Grasshopper: I have nine C-meter videos online at http://www.youtube.com/user/esmbdof, which will show you the meter dial and interface in use. Just ignore the stuff there you don’t like. There are no obvious Windows comm-lag or other glitches.
@RJ: I have a Kindle 3 and love it. It’s highly portable, holds 3500 books, and the battery lasts a month and recharges by plugging into a USB port for a few hours. I use it every day. You can also read with one hand, which you can’t easily do with a book. 🙂
Paul
I was noticing these contradictions all the time while being in the Co$. And there are many others, very visible. One can’t see them only if he or she decides to be blind to what’s really going on. Unfortunately, I’ve recently witnessed a similar instance in the Free zone as well and I think it’s still not over.
Hi Jeff.
I couldn’t help myself when reading this. So… ummm…. why isn’t YOUR book on the kindle? I’m waiting!
🙂
Dennis
Touche! Caught me on that one. As soon as my business allows me a few extra minutes, I’ll be on it.
Sorry, my telex is on the fritz and I did not get this post until just now.
Did I miss anything?
LOL. We were using a telex machine in my Class IV/V Org in the US in the mid-80s to report stats et al. When did they stop using those (or are they still using them)? Anyone know?
Marg,
The PAC switched over to Merc in the mid 80’s but I think there where still US orgs reporting by Telex till the early ’90’s.
Anyone who was working the FCB and CLO would know.
So true. I remember getting suckered into buying an Scientology created bookkeeping software package that was being sold in the PAC area in the late 80s and I was shocked at how primative the product and packaging was. Of course, it was a program to get members into using scientology’s debit-credit bookkeeping system, away from the far superior industry standard and of no use to a business unrelated to scientology. I believe this was an INCOMM product. I felt guilty and embarrassed throwing it away but in my then-scientologist heart, I could not erase the memories of how the church was never able to keep up with technology and this wwas just another example.
It was an unspoken fact. Glad you posted about this. I got alot of chuckles reading it!
kathy,
As far as I know, INCOMM never directly sold software to the Scientology public. In the early 90’s a WISE company named “MasterTech” came out with a computer program which taught people how to use DOS. This program was originally developed inside INCOMM and then handed off to MasterTech for distribution. The development of this product was based on a LRH advice written in 1982 about putting the user in charge of the computer. Keep in mind that the IBM PC was released in 1982 and was a lot harder to learn than it should have been. The problem was that INCOMM’s product was about 10 years too late, and by the early ninties we had Windows and the Macintosh, which were significantly easier to use with their “point and click” interface (as opposed to a CLI – command line interface). It seems it was better in the long run to make software easier to use than to write courses on how to use something that was overly complex. LRH told Foster Thompkins in an advice that if he released such a product, that he would “have his paws on a billion bucks”. He was wrong; software marketing was not LRH’s forte.
In 1982 Time magazine named the personal computer as “the man of the year”. LRH commented on this in a computer advice and indicated that Time magazine must be up to something nefarious (based on LRH’s past experiences with Time magazine). They actually weren’t up to “no good”; LRH was just being his usual paranoid self. Don’t ask me how I know all this; I’m just a country bumpkin named “Jethro Bodine”.
DM: “Hey Tom! Check THIS out, man! It’s a new technology called an 8-TRACK that plays your favorite disco hits right through the speakers as you Cruise around in the bitchin’ Ford Pinto I got you last year with IAS money!”
I’ve just checked, there are lots of really useful medical programs for the iPhone. Seems that the “medicos” are way ahead of the Church.
Just an example:
http://www.imedicalapps.com/2010/04/washington-manual-of-medical-therapeutics-skyscape/
Miscavige probably hates any and all forms of digital media as it threatens his monopoly of being able to control the distribution (and revenues) of any and all LRH works, in the same way that the recording industry hated the digitization and easy “sharing” of the works of it’s recording artists. In a move that was eerily similar of $cientology, the recording industry started going after “sharers” of digital media, even sueing the mothers of teenagers for their kid’s alleged “sharing”. They must have learned this move from Moxon and company. Eventually the recording industry execepted the new economics of music distribution and we now have sites like the iTunes Music Store where you can legally (for a small fee) download tunes on a per-song basis. Of course the C of S wouldn’t like this scenario as it would prevent them from their usual overcharging, and of course it would prevent them from doing things like selling leatherbound collector’s editions of things. It’s always seemed to me that the church of $ was more focused on the packaging of media than the media itself. Most software I pay money for these days, if I pay money at all, for software is for digital downloads, not a pretty-looking box at a retail store. This is forward progressin my opinion because now one is no longer paying for distribution. I’m sure the church/miscavige could care less about finding a cheaper way to distribute things, since (historically) books, tapes and emeters have been charged way more than their production costs anyway. Gold has always been extremely inefficient from a cost management point of view. A $20 book in the non-scientology world costs avout $200 in the scientology, just because they can get away with overcharging. Besides, scientologists tend to be in the “this is church donation anyways” mindset when paying for boosk and materials. Thank god Gold can use slave labor or else they would have been out of business a long time ago. Just my two cents.
Unfortunately the cult is very much up to date when it comes to tracking down former members who want to be left alone. Some laugh about it, some use the opportunity to plant a seed of doubt, but there also people who are really unsettled by this.
Anyway, I wish everyone on this board a happy new year, and I’d like to express my gratitude towards Jeff for pouring so much time an d effort into this blog. It pays even less than slaving away for the Sea Org, but I bet it’s a lot more rewarding.
CO
No one’s yet mentioned the 16mm film to laserdisc project that came out about six months before DVDs totally overwhelmed laserdiscs which then totally went out of production about six months after that.
I still have a copy of the (ignored) letter I wrote uplines in 1988 to suggest using CDs, not cassettes, for LRH lectures. For me, the CD releases took about 17 years. I have it framed in my Scientology library as a kind of “badge of honor”.
I don’t remember the Laser Discs fiasco.
But you know there’s been so many since the new regime took over.
I’m not surprised you were ignored POT.
I mean look at our notorious blogger.
You know the man who put DMSMH back on the NYT Bestsellers list.
Now that’s gratitude!
Just consider yourself lucky you weren’t declared or unlucky as the case may be.
One thing these idiots don’t like is a buncha Cassandras like us.
There is only one acceptable response these days to any of the insane idiocies coming from the Church of Scientology’s diminishing Politburo.
And thats Yes sir!!!
Leading Edge suggestions for the church:
Tech Films: Put them all on a small computer, hooked up to a large high-def TV screen. Press a button to select the film to watch and a”start” button. There, that’s simple. Charge each org 350K for supplying the New System for their academy. Now, if this film computer is hooked up to a phone line, the Tech Films can be swapped out with updated downloads to replace the older versions that have actors in them that have left the church. (to solve THAT problem, explore using completely computer generated actors, or non-scientologist actors to show how to do metering and TRs.)
Books: After everyone has bought ten hard cover libraries, and then ten soft-cover libraries, issue LRH books on Kindle. After the massive Scientology Dictionary promised for so long has been released and everyone has bought 10 copies of it, and then 10 soft cover copies, release a special edition Kindle that has a touch screen, so that any word not understood can be touched and a pop-up opens with a definition. Now that’s some cutting-edge s**t!
Lectures: After everyone has bought 10 lecture libraries on CD, (or CD players are no longer being made, whichever comes first), release a special edition iPod with lectures on them. After you have sold everyone 10 of these, release a special edition kindle that plugs into a new even more special edition iPod so that the transcript scrolls along with the lecture. Damn!
MK VIII emeter: Go ahead and sell the meters, as they are, with the serial connector. Sell 10 to everyone. Then get some serial connector-to-USB adapters made and have them specially tested and “certified” by Gold. Sell them for 250.00 each to anyone owning or purchasing the new meter, and then make it a crime to audit without the approved adapter. There, problems into profits.