Ok, a suggestion was made to me at work that I'd like to hear opinions about. Right now, this beta test is looking to cost me a fair bit of money to get the first units produced. I'm happy to shell out the cash because I think it's vital to the development to get user experience and see what needs to be changed, if anything. However, this will stretch my own finances a bit when I should be paying bills. Some of you have already offered to preorder the kits to help support the development, something that was extremely gratifying, but I didn't feel comfortable taking anyone's money until I had made it a bit farther. I've said in the beta applications that the boards would need to be returned at some point, mainly due to the cost for me, however I would like to do at this point is offer a compromise.
What I'd like to do is put up a small indiegogo campaign to cover the cost of production for 20 beta kits. These kits will be offered with & without switches, and each kit would come with frosted keycaps for the backlighting. Basically, I'm looking at roughly $100 without switches, and $150 w/ blue, clear or black switches. This means that the prototype is yours to keep, and you'll still be able to buy a kickstarter/retail kit @ cost when they become available. I'm also looking at offering 20-30 sets of the clear frosted keys (in DSA) as well for $40 to help with funding as well. Would anyone be interested in this option?