FWIW, sales through places like Circuit City still do not appear to include the
reuqirement for a service contract, and the modifications that Netpliance
asserts haven't been seen yet, nor are they likely to be significant to a
dedicated person wielding a soldering iron :-)

Jeff's reference to slashdot.org is a good one - this is getting far, far
afield of vanagons...

ed

Jeff Taberski wrote:

> Beware!  Netpliance has just changed their policy...I read this on
> www.slashdot.org site.
>
> A quote from the i-opener site:
> "By purchasing the i-opener you are agreeing to use the i-opener Internet
> service. The fee is $21.95 a month and will be billed approximately 2 days
> after the i-opener is shipped to you.
>
> i-opener Internet appliances shipped after March 20, 2000 can no longer be
> reconfigured in the manner described in recent reports. Modification of the
> i-opener in any way is in violation of our terms and conditions."
>
> the link:
> https://secure.netpliance.com/store/index.asp?user_GUID=BD8279E1-2337-4F8D-9
> D8B-F663FEBB884B&user_GUID_session=BD8279E1-2337-4F8D-9D8B-F663FEBB884B&acti
> on_type_value=
>
> Thought you guys should know...
>
> -Jeff Taberski
> no vanagon...yet.
> Looking for a Westy in Indiana...
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <KENWILFY@AOL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 9:54 PM
> Subject: Ordered an I-opener tonight! (van content)
>
> > Went to the local Circuit City that actually had a Netpliance I-opener for
> > display.  All of the other stores I called (4) didn't have one and had a
> > pretty long list of folks waiting for these.
> > This unit looked as good in real life as it does on the website.  The
> screen
> > was crisp and the mouse thingy built into the keyboard worked pretty well.
> I
> > decided to go ahead and buy one.  Circuit City said just give them $20 and
> > they would order one for me.  I decided to do this instead of buying from
> the
> > website since this would save my shipping costs and paying for one month
> of
> > their internet service (which I didn't want anyway).  Total cost is
> $105.99.
> >
> > I am really interested in using this computer (after some slight mods) to
> > play MP3s in my van and for GPS (as some other folks are also planning).
> I
> > would eventually like to use it to display some virtual gauges (see my
> posts
> > a few months ago about my dream gauge setup).  I don't see why I couldn't
> > also use it (along with a special hookup) to send emails on the road via
> cell
> > phone!
> >
> > If you are interested in this beast it is supposed to stay at $99 until
> > Father's Day, at which point it will increase in price to $199.
> >
> > Just wanted to share,
> > Ken Wilford
> > http://www.vanagain.com
> > John 3:16
> > Office (856)-765-1583
> > Shop (856)-327-0027
> > Fax   (856)-327-2242