QMicra SFF Case

M4rk said:
Sounds like fun. How about anyone after Dworley? ;)
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We're not totally comfortable with the idea of multiple reviewers. It could take too long and there's a greater potential for the case to get beaten up. We're sure Mr. dworley will do a good job for everyone.

-pcdlab
 
Okay, looks like I'll just have to bide my time till this goes retail.

Btw, just a little tip-off for everybody in this thread, I'm starting a review site that focuses exclusively on cases. Yes, just computer cases. I should have it up and running by this summer. :cool:
 
pcdlab said:
It appears that Mr. dworley has been chosen to do the review of Qmicra. (That was quick!) We think he is a good choice as well so congrats! Next we will be contacting the HardOCP guys to discuss their involvement.

-pcdlab
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I am really looking forward to this opportunity to evaluate the QMICRA and will do my best to represent the [H] SFF forum and provide a thorough review!

Thank you!!!!

-Dave
 
Omg, Dworley has revealed his real name!

...Oddly enough, he shares my father's name... :eek:

Good luck Dave! Do you think you would be interested in writing for my upcoming site? ;)
 
I have contacted HardOCP and their CEO does not approve of us discussing our product with you in their forum. We have different opinions on this subject but since this is his website... nothing more needs to be said. We will be continuing this discussion at another location and keeping our promise to have Mr. dworley review the case. We apologize for any inconvinience that this may cause.

-pcdlab
 
This is just stupid...this is our group project not an advertisement. I understand that this is not my forum but come on...so some mercy!
 
pcdlab said:
I have contacted HardOCP and their CEO does not approve of us discussing our product with you in their forum. We have different opinions on this subject but since this is his website... nothing more needs to be said. We will be continuing this discussion at another location and keeping our promise to have Mr. dworley review the case. We apologize for any inconvinience that this may cause.

-pcdlab
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This is a lie. He was never told anything close to that. I asked this man some hard hitting questions. And he is folding tent and leaving quickly.

He starts TELLING me how our forums are reviewing his product, and how I need to take advantage of his offer. I have never heard of these guys, have no idea of the funding behind them, and have never been introduced to their products.

He has done all of this and has never contacted me in the past. Then tells me how the person in our forum is reviewing his product...on our forums, and how they live close to my office and I should take advantage of the opportunity to go see his product.

A few forum posts and a cobble-together website, a company does not make. This all smells fishy as it gets, and sounds like one or two guys with no money, looking to leverage YOU GUYS and our forums to advertise their product.

So ask yourself, do you want every fly-by-night company to come in here and start beating on you? Dave LaLopa has given me no other reason to think anything else about his company. He can come in here and try to make me look like the bad guy, but the fact of the matter is, if I allowed every company to come in here and use these forums as their own, it would be a cesspool of commercial trash.

As of writing this, he still has yet to tell me why would should even give him a minute of our time.
 
I get your point Kyle, but why not give QMicra a chance? They're a new start-up, and they haven't actually tried to sell anything to us yet! In fact, each time we say we want to buy their case, they tell us to wait for pictures of it!

Besides, a couple bucks for shipping won't kill us. And if Dworley actually does live close to [H] offices (I assume your house, lol), why not meet up and do a tagteam-review? Don't you think it's time that reviews started getting more personal and less abstract? At the worst, you'll get some notice for a new style of review!

...Oh god, there went my crazy idea for today! :rolleyes:
 
Purely my opinion, but...Im with Kyle on this one wholeheartedly. Their website leaves much to be desired. IMO, the case doesnt sound that great. Ive been following this from the OP and it seems like some kid with an idea is fishing for comments and suggestions for making his "dream" come true. The word "fishy" has been on my mind a couple times in this thread. If everything is legit, even though the company may be small, this is definately the wrong way to get it started.
 
M4rk said:
I get your point Kyle, but why not give QMicra a chance? They're a new start-up, and they haven't actually tried to sell anything to us yet! In fact, each time we say we want to buy their case, they tell us to wait for pictures of it!

Besides, a couple bucks for shipping won't kill us. And if Dworley actually does live close to [H] offices (I assume your house, lol), why not meet up and do a tagteam-review? Don't you think it's time that reviews started getting more personal and less abstract? At the worst, you'll get some notice for a new style of review!

...Oh god, there went my crazy idea for today! :rolleyes:
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Feel free to set up your own forums and invite all the commercial companies to come in an exploit it.

Had these guys spent one minute telling me about their product and their company, instead of how they are using my forums for their R&D and advertisement and how I need to be a part of it, and am "first on their list," I might have given them a chance.

These guys are idiots at best, scam artists at worst. They are simply using you under the guise of a "group project." A project that will never net you anything. He is already lying to you. Dropping hints about how the review unit will be free in these forums, but tells me explicitly how it is to be returned.

Honestly, it sounds like a guy with a few bucks trying to do something that he simple does not have the capital to undertake. I have seen it before, I will see it again. This aint my first rodeo. And it never winds up good.

And to close, I live in Dallas, and am not driving 200 miles to see a 1-off prototype. Ask to see all of the units opened up on a pallet....you will never get a picture.
 
I don't really understand Kyle's and PaHick's pov. Even if it is some kid I don't understand how there is advertising involved. Seems like there has only been suggestions being put out, and request for feedback/suggestions not "omg buy this". PCD has stated several times that they won't sell and it wouldn't be beneficial to sell right now as the price would be quite high. Doesn't seem like any money is involved right now. Then again, I just read Kyle's last post, and even though I don't always agree with his thoughts ;) I understand him much better now, this guy hasn't even shown pics yet :eek:
 
And also when I invited him to give me a call on the telephone to discuss his project, he did not hesitate to volunteer to leave. To be perfectly clear, he was never asked to do anything in regards to posting on this forum, I was simply asking him questions and telling him why I was asking them.

He no longer has access to his account after he lied above.
 
sabrewolf732 said:
I don't really understand Kyle's and PaHick's pov. Even if it is some kid I don't understand how there is advertising involved. Seems like there has only been suggestions being put out, and request for feedback/suggestions not "omg buy this". PCD has stated several times that they won't sell and it wouldn't be beneficial to sell right now as the price would be quite high. Doesn't seem like any money is involved right now.
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I agree with this...we kind of volunteered our input and we aren't forced to do anything. Once he starts doing other various things trying to sell the product then I do see a problem.

However, this isn't my forum so do what you want I suppose.
 
And to close, I live in Dallas, and am not driving 200 miles to see a 1-off prototype.
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Wait..Dallas? Why does the website say Rochester New York?..surely that isn't 200miles away
 
Steeeeve said:
I agree with this...we kind of volunteered our input and we aren't forced to do anything. Once he starts doing other various things trying to sell the product then I do see a problem.

However, this isn't my forum so do what you want I suppose.
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Does anyone think anything good can come of a company that comes to a forum looking for opinions on how to layout their project? This all seems like more of an idea someone has to build a school project than be a entrepreneur trying to break into the business. Ask yourself, if you were a business, who would you be in contact with on planning a build? It sure as hell wouldnt be a forum. If the company just wanted to get the word out on their product, dont you think they would have a couple cases "mocked up" and ready to show? I would think so. And if this was my company, I wouldnt build a prototype for some stranger on a forum to review. I mean doesnt any of that, which is so basic, make any sense? :confused:
 
PaHick said:
Does anyone think anything good can come of a company that comes to a forum looking for opinions on how to layout their project? This all seems like more of an idea someone has to build a school project than be a entrepreneur trying to break into the business. Ask yourself, if you were a business, who would you be in contact with on planning a build? It sure as hell wouldnt be a forum. If the company just wanted to get the word out on their product, dont you think they would have a couple cases "mocked up" and ready to show? I would think so. And if this was my company, I wouldnt build a prototype for some stranger on a forum to review. I mean doesnt any of that, which is so basic, make any sense? :confused:
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I guess time will tell
 
PaHick said:
Does anyone think anything good can come of a company that comes to a forum looking for opinions on how to layout their project? This all seems like more of an idea someone has to build a school project than be a entrepreneur trying to break into the business. Ask yourself, if you were a business, who would you be in contact with on planning a build? It sure as hell wouldnt be a forum. If the company just wanted to get the word out on their product, dont you think they would have a couple cases "mocked up" and ready to show? I would think so. And if this was my company, I wouldnt build a prototype for some stranger on a forum to review. I mean doesnt any of that, which is so basic, make any sense? :confused:
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Actually, I would ask for ideas from a SFF forum since the case will be catering to them. Makes sense in my book. And they actually had it for the most part designed, just took some bits of advice for changes here and there.
 
Woah an interesting ingredient has been added to this soup. My initial inquiry was to find out if the SFF community here had heard of these guys or their case. I see there intent is on too small a scale as this is the only way a company with a sure-fire idea would fold. Either he is afraid of the "infinium" treatment (which was well deserved IMO) or he realizes he doesn't have the backing either in this company or in R&D to "show" us a mock up or a pallet full of cases.

Interesting argument from both sides. I for one believe Kyle to be correct in this manner and I was surprised that this hadn't broken down previously. I am still excited to see that someone was capable of creating a project / product of this magnitude. I do hope these guys aren't a fly by night, but if they are I hope Kyle gets a hold of one of their cases for quakecon 2006 ;).
 
There are so few choices for us SFF enthusiats for any decent mATX cases - I was very interested to learn more about the QMICRA after Treyshadow posted. I am not satisfied with the designs of the SG01 or Qpack for running high end components, SLI or water cooling and want another option!

I'm glad pcdlab joined the discussion to keep us informed about their design considerations for enthusiats and the status of the initial unit. I never felt like they were using the forum for advertising. I had inquired numerous times about the possibility to buy just a case and not once did they contact me to sell me anything!

The only time pcdlab even contacted me directly was after everyone suggested that I was the one they wanted to check it out since they felt I would provide an unbiased, fair evaluation for the forum and could stress it out pretty thoroughly since I have had experience with numerous SFF's mods and one of the few mATX SLI MB's and a bunch of high end componets!

In my mind - that's taking a huge risk on their part since this is all out in the open and the forum members know from my previous posts that I will definitely stress this system out and call it as I see it [H] style ;)

Kyle - don't you have somebody here in Austin on staff or offices...I thought I saw that posted in articles on here? Anyway, It was actually my suggestion that I could drop by and bring the QMICRA for your guys to check out if they happened to send me one.
 
IDK, I'm still really interested in this. Kyle Did what he had to do, these are his/our forums and I really don't think he wanted us or his site being scammed under his watch. Steeeve, Wolfe, Dworley, we are all regular members here and I talk to most of you regularly and I say just side w/ Kyle on this he knows what he's doing. If Mr.Dave was being truthful...only time will tell, If this was a scam that just goes to show nobody can scam the [H] and that Kyle is a real badass up in the ranks with good old Chuck Norris. :p
 
Diffently though, 120mm fans are way better than 80mm fans...80's noise is so ear crentching and drive you up the walls type of sound, while 120s can be loud also but just by turning them down you have something that moves more air and is alot quiter, even then. if 120s where out of the picture then you have to make it possible to replace the 80s with 92, you can do the same with them...just my 2 cents
 
You guys already have my view on the subject, but if it was me in your position and I was really interested in this company I would have someone in the Rochester area check them out. You have the company address. Have a forum member in the area stop over and take a look. Just off-hand I think (cf)Eclipse is from the Rochester area(PM to double check). Im about 3 hours straight south of Rochester, but I havent the time. They should be located near the Village Gate Mall. Theres actually another company called Lab X Technologies at that same address in suite 302. So those are a couple landmarks to look for when finding this company.

The only way to know whats up for sure is to check them out personally, in person. Ask questions. On their website they state.......

For our employees, we offer extensive training, profit sharing, financial assistance for college as well as diet and exercise discounts to ensure that they are happy, healthy and can share in our success.

Some larger companys do not have such benefits. Maybe its the skeptic in me, but I would be making all kinds of inquiries before I got into it further.
 
Well this all seems irrelevant now. I concur with BlueChanell though. Only time will tell who was right and who was wrong. I never once thought Dave was a vetern business man, he seemed like a guy trying to start a new company...probably somewhat young (in 20s)...and just had a dream. We helped the guy out and there would be no loss if he was just lying to us. He said the case would be out in the next few weeks...if this is true then we will know what the truth is. Once again, not my forums though...soooo, who cares, its over now :)
 
You want to know about him so badly, call the friggin toll free number on his website. And just for the record, I gave him my phone number and have yet to hear anything from him. People with legit companies can answer tough questions. This guy did nothing but duck my questions and make it seem like I was a bad guy for questioning him.

Real companies step up. This guy did nothing of the sort.

Did he have some good ideas? Sure, many of the ones you gave him. But simply put, real companies do not conduct business in the manner he was attempting.

Also statements like these in relation to IP will make you realize just how out of touch this guy is with reality.

pcdlab said:
It would be very difficult to reporoduce our design cheaply but they can still take notes on some of our features such as the usefullness of having removable subassemblies and why airflow shouldn't be an afterthought with SFF systems. Anyway, we're prepared for it but hope we won't have to deal with it.
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Unless it is built out of some exotic material (which it will not be based on his price) do you really think it will be that hard to copy for a 20 year old Chinese trained engineer with a factory full of case manufacturing equipment to rip off your ideas? In this world you will need solid patents filed and the capital to bring forth the IP lawyers to protect your IP rights in these United States. "Hoping" it will not happen is a joke at best if you have any ideas at all that are worth copying.
 
Pretty much my thoughts also Kyle. Some of the statements here, and on their site prove how little thinking went into this "project". Business doesnt work this way. Its great he offered dworley the part of reviewing the case. Outside testers are as much part of R&D as anything else, but to have a stranger do the review, who could possibly steal ideas and patent them, isnt normal business. Proper etiquette pertaining to his deal with Kyle aside, everything else look amateurish to say the least. You dont go public at least until after a prototype is built and tested. And by tested I mean not "reviewed" by some enthusiast on a forum. I am really curious as to who this person is. If he is part of another company fishing for info. or if he really is trying to get this off the ground. If the latter is true, all I can say is WOW! And hope he takes an evening business course before he gets in too deep.
 
Sorry, I haven't followed this thread but just read the last couple of post.

I work in an R&D department for a medical device company and previously worked in the R&D department of an electronic manufacturing company. We use a lab notebook in our day-to-day work to record any engineering findings and ideas but we don't patent everything in our notebooks.

However, if an idea is deemed patentable in our notebooks, other engineers and my boss in the department will date and sign that page of the notebook. We will not file a patent immediately. We only file a patent when the idea is deemed profitable (not only patentable).

With that said, not every dated and signed ideas in our notebooks go to the patent office because they are not profitable. However, if these ideas sudden pop up in another product from another company we can still use our notebook as "prior art".

So, I don't understand what is the problem about letting a third party do product reviews...
 
im gonna have to agree with Kyle on this one. I'm glad that he's looking out for us and informing us of the situation. If PCDlabs was legit they would have provided Kyle with information or at least talked to him VIA phone, if I was an up-and-coming company I know that giving Kyle info would be the best move.

Only time will tell of what happens to the QMICRA but from now on im going to take any info I hear with a few grains of salt.
 
These guys called about an hour ago. I answered the phone, he introduced himself by name and never explained his position in the company, then went into a long monologue. He made sure to remind me that he had done "research" on me and quoted an interview where I said, that I can be an "arrogant prick" to those that deserve it. Then went on to tell me that he did not deserve it. Fair deal. He went on to tell me that they had nothing but a "ragged case" and did not want to show pictures. He explained that there were nothing wrong with his actions. He then went on a while longer and finally gave a break in his speech.

I asked ONE QUESTION. (And I actually have now forgotten exactly what I asked to be honest, but it was a fair and topical question about his company.) He went on to tell me why I was wrong in even asking and then went on start to tell me what else I have done wrong over the period of the last 12 hours.

I then explained to him that he still had not taken the time to tell me ANYTHING about his company or product and I did not have time to listen to his foolishness any longer. I honestly still have no idea what these guys intend to bring to market in actuality.

I then terminated the call with him asking for me to give him a chance and that I was out to do nothing but "crush him." :rolleyes:

As of writing this, he has sent another email in a "last attempt to see if we can work things out." He again has offered no information about him or his company. Apparently he has no type of literature to share or documentation to send. His attempt to "work things out" consist of me asking questions that I want to about his company but I must "promise to post {his} responses word for word" in my forum. (Yeah, we usually heavily edit interviews.)

Again, idiot at best, scam artists at worst, and in great need of PR guy. The only thing I am sure of is the latter.
 
This is what makes this a second rate company. Business etiquette is everything, and so far there hasnt been any. Whats starting to make me wonder is(no offense Kyle) why Hardforum? Seems to be an awfull big deal to them to get our attention. I see them no where else. The way they are dealing with it you would think Kyle Bennett is the greatest thing since slice bread(again no offense). They seem to be putting an awfull lot of faith in the [H]. But usually when you hit a snag, you move on. Again I see them no where else. Even though I have the kids this weekend, im really tempted to take a ride up there this weekend to check them out.
 
Hey guys, just want to point out a few things:

pcdlab said:
Hello All,
My name is Dave and I'm the designer/engineer of the Qmicra SFF case. We are always interested in hearing feedback about our products which is why I am here reading your posts and attempting to answer your questions.
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Designer/engineer .. not PR guy, not company spokesperson.. etc. I think he came here to answer technical questions primarily, which sounds correct. Google Qmicra, and there are very few results. The results consisted of this forum, another forum(which could not stay on topic) and a Newegg review. I wonder why he came here.

Secondly, we started the thread and he joined. It would be much more suspect if he created the thread.

Third, (as another member stated) we tried and TRIED to buy from them. No joy. The most we saw of the case(patent photo) was posted by the thread starter, not Dave@PCDLab.

pcdlab said:
We are a design, engineering and manufacturing company. We mainly create the product and then build it directly from orders we receive from distributers, retailers, OEM system builders etc. (We also do some retail but this is mainly to help pay the bills.)
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At this point, he is not posting anything else on this forum(suspended account). I for one will at least wait a couple of weeks for some sort of pictures or a press release before I go "pack of angry villagers" on them. Benefit of the doubt, innocent until proven guilty and all that.

All that being said, I thoroughly respect Kyle's point of view and opinion on the matter. It is your house, so to speak, and I am not trying to start stuff. I am just explaining why I think the guy may have decent intentions.


;)
 
In all my times spent on forums, I can honestly say that the only times I've ever seen a manufacturer out-right respond on any type of non-official forum, was for gaming forums. Occasionally, a developer would stop by (and we could certify they were who they said they were), just to give us some info about how a game was coming along, throw out some ideas they were considering to include and what the community thought, etc.

Even then, it was rare. Generally, I've only seen actual manufacturers/developers/etc. responding on the official forums.

That having been said, while a part of me would like to believe that he really did want to get some valid inputs from us, the facts provided by Kyle are just too much to ignore. The guy has lied, and Kyle proved it. To me, that's all that should matter. While it may seem innocent now, who knows how far this whole escapade could have gone. If even one person had been negatively effected, than Kyle wouldn't be doing his job.
 
ToastMaster said:
In all my times spent on forums, I can honestly say that the only times I've ever seen a manufacturer out-right respond on any type of non-official forum, was for gaming forums. Occasionally, a developer would stop by (and we could certify they were who they said they were), just to give us some info about how a game was coming along, throw out some ideas they were considering to include and what the community thought, etc.

Even then, it was rare. Generally, I've only seen actual manufacturers/developers/etc. responding on the official forums.

That having been said, while a part of me would like to believe that he really did want to get some valid inputs from us, the facts provided by Kyle are just too much to ignore. The guy has lied, and Kyle proved it. To me, that's all that should matter. While it may seem innocent now, who knows how far this whole escapade could have gone. If even one person had been negatively effected, than Kyle wouldn't be doing his job.
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It's not rare anymore. Arenanet did it for GuildWars, Monarch did it for their SLi mATX board.

Obviously PCDLabs, an engineer, doesn't know much about the company he works for. He knows about his project though. Perhaps you asking questions about his employer is sensitive, eh Kyle? Ever think of it that way? Like he might feel that his company is getting gyped by [H], not the other way around? Odd people think odd things!

...There went my crazy idea for today. Why is it always in this thread?
 
M4rk said:
Obviously PCDLabs, an engineer, doesn't know much about the company he works for. He knows about his project though. Perhaps you asking questions about his employer is sensitive, eh Kyle? Ever think of it that way? Like he might feel that his company is getting gyped by [H], not the other way around? Odd people think odd things!
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If that works for you, well, run with it.
 
M4rk said:
Nah, I'm trim enough as it is. Any more exercise and I might just keel over and die!

...You'd like that, wouldn't you? ;)
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I would. JP. How's your qpack treating you?
 
TheBlueChanell said:
I would. JP. How's your qpack treating you?
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Great, actually! I got my mobo yesterday and installed it. It's really lonely though, with absolutely nothing hooked up to it except my Liberty! I'm messing with the wiring and waiting for Paypal to move more case so I can buy two laptop drives. I have a special bay that will let me mount two notebook-size drives in one drive bay, so I don't have to give anything up! I'm trying to make my QPack into a desktop-beater, lol... :rolleyes:
 
Many companies use forums...Swiftech's Gabe does it from time to time.

This guy (dave) is obviously easily offended....thats fine, I don't think he is a PR guy. The case is still possible...All we can do is wait now :). It was fun while it lasted.
 
all we can do now is wat for the picture to come up on the site, which should happen sometime in the next few days...

Interestingly enough though I couldn't find any patent information registered to Qmicra or PC Design Labs at ustpo.gov. Why I say that is because the picture they use on the website is supposedly from their pattent application, "patten view" as they call it. So either the patents are registered to an individual or nothing has really been worthy enough in their lab book to profitably patent (assuming they have a lab book that they record their R&D to as well).
 
sure can't blame the boss at [H]ard from filtering out the possible comercial jackals so they don't turn the site into a spam fest but I wouldn't bust the QMicra guy's balls for trying to put the best possible spin on something he believes in either.
I'll bet you could go back and find a time when Bill Gates was just birthing his Microsoft plans in his garage and he talked it up like it was going to be some world power....
 
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