TouchPad OTA Update: MIA or Just SOL?

Now that we're at July 24, deep into the "shortly after" of the HP TouchPad's July 17 official launch and approaching the "by the end of the month" promise from HP, who wants take some action on the proposition that the OTA update will be MIA and we'll be SOL again?

I hate to be cynical and negative-sounding, but after a few decades in the business world, one develops a nose for the "horse hockey" -- borrowing a phrase from Col. Potter of M*A*S*H -- you hear from the Ruby-esque corporate types.

HP's soft launch/hard launch and shortly after/by the end of the month tapdances are the corporate equivalents of "the dog ate my homework". They're not ready. They don't know when they'll be ready... and are just trying to buy themselves some time to cook up the next tapdance.


So, what does this mean to those of us bought the TouchPad for what turned out to be the "on double-secret probation" July 1 soft launch and the "this time its for real, trust us" July 17 hard launch?...

I can faintly hear the Jackie Gleason/Ralph Kramden "Hummada hummada hummada" now from the direction of Palo Alto.

... Or is it, "August 15... Yeah... That's the ticket!" from Jon Lovtiz's liar character?

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Cynicism is an unpleasant way of saying the truth. -- Lillian Hellman

Bad taste is simply saying the truth before it should be said. -- Mel Brooks

Soft Launch???

I just heard that HP called the botched July 1 launch of the TouchPad a "soft launch" and announced that the real launch will be on July 17... Hhhmmm.

We -- the customers -- apparently never knew that Ruby had us on "double-secret probation". We are customers... We couldn't be trusted.

And now that Ruby has been pushed to the side of the road, it sounds like HP is trying to fix the mess... kinda.

Suggestions to Leo and the rest of the gang at HP:

Step 1 - Fess up in a straightforward, honest manner.
Step 2 - Really "make it right". The $50 offer/gambit you recently made to the owners of older Pre models is really nothing. Forcing previously abused customers to buy the more expensive TouchPad model in order to get the abuse "made right" is adding insult to injury. Let your abused customers experience the TouchPad at the level of their choice (16GB or 32GB). That's much closer to "making it right".

Hey, HP you're better than this! (... or at least you used to be.)