Bradosaur

If you just want a copy for VirtualBox on Linux, you can download a VM from http://www.modern.ie/en-us/virtualization-tools . It's a demo OS license, but good enough for testing.

On MS's site, you can download VMs for use with an existing Virtualization Platform like Parallels or Virtual Box. The VMs are guest operating systems with limited trial time. MS's docs suggest you use your VM manager to roll back when time runs out.

With the USB key promo, you get a full license for parallels and a full license for Win8.

Yep, we plan to write a blog post all about it, and what we'll fix going forward.

Mostly what failed was outbound bandwidth. Users weren't getting the JSON response from the payment page, though sometimes the payments went through. Confirmation emails were very reliable, though, (thanks Amazon SES!).

MS may do another run of these, but we don't know. The other tools on modern.ie are genuinely useful too. We tested Swish using browserstack to resolve a thorny IE8 problem.

To be fair, the headaches today were our (Swish's) fault, not Microsoft's. If MS decides to run another set of these, we'll make sure we are better prepared.

Unless you mean the disabled "I'm a developer" button -- that was intentional and supposed to be fun.

Fortunately, it sold out before that became a problem.

We upped the number available by 10% after it sold out, but then it sold out again in a few minutes. It's sold out for good now, I promise.

We have international shipping too for this promo. Click the "International" button in the shopping card on the Shipping line. A Country field should pop up.

I'm pleased to see that slickdeals and fatwallet both have threads about this deal, but no one has spoiled the puzzle yet.

Create an account with the same email you checked out with.

We wanted to make checkout easy, but maybe went a little too far. I'll add some more language to the confirmation email explaining what's going on. Thanks for posting the solution.

Nope, you just have to solve a small easy "puzzle" to "prove" you're a developer.

When you list on Swish, you don't get the money until you deliver the product. Much like dealing with Target or Wal-Mart. If it never shows up, shoppers automatically get refunds after 1 year. This also really changes the incentives for creators... only list if you're sure it'll succeed.

Some creators need the money up front, but most don't. (Creating the prototype was comparably expensive, and they found a way.) Once you have the Purchase Order, it's a lot easier to get VC funding, a bank loan, or use friends/family/savings. If your project is very successful, you can deliver in batches and we will release your money accordingly.

One of the weird things about Kickstarter is that every product needs to explain why they need the money, even the ones that don't.

I thought that blog post didn't live up to the title. It mainly said two things: 1) no renderings and 2) no offering multiple quantities, and they're not even enforcing the second part (Lace Anchors, eg).

The post itself says, "The new guidelines only apply to [projects] that are developing new products ... that backers are expecting in their mailboxes." They're not disallowing such campaigns at all. But we are offering an easier alternative.

[Edit: clarity]

I am so embarrassed. I had fixed it on the other WP theme, but then switched themes to F2. Thanks, it's fixed now!

Kickstarter never intended to be a place for pre-orders. But it's hard to deny that a lot of campaigns treat the plaform that way. We think it's amazing and wonderful, but Kickstarter doesn't really want it on their platform (though they're not fighting very hard, see eg the Almond+... a story for a different day).

Both consumers and sellers want these transactions to happen, and we want to (eventually) be the best place to list. But for now, we're starting by being the best place to shop.

This isn't some grassroots action lead by startup CTOs across the valley. This is just a lawyer searching for a lead plantiff. I find the site rather misleading, and ultimately trashy. (Disclaimer: I am personally opposed to class action lawsuits.)

If I go with an in-Wordpress solution, it'll probably be Disqus. I initially liked the idea of having a clean troll-less page for users who don't care about commenting. Maybe this is just vanity. I also like having the entire discussion in one place, instead of a thread on HN and another thread on my blog.

Just because something is good for my business, doesn't mean it's good for society. SEO (beyond actually making your site more valuable) is a classic prisoner's dilemma.

Thanks for the input! We're AJAXing in the product data, and then the browser fetches the images from CloudFront. I'll add a spinner asap.

How did you engage them? Do you know someone? When I got rejected I just got a form with a few characters to explain why I wasn't violating the rules (they did not say which rule I was violating).

There are hardware incubators. Lemnos Labs is the one I can think of off-hand.