[Sam_Odio]

When I read these comments I'm left wishing we could be a more supportive community when peers try something new. I hope we can find a way to support Niko.

It saddens me that many engineers don't start projects for fear of embarrassment from forums like these.

My first startup failed for all sorts of legitimate reasons. My second startup sold to Facebook for millions. And all of them sounded like a bad idea at the start.

Let's not be a modern slashdot and miss the forest for the trees. What if Niko or someone here is successful? How will history judge the incessant critiques?

No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.

[quickthrowman]

It’s a dangerous kit. There are no mounts included (zip ties don’t count) and the demo image on the website shows a panel sitting on a window ledge. Seems like a good way for a panel to fall and injure/kill somebody. Real solar panels installed on a home are bolted to structural members of the home so they can resist severe winds that happen yearly (60 mph+)

“Move fast and break things” is dumb when it comes to electricity or physical products that get mounted on the exterior of a building, and there’s nothing wrong with calling someone out for failing to take safety into account. It’s a huge oversight.

[mikestew]

When I read these comments I'm left wishing we could be a more supportive community when peers try something new.

I've posted a critical comment to this thread, and I wish I could have been more constructive, too. But I am willing to risk ending up in the "iPod critic" bucket. We are being supportive by saying, "you better fix this shit". Because we as a community should not ignore safety issues, for instance. How supportive is it to let Niko sell this and then get the shit sued out of them because someone took their advice of sitting a rigid solar panel on a window ledge? How supportive is it to let ad copy ride that claims that weeny battery will run a fridge? How supportive is it when Niko asks, "why didn't anyone mention this?" and we all shrug our shoulders and say, "didn't want to be critical, bro."

"Constructive criticism" is a thing. I hope that my criticism was constructive. But even if it is not, I will not paint over issues with false praise.