I'm super excited about this!! I agree with those who have said that this is one of the best developments of late for this hobby!
I have read this whole thread, and to the question of backwards compatibility, I just keep thinking that at some point we should expect that Neptune will not be able to make every item backwards compatible for the classic (and by the way, I am a classic owner, so this issue directly affects me as well). In fact, as tech gets better, we should expect that yesteryear's models will be obsolete on pretty much any tech. If Neptune insists on making everything backwards compatible, then the hobby suffers because it is limited by what the classic is capable of. I say move forward. I'll also add that the classic is still perfectly capable of doing everything it did when we bought it, so it hasn't lost a single function... Assuming it was worth the price to us when we bought it for the control/monitor functions that it came with, there's really nothing we can legitimately complain about IMHO (since it does the job we bought it for).
To those who are trying to add the price of the Apex 2016 to the price of the Trident and say that the Trident's cost should be figured based on both units combined, that just doesn't make sense. No one figures pricing this way. If you're pricing Microsoft Office, no one tries (or should try) to argue that the actual cost of the software is whatever the software costs PLUS the price of the computer, or that the price of your new car stereo should be added to the price of the car to get it's "actual" price. I understand that some people are upset about having to upgrade, but the pricing conversation just doesn't make sense... For the cost of the Apex 2016 + the Trident, you get...an Apex 2016 and a Trident (not just the Trident).
To the question of having to buy a whole new Apex 2016 kit because the brain isn't available by itself, this is the first development that isn't backwards compatible, so I'd say hold the criticism for the moment, and let's see what Neptune does to allow easy upgrade for those who just want the brain unit. This item was just unveiled at MACNA and won't be for sale until Q2 of 2018, so maybe Neptune will take some steps in the meantime to make this an accessible upgrade.
That's my take on the great debate in the thread. FWIW, can we celebrate the accomplishment that this tech represents, and wait until
@Terence and crew are actually home from MACNA before passing judgment and sentence on their marketing of the device (particularly since it stands to reason that more info will be forthcoming between now and when the unit is actually available)?
