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May 13, 2005
Tight systems: A Star is Born, then explodes in a million tiny bits
Tight Systems was supposed to make the Taz 1, the dreamed of Video iPod device that was going to be like, way cool.
Well, that didn't happen. Nearly three years after CG mock-up pictures of the Taz hit the web, lack of investors has left the dream of Tight Systems and the future of the Taz 1 a relic of the past.
From time to time over the last couple of years Tight has popped up to try to raise some cash and find backing (waaaaay to late for that if you ask me). They have even done reselling for iPods and the DvxPod Video player.
I got a kinda random mailing from the CEO today. Looks like he has hit some really bad times and is pleading for help from any mailing list he can find.
In a nutshell, Macromedia is suing Tight Systems for the licensing fee for using Macromedia code in the UI for the Taz 1. Sure this never actually took place, but indeed Tight did sign a contract when they actually hoped to sell the device.
It's all pretty tragic. It reminds me of the chaos days in Boston at the collapse of the bubble when all those MIT graduates were getting their BMW's repossessed. A sad story, and a warning to to the overly optimistic.
Posted by Kakyou at May 13, 2005 11:58 AM