Re: media 100 should make hardware not software?

That's right Dave. We were still cutting our highest paying projects in an online edit suite running AMpex 1" VTR's, switchers and character generator that hadn't been manufactured or updated in many years. But we used the tools, produced beautiful images and saved up for the next sure thing, which was the Media 100 (considered FAST hybrid system, considered Radius Telecaster, considered Premiere on an SGI Indigo, and would have made whatever we got work for us. We even got a Speed Razor system on NT, but still used the grand ole 1" for the major work, because it was dependable, just like Media 100).
So, use what you have, and when you exhaust all possibilities, get something else. For what we do (cuts, dissolves, CG, animation, lots of quicktime movies for CD, realvideo for web) the Media 100 is just what we need. And like David said, we'll use it until it dies, just like we did with the on-line rooms, and by then, one can only imagine the fantastic possiblities.