Worldcom was around a lot longer and actually put out products and services for a time, expanding and bloating before filing bankruptcy and being absorbed by Verizon.

All after Worldcom's CEO going to jail of course. Phantom does have a steep uphill battle. I actually do hope they succeed as it looks like the crooks left and after reading the blog the folk remaining seem pretty decent.

At this point I see Phantom as underdog who I always root for.

The underdog of the keyboard industry? The Phantom game console was canceled in 2006 when Phantom Entertainment was still Infinium Labs. The only thing they've got coming out now is a $129 keyboard; that's one expensive dog.

This isn't the first time we've seen this, Worldcom anyone? Same good product, different management.

Huh? I wouldn't say Worldcom is that comparable to Phantom and its Lapboard. Worldcom was around a lot longer and actually put out products and services for a time, expanding and bloating before filing bankruptcy and being absorbed by Verizon.

At this point I see Phantom as underdog who I always root for. The name has a very shady stigma to it but the product they're pushing wants to outshine it. This isn't the first time we've seen this, Worldcom anyone? Same good product, different management. The reason I didn't buy a XBOX 360 was due to no mouse/keyboard support so I built a new PC instead. If MS was smart they'd partner or buy Phantom for the lapboard. I would have saved $800 if they had.

I can't help but be curious...what sort of person accepts the CEO position of a company that was so clearly running a scam for so many years? It'd be like taking over control of Bernie Madoff's investment fund, not to refund the remains to the victims, but to continue to run it as an investment fund.

This was always my question. The name of this company has been trashed so why even try to save it? Why not just shut it down and start up a new company with a new name and new people to make this lapboard? What could they possibly gain from continuing to run it in its current form with the history it has? There is still something about this operation that's fishy.

sometimes i really wish i had it in me to royally fuck people out of millions of dollars - its too easy its wrong, fuckin look at this

Personally, I'd be glad I was the morally righteous bastard right now. In this economy (well, for the US at least) there's a big headhunt for "overpaid" CEOs and other corporate officers who slip up or take too big a bonus.

How anyone could be so dumb as to give these guys donations boggles the mind. Oh well, fools and their money.

Probably the same sort of desperation you'll find in gambling addicts who've bet more than they have and dig themselves ever deeper.. Just ONE more hand and I'll win it all BACK!

Well, no actually. Most of it isn't legal. You have a legal responsibility to your shareholders to make good on your promises. Telling them you're going to be producing a product that requires X amount of capital to do is a contract. Failing to fufill that contract - particularly wilfully - is fraud. You can go to prison for that. It's the reason we don't see companies opening up everyday promising people the moon, blowing the money and fucking off.

This isn't the same thing as guarenteeing them a return on their investment, which no one is obliged to do, but you won't be in business long if you're actually making and your shareholders aren't. I don't know all the ins and outs of this case but it wouldn't surprise me if fraud charges were laid somewhere down the line. Just because it hasn't happened yet still doesn't mean it won't or can't later on.

Regardless, trying to move forward with this company brand/name is just bad business anyway you slice it. Just pull the plug already. How anyone could be so dumb as to give these guys donations boggles the mind. Oh well, fools and their money.

Ironically enough, most of the stuff the previous CEO did with phantom seems to have been legal. It seems to be legal to get all sorts of investment funds and then waste it on super expensive offices and furnishings and living expenses, and hiring buddies, and then do it again with new investers.
I don't have a problem with the legality of businesses destroying themselves, what I do have is a problem with the moron investers who keep throwing money at them after they have a proven history of wasting it. Don't any of them read any news about the company?

"An SEC filing also showed losses in excess of $62.7 million over three years, over half of which was spent on marketing the company and products which were never released. Over $24 million was spent on salaries and consultants, but only $2.5 million on development."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Entertainment

Consider that at least 1 of those 3 years occured after the hardocp expose of how the company was wasting the money.

And who knows how much more was wasted outside of those 3 years. Maybe $100 million all told? And all they have to show for it is 500 lapboards crossing the ocean right now.
If it is $100 million total, then thats a cost of $200,000 per lapboard. Even if its only the $67 million, thats $134,000 per lapboard. They are selling them for about $130 each.

Edit: this link says its $73 million as of 2007
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2007/06/true-infinium-stories-the-73-million-phantom.ars

This comment was edited on Jul 2, 2009, 23:44.

I can't help but be curious...what sort of person accepts the CEO position of a company that was so clearly running a scam for so many years? It'd be like taking over control of Bernie Madoff's investment fund, not to refund the remains to the victims, but to continue to run it as an investment fund.

The truly amazing part is that they appear to still have victims believers who are willing to donate cash, for whatever reason.

This comment was edited on Jul 2, 2009, 21:12.

That has to be one of the most depressing business Blogs I've ever read. Also brutally honest.

More so than the way it was before. From reading the blog they actually have the lapboards on the way out. Good for them! I may buy one for my brother for Xmas if they're available.

The old Phantom was more funnier

sometimes i really wish i had it in me to royally fuck people out of millions of dollars - its too easy its wrong, fuckin look at this

That has to be one of the most depressing business Blogs I've ever read. Also brutally honest.