I did a quick youtube search to see what videos are current around NETMF and our products. I found this is 6-year-old video showing a blink LED on embedded master! The process looks simple, and this is not even one of our FEZ (Freakin’ Easy!) boards!
What did I learn from this? I learned that there isn’t any decent videos highlighting how Freakin’ Easy development is with GHI Electronics products, but why?! Maybe we got too distracted with Gadgeteer? Maybe we were lost between open source and closed source? Maybe it was the stress of waiting for a clear message from Microsoft on the NETMF front? I still clearly remember when new users would come on this forum and say “thank you GHI, that was really freakin’ easy”. Why don’t we see that anymore?
Also, seeing embedded master reminded me of how committed we are to our commercial customers! Embedded Master was replaced with the drop-in replacement EMX (Embedded Master X), which was then replaced with the drop-in replacement G120E. We did fine when it came to SoMs and to commercial users but then we do not have the same story for makers. While all maker boards were FEZ to use, these boards were not compatible and there is no guaranteed longevity. That was fixed later, with FEZ Panda III for example. But I think more can be done.
What is even more amazing is how supportive this community has been throughout the years. I think we do owe an apology, not just with words but with actions. With a stable SDK and discontinued Gadgeteer, there no better time than now to take a deep breath, learn from our mistakes, and leap forward into a future where GHI is as awesome as it was in the “FEZ Panda days”.