I don't have one, but I couldn't resist a couple of comments.
A person could buy a lot of cheap pens and scoresheets with $359. Clearly, the Monroi won't be really popular until the price gets driven down through economies of scale. Until that time, I'll wait, thank you.
The latest issue that seems to have surfaced concerning the Monroi is the owner taking the unit with him when he visits the bathroom during a game. (This is clearly against the existing rules, which state that the scoresheet must remain at the board.) Understandably, his opponent can't help but wonder if the owner might be cheating with the unit in the bathroom. But also, understandably, the owner is reluctant to leave the unit at the board for fear of getting it stolen. It seems the only solution would be for someone to guard the unit during the owner's bathroom trip, which isn't always practical. (If Monroi were to add a security mount to the unit, the owner might be able to chain the unit to a table, but as I understand it, the units don't have these security mounts yet.)
I really don't think you have to worry about it getting stolen during a game. Spectators are supposed to stay some distance from the boards, and I doubt a player from another game is just going to go and pick it up. That and all the people playing their games will notice easily, also your opponent.
Well, "I" don't plan on having this concern any time soon. 😉
I do agree with you that it's not very likely to occur, due to the number of people in the area. But I still think there's a small chance of a theft happening. Maybe the spectators are controlled fairly well in the larger tournaments, but in the smaller tournaments I've been in, spectators are allowed to wander all over the place. And I think if a theft happened, it would have to be one of opportunity. The opponent would probably also have to be gone from the board (not too uncommon, as players often wander about the room after they've made their move). And the thief would have to know that he's taking quite a risk. But with the combination of the unit's small size and high price tag, a thief might just make the attempt.
BTW, I think I read that the name of the original buyer is permanently burned into the unit's memory and is printed out on all scoresheets. The fact that the original name can't be changed is somewhat of a security feature (assuming any potential thieves know that the name can't be changed), but that feature would also seem to reduce any resale value of the unit.
Originally posted by Crushing Daythis reminds me of something that IM Jeremy Silman said at the American Open last year when he first saw a monroi: "oh look a portable fritz!"
What stops a player from wondering what kind of "help" is inside the monroi? Someone messing with a PDA during OTB play would bring howls of protest (and it should) -- what is different about this? Why isn't there suspicion when the monroi is present?
Originally posted by Crushing DayWhen the unit is in the "Recording" mode, it's incapable of any analysis. So it's a simple matter for the opponent or TD to look at the unit to see that it's in that mode.
What stops a player from wondering what kind of "help" is inside the monroi? Someone messing with a PDA during OTB play would bring howls of protest (and it should) -- what is different about this? Why isn't there suspicion when the monroi is present?
I played around with one and I guess I really didn't see the point. The construction was unimpressive. I certainly wouldn't drop it, I'd even be worried about sitting it down too hard. It reminded me of one of those so called PDA's you can get for $20 at Wal-Mart. It's basically a scaled down Palm (512kB/4MB??) with a proprietary 'operating system' and wireless that only connects to the MonRoi hub. No address book, no calendar.
For the same price you can get a real PDA (well at least last years models) and Pocket Fritz. Why are they allowed and even endorsed. FIDE made some deal with Monroi and then the USCF did the same. A member of the Michigan Chess Association board started raising questions about the MonRoi in the USCF and other forums. First he was sent a kind of sideways legal threat from MonRoi. Then he received an offer(bribe?) of a free lifetime membership to the USCF if he 'changed his views' on the MonRoi.
http://s12.invisionfree.com/Michigan_Chess_Forum/ar/t291.htm
Now the gentleman in question is kind of a nut but he is honest and outspoken to a fault. Even after this the USCF still does business with MonRoi.
The end result of such spineless behavior by the USCF is that they have added new rules and ignored others to allow this $400 piece of junk in tournament halls. You are now not allowed to write your move down first which makes all the old timers soooo happy!
All that said, in conjunction with the receiver and TM software I can see where it is of use in feature tournaments for live broadcast. It seems they would sell a lot more units if they lowered the price to a more reasonable level, say $100-$125.
Originally posted by giantrobotYour one up on me, then. I haven't even seen one yet.
I played around with one
Concerning the high price, I'm sure it's a "Catch-22" situation - Due to the high cost of manufacture with low production numbers, they can't lower the price unless they can sell more units, and they can't sell more units unless they lower the price. (All manufacturers of new technology have this problem to varying degrees.)
Why is this endorsed by the USCF? Come on, Giant, you know the answer to that question - It's called advertisement revenue.
And I'm not convinced that the Monroi was the sole reason for the USCF's new Rule 15A (you have to move before recording the move), although I suspect that the USCF intended that Monroi would benefit from such a rule change. It seems to me that Rule 15A was poorly thought out and poorly worded, and it looks like a major backlash to the rule is beginning. I know my club TDs have indicated that they don't intend to even enforce the new rule. (Sort of the chessic equivalent to the "jury nullification" concept here in the USA.) Myself, I don't care one way or the other about Rule 15A. Expect the USCF to revisit this new rule in the not-too-distant future.