This is a pretty good example of why software should be released early and often. They managed to destroy all their momentum with an 18 month long development cycle.
You have to wonder what their primary goal was. Perhaps they pursued their primary goal (a modern Unix with elegant internals) very intelligently and diligently and hoped that their secondary goals (users, developers, and influence) would materialize as a result. Or perhaps their primary goal was to win acceptance for their idea that Unix internals are crufty and deserve rethinking -- and perhaps they achieved that goal.
If winning users and developers was their primary goal and not just a secondary hope, then they got spanked and sent home, but I don't get that impression from the interview.
