Ed Monberg writes:
 
> I MUST (as one with product engineering and cost evaluation experience)
> throw in my measily two cents because I am greatly apalled at the truly
> amazing prices asked (and paid !!) for these quite simple - in concept, at
> least, improvements on the conventional microscope:
 
Ed and the others are right, of course, but most of us outside the realm of
engineering have neither the necessary knowledge, experience, or catalogs to put
together a machine on our own--much less write the software to control it
adequately!
 
Thus I make a modest proposal to whatever software and hardware geeks are
listening:
 
--Make up plans for constructing a home-made confocal with features comparable
to the Zeiss/BioRad/Leica instruments, using off-the-shelf parts.
 
--Write software that can control the machine and do the image processing and
image analysis tricks that we've come to expect.  Make it along the lines of
NIH-Image, i.e. simple to use but expandible to fit individuals' needs.
 
Sell the whole mess for $10,000, and (the essential point) key the software with
an EVE device so that it can't be copied.
 
Oh yeah, and cut me 1% of your sales...
 
--I think there's a market.
 
Martin Wessendorf