What about the Products?

8. We've been hearing a lot on Usenet and message boards about specific individuals and employees being blamed for Hercules' downfall. Any comments about that?

Embezzlement and mismanagement rumors are false. People wonder why we weren't able to ship out our Dynamite TNT2 ULTRAS in a timely manner. Chip/Board yields were not a problem. Component availability issues were a minor problem. Financial issues were a major problem.

9. Regarding the Dynamite TNT2 Ultra - was this in any way a make or break product for Hercules? Did Hercules' inability to ship the card in any way related to its current situation?

The Dynamite TNT2 Ultra was our "make" product. Hercules' financial situation contributed to our inability to ship products in a timely manner.

In regards to these two questions, we have a pretty good idea of what might have happened given Hercules' already tight financial situation. Many vendors work with big distributors to place and sell their products. In this business, it's not uncommon for such distributors to post payments anywhere from 30 to 90 days after actual purchase. Additionally, it is standard practice at some distributors to pay for units sold, rather units purchased (and some policies we've seen are even more outrageous!).

Couple this along with tardy payments, and we can begin to see a monetary deficit build up as the company has to ship out more and more cards, and not receive enough money to even cover expenses. Of course, this isn't official policy for most distributors, but in any business situation, it can easily turn into a case of the bigger guy pushing the small one down.

10. Would on-time shipping of the Dynamite Ultra TNT2 have prevented the company from going under?

The demand for our TNT2 line was tremendous, exceeding our forecasts.

11. How many Dynamite TNT2 Ultras does Hercules have on-hand or sitting in warehouses?

I can't comment on that.

This is probably one of the big questions on people's mind. Since Hercules was gearing up for a big production run, it's likely that thousands of completed or partially completed boards are sitting around in a warehouse somewhere, listed by the court as "liquidable" property to help pay off creditors. What's left to be seen is how they will be liquidated. They might be sold to another vendor who could parcel out lots to distributors, but of course, this is mere speculation. Any entity willing to take the boards would probably have to assume responsibility for support and service as well.