What Gary said in the past is of no use to anyone, it can't be changed....
What he says & does in the future is of greater interest, and can be changed accordingly with feedback and input from enthusiasts that will determine the longevity of the company.

CORRECTLY designed SMD boards don't fail, but pinny-boards make the mistake of always combining high current drivers with low power cpu control i/o on the same board, a big no-no, and the board will inevitably burn out.

I've built many SMD controller boards that drive a remote high-current boards (motor control etc) and these have lasted 20+ years and still going.
I use the same techniques in my own pinny designs with absolutely no failures, so i don't see why Stern can't follo.
A pinny in the future could potentially have 1 board and knock 50% off the price too.
If i can do this at home, then why can't a well established pinny factory do it?

Crybabies fear SMD technology, but SMD is really nothing to be scared about, and only the inexperienced will bag it & fear it, until a day comes when they soon realise how easy SMD is and FAR cheaper too.

.....and following on, no board should ever exceed $100, the whole $400+ pricetag for a board is absolute insanity.

2cents...