I wonder if BFL is doing samples because they no longer have the cash to pay for a full production run.
If they are making changes to the chips (the only non-cash reason I can think of (without coffee) for still doing sample runs) then they still have to pay for a new mask and full production run. Those are pricey, and BFL may have burned all it's cash.
After all, top flight product managers don't come cheap!
![Grin](https://bitcointalk.org/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
Chances are very good that there'll getting low on cash, for legally they can't touch a single penny of the pre-order dollars until they start shipping out en mass.
Isn't there a single entity that can be contacted to audit their books to make sure the funds are still safe in case all moneys needed to be returned?