@solicitous
thanks for the link to astak's source code web page! i didn't know they had it up on their site. i knew that jinke had uploaded it, but it seemed to be out dated and the site was a pain to navigate, plus virtually no documentation. i will have to look into astak's sources more when i have time.
the cost of shipping puts a bit of a damper on my hopes of owning this device asap. oh well, i guess i waited since march, i can wait to save up a little more
and personally, i don't care much about colors, i think black suits this type of device best anyways.