I don't understand the criticism. I've done a lot of work in real time image processing with FPGA's. This work, as I like to put it, takes "cubic hours". It is complex, expensive, requires real expertise and non-trivial development time. To have someone with twenty years in the field launch a project that will result in open sourcing the relevant technologies is nothing less than fantastic. Yes, it takes as long as the project originator requires, even longer.

This isn't web development. Sorry.

I really don't get the criticism about the lack of a board as part of the KS rewards. If you are doing FPGA development at this level, the cost of fabricating a board is a rounding error when compared to R&D costs.