Well me and my buddy are starting a project of sorts. What we plan on doing is making "Game console". Based on the principal of the content delivery system of the phantom. Were not sure if were gonna sell these (actually positive since we dont have the money nor support)
The main unit is as follows: (I dont own these parts just yet)
Intel 810e Motherboard
Pentium 3 933Mhz
ATI AIW video card
4GB harddrive
256MB SD-Ram
I'll keep you posted with photos of my progress. Questions, Opinions and ideas wanted.

You should sell a few at cost (read: not for profit) to people to get a beta testing network going. Then take your results and create a list of improvements, and from that list of improvements form a business plan. There are lots of online tutorials on how to write a convincing business plan. From there, you can get some investors and produce some more units and start to expand your network.

Just my 2 cents.

Thats a great idea. Most people I talk to though are not willing to spend $150 on something they dont know about. I guess when I get my first one done, I can prove some people into buying a couple at cost. Also ive had one person close friend wanting me to put FEAR up on the main server. Im not sure if my curent connection can handle that. That will probably loose me a customer.

Tell him that if he wants to see it up there, he's gonna have to be patient. Make it seem like you're going to do that (even if you're not) but tell him that you need him and others to stay and help build up product confidence before you can get investment and expand your capacities.

Also, yes, I think that once the first unit is built, do some demonstrations. Build a website and get a friend to make a commercial for your product and put it online. People like to feel exclusive, so if you tell people that they can be part of a beta group, they may go for it, but they also need to be convinced you're not going to take their money and run.