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I like the concept. Having worked around CNC stuff before, and making many repetitive cuts trimming hundreds of homes this idea had crossed my mind. But.... would it save time over what we do now on our crew? I doubt it..Not with having to enter manually with a keypad and wait for the stop to move. Then there is the issue of transport. We are looking at ways to work more efficiently with less tools to size down our truck and trailer to save fuel. So something like this would have to really be a time saver to earn a ride to the job site. I think a setup with a plain ruler or a digital readout that would read like a tape and a solid stop on a ball bearing slide that you move manually would be faster and cheaper. If they came out with a 16' version that folded down to 8' and would take measurements by voice command I would be much more interested.

I think modern tools for the most part are better. One thing I have noticed is how some companies are giving lifetime warranties while their tools are built with cheaper parts. I think they can do this because most of their tools sold out of the big box stores these days wind up being expensive garage decorations. I know guys that go through a compressor every year or so from Home Depot. They get replaced for free so they think they are getting a deal even with the unplanned trips to Home Depot. One masonry contractor I know went through 3 or 4 in one year. We had a Rigid compressor for a couple days. Took it back because it would creep across the floor on its own. Been running a Makita mac700 for 5 years now. There is a very big difference in the longevity of different tools in the same price range. It's all about marketing these days and the tool companies know this. We have to do homework. I always research every tool purchase on internet. Reviews on Amazon.com have been helpful. The problem I have with many tool tests is that they test tools head to head when brand new. This has little to do with how tools are doing after 1 or 2 years of heavy use.

A head to head coparison would be sweet! I would like to see you guys disassemble the tools after you are done (after some really heavy use) and show us what kind of parts are inside too! Metal gears or plastic? ball bearings or nylon bushings? Heck, maybe get a mechanical engineer in on it? I know it would tick off some of your advertisers but if they want to market a tool as being "profesional" then maybe they can put some "profesional" parts in it!

Recently I saw a guy show up on a job we were on with a brand new Ridgid Compressor to have it break down on the first day of use! And that was the replacement for the first one that broke on him!?! Said right on the unit "Four times the life of competitive compressors" He took it back and showed up later with a Husky because the guy at Home Depot said it was better than the Ridgid??? This guy is trying to make a living and dosn't deserve that. None of us do. Seems like with the big box stores marketing our tools to the masses quality has been going down hill in some areas. From my experience there can be drastic differences in longevity from one "pro" brand tool to another. We even have had identical brand tools where the newer one will fail first and you take it apart to find China bearings while the old one has Japan bearings still running smoothly. Every brand seems to have some good and bad. Thing is, unless you use a tool every day for a year or two you may never know if your tool was designed to look pretty in a garage or actually do work. I think some companies are being very sucessfull cheapening up their tools to supplement their marketing and waranty budgets. If you get free parts and batteries for life it has gotta be good...right? Well for the small percentage of purchasers that use power tools for a living the down time can get very expensive and aggravating, believe me.

Correct me if I am wrong but Makita has had one of these out for well over a year. Makita hybrid driver model #BTP140. http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?ID=20207

In the past we have not had good luck with Bosh tools as compared to Makita and Dewalt. I for one don't see the value in owning one of these from any manufacturer if it costs almost as much as the separate tools do. Unless, you have VERY limited space to store or transport tools.