[efoote868]

I wholeheartedly welcome it. This year I'm leading programming/electronics, and this is the second year in a row in which we have more than 4 programmers. This means that we can effectively give people specific tasks.

This year, the programmers will also be given their own drive base. This will allow us to test and tweak a huge amount more, instead of the typical 3 days from ship, "Get it done!".

With easyC becoming a viable option for many new teams, I don't think a longer autonomous with better goals, more points, etc. will tip the teams more, in fact, it'll make it more equal. I don't know, lets wait and see what FIRST churns out.