Well, like I said, they've only had to completely redo the laser and circuit board. The drip sensing and sound-card-based control are both still definitely in there. Putting new parts in it is the point of having a beta test. What point would testing serve if they were just going to send the first version of hardware out to buyers?

I'm actually wondering when the Beta testers will get those new boards and other parts to continue testing... Until then, this thread is pretty much just us all speculating restlessly while waiting.

It probably depends on your definition of practicality, those are the things that make it a $100 laser projector that's suitable for SLA printing. I call that practical.
It also seems to require a whole lot of calibration, which you might find impractical, everything has a trade-off. I find a few nights of calibrating something is worth saving ~$500.