What Tests Should I Take Now?

[D.Clade]

I'm sure the lab delays had nothing to do with the price increase for snp testing this past weekend.
If batch #493 had been done by January 21st, immediately four new snp tests would have been ordered at the old price . The new prices will knock that down to two or three snps, leap frogging some of the snps that the project managers will want me to test for. Having some STR values that are off modal, I won't be able to help the project managers nearly as much at the higher prices. I want to help move the science forward, but cost is a factor.
Suggestion to FTDNA
How about a discount for ordering three or more snp's at a time? This would make it easier on the lab and our pocket books too.
Peace, Joe R-L21 negative

[Lklundin]

it is not up to FTDNA to allow you to use their stored samples to test the Geno 2.0. This is up to NGS

I think that is an oversimplification.

Surely designing, manufacturing, validating and putting into production a new, custom-made chip for DNA-sequencing requires a significant investment.

So it makes sense for FTDNA to have entered into a collaboration with NGS (and Illumina, I believe).

However, FTDNA must have had some say in the agreement on the details for its own access to the chip (which sits in FTDNAs laboratory).

I therefore disagree with the sentiment that FTDNA has no say on how the DNA is supplied to the Geno 2.0 test.

Secondly, FTDNA has not been very good at communating the planned use of the Geno 2.0 chip to their customers.

As the above quote indicates, a statement was made to some administrators last year, to the effect that already stored DNA will be become usable for Geno 2.0 some time after this spring.

No word on this has gone out to any of the two dozen kits that I administrate, nor to any of the projects that those kits belong to.

On the contrary, an administrator of one of those projects has sent out mails, urging the project members to go ahead and order the Geno 2.0 directly with NGS.

Also, web-pages of kits with a predicted Y-DNA haplogroup have been fitted with a button that takes them to the NGS order page.

So yes, Bennett Greenspan probably said something to somebody in November, but FTDNA is doing nothing to forward nor update this statement to its customers.

So who knows what the status is on Greenspans November statement ?

[MMaddi]

I think that is an oversimplification.

Surely designing, manufacturing, validating and putting into production a new, custom-made chip for DNA-sequencing requires a significant investment.

So it makes sense for FTDNA to have entered into a collaboration with NGS (and Illumina, I believe).

However, FTDNA must have had some say in the agreement on the details for its own access to the chip (which sits in FTDNAs laboratory).

I therefore disagree with the sentiment that FTDNA has no say on how the DNA is supplied to the Geno 2.0 test.

None of us are privy to what negotiations went on between FTDNA and NG about Geno 2.0 and all the details about ordering it, etc. Initially, last year, Bennett Greenspan indicated that at some point in the future, he foresaw that FTDNA customers could directly order Geno 2.0 through FTDNA.

Negotiation is not a one way street, so in order to have a role in Geno 2.0, it seems that FTDNA had to agree not to compete with NG in marketing Geno 2.0. I think there are probably some legal issues involved since it was Spencer Wells and NG who developed the NG chip. Therefore they own the rights to it. FTDNA only participated as a partner in testing the chip and now does the actual testing for NG.

Secondly, FTDNA has not been very good at communating the planned use of the Geno 2.0 chip to their customers.

As the above quote indicates, a statement was made to some administrators last year, to the effect that already stored DNA will be become usable for Geno 2.0 some time after this spring.

No word on this has gone out to any of the two dozen kits that I administrate, nor to any of the projects that those kits belong to.

On the contrary, an administrator of one of those projects has sent out mails, urging the project members to go ahead and order the Geno 2.0 directly with NGS.

Also, web-pages of kits with a predicted Y-DNA haplogroup have been fitted with a button that takes them to the NGS order page.

So yes, Bennett Greenspan probably said something to somebody in November, but FTDNA is doing nothing to forward nor update this statement to its customers.

So who knows what the status is on Greenspans November statement ?

As Wing_Genealogist posted above, "At the FTDNA Administrators Conference last November, Bennett Greenspan stated they will be working with NGS on allowing FTDNA to use DNA already in their storage to test the Geno 2.0, but due to the already 'full plate' NGS has in rolling out this new product and fixing the inevitable bugs, even at that time Bennett stated he didn't think it would happen until this Spring."

I'm sure if an agreement was written in stone to allow FTDNA customers to order Geno 2.0 directly through FTDNA, Greenspan would not have worded what he is cited above saying as he did - see my bolding of the paraphrase of what he said. What I've bolded indicates to me that these issues were still up in the air.

If these issues are still up in the air now, I don't know. I think the best approach is to contact FTDNA directly with any questions you have about whether anything has been worked out and, if so, what time frame is involved.

[Lklundin]

I think the best approach is to contact FTDNA directly with any questions

Thanks for this opinion on the matter.

Perhaps it is just me.

For a living I oversee parts of multimillion € contracts that detail the design, delivery, validation and use of custom-made, state-of-the-art semiconductor chips used for science.

These contracts go into great detail about exactly how much time each stake holder gets with the finished instrument.

So I guess I am just surprised to learn that FTDNA appears to have reserved zero time for themselves in this case.

As for the suggestion to contact FTDNA directly, my experience is that the feedback on this forum is more extensive - and often very well informed.

And as a bonus, more people get to read the answer(s).

[tomcat]

...
I also think FTDNA should outline an individual Y SNP testing program on everyone's Y page, specific to their Y clade and tailored to the testing they have had performed to date.

FTDNA seems to have this, sort-of. Unfortunately my Haplo and SNP page has the unpromising message:

"No Upgrade Currently Available
Your test results show that your haplogroup is R-L150. A Y-DNA SNP extension test is not available."

So, I guess I am done!

[tomcat]

Your Geno 2.0 will give you a subclade to your HVR 1 and, if all your FTDNA tests are under your name, you can transfer your Geno mtDNA subclade information to your FTDNA page along with your Y SNP's. ...

Sorry, I was wrong on this, Geno 2.0 mtDNA results currently have no impact on pre-existing FTDNA mtDNA results. If you get a deeper mtDNA clade assignment from Geno 2.0 it will not overwrite your FTDNA assignment (presumably based on HVR's). Still, useful information.