Thanks for the interest. I think the DSI would make a good group purchase because the individual investment would be very low; this is a cheap device for what you get. Apart from the software, which includes planetarium and image processing software as well as the image capture program, you get a number of connecting cables which allow you to plug the DSI straight into Meade computer controlled telescopes (ETX et.c) and use it for autoguiding. The only dissapointment is that the USB cable to connect the camera to the laptop is too short. Meade offer a 15ft (4.5m) cable as an extra but I bought an USB extension cable from my local computer store and that works fine.
As I experiment with the clunky software I am getting a better and better feeling about this camera. It is tri colour so it is not as sensitive as monochrome CCDs but it is easily as sensitive as the ATIK 2c and way more sensitive than the 1-c; those cameras are only 8 bit so you have to stack more images for a smooth result compared with the DSI. I don't have experience of premium cameras like SBIG or Starlight express but they are way more expensive than the DSI. I wouldn't be surprised if the DSI price rises once a fair number of users start to spread good words about it on the net.
Incidentally I dont work for Meade or anyone who sells these things.