Hi Antti,
For the small story, the 10,000 signatures petition was said because of this: Here in north america, we had a TV show which was cancelled for some time (family guy) and after some lobbying from the fan base (10,000 names), it was said and is now aired again on TV. Just to tell you that it indeed might work. On the other hand, the chances are slim as some people at X might loose their faces... how do you think the people at Avnet would take it, if you said something one day, did it and came back on your words another day. It will be a hard decision for them, the high authority at X, and I think that their decision, unfortunately, is one which is definitive.
My point now is to work toward a practical solution with the smart guys at Xilinx. I am just realistic and the chances to see back our dear online shop is very small. We need now a reliable and stable, prototype or small volume or qty, call it any name, supplier that can provide us, anywhere in the world, with any Xilinx Spartan3 FPGA chips or at least, the range that the Xilinx online shop use to have, and that at a reasonable price. As this is a call, make it also for Spartan3E and Spartan4.
When this will be done, then it will stand up for their motto: "Make it your ASIC" or "Generation Spartan3E", but til then, these same words say: We are people who will definitely look at our own interests without caring for our fan base.
Cheers Jacques