I think this is a reasonable product, but don't understand why it's a Kickstarter project. If the author has been developing a similar series for Java over the last year and a half, why does he need funds to do it for JavaScript?
I think the Kickstarter concept is fantastic for things that need to be fabricated, where building in bulk is a significant cost difference. But it seems like there's a trend where people sell products that don't actually need start-up capital through Kickstarter just to get an advance. This project may be worth the money, but I find the trend worrisome.
I imagine Jim needs funds because after doing the Java course he now fully understands how expensive in time and money producing a long series of tutorial videos can be :-)
Because doing it again in JavaScript, editing, producing, and hosting the videos takes a time and money. Using Kickstarter acts as a handy piece of customer discovery and lets him know that there is a market that is willing to part with actual money.
I think the Kickstarter concept is fantastic for things that need to be fabricated, where building in bulk is a significant cost difference. But it seems like there's a trend where people sell products that don't actually need start-up capital through Kickstarter just to get an advance. This project may be worth the money, but I find the trend worrisome.