This stuff happens, it's not a problem. I just wish that the project was less in a hurry because it's a no profit organization so there are no time-to-market issues.
they were only 3 monthsd behind if you took November as their shipping date, that was pretty much the earliest it could have been for a Q4 release, whereas it could have been as late as end Dec.
The design works for a certain state of the components market. As time passes some parts become harder to source, or pricier than others that provide better performance or functionality.