I finally decided to try a low power squeezebox server. I purchased a SheevaPlug. I have never used linux before.
I have spent the past few days and many, many hours getting my SheevaPlug set up as a squeezebox server. In the process, I have posted several questions and contributed several tips on the “3rd Party Hardware” forum here. Linux was supposedly touted as an open source, community based, non-profit effort to democratize software. The reality is that a tiny fraction of 1% of computer users knows what linux is, and it is a very very tiny fraction of those that know how to use it. And it’s a very very tiny fraction of those who contribute to this knowledge and try to be helpful. And it’s a very tiny fraction of those whose information is reliable. The promise of linux has failed for small community based projects. I received no direct responsive help in setting up my SheevaPlug even though I put out a few questions on these webpages’ “3rd Party Hardware” forum. (I contributed information too). I assume the looky-loos who viewed my questions either didn’t know the answer, or had the same question, or knew the answer but chose for whatever reason not to respond and be helpful. All my comments have “gawkers” but no responses, no replies, no comments at all. I relied on my own perseverance and my helper Mr. Google. And in the process of researching one roadblock after another while setting up my server, I came across webpages with cryptic advice, misleading advice, bad advice, broken links, out of date information, out of date files, incompatible files and programs, fragmentation of the SheevaPlug line (between manufacturers and even over time within a manufacturer’s own line as the installed operating system changes), bad grammar and bad spelling, such that putting together a server on a SheevaPlug was being like Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Clouseau all rolled into one (stumbling and bumping into problems and solutions). If a supposed linux “expert” has bad spelling in his explanations, how can I trust that his coding is reliable, where every little character, punctuation mark and space have meaning? I attempted to register at the plug computer forums to seek advice there http://www.plugcomputer.org/plugforum/ but its been several days without any confirmation of my registration. I want to sincerely thank the authors of the helpful pieces of information found on the internet on the subject I have been researching, including on these forums and the Logitech webpage devoted to setting up squeezebox server for SheevaPlug, and the few other web pages devoted to the same subject. But this is a handful of people volunteering their help. How can you compare that to Microsoft’s billions of dollars in research and development by thousands of full-time trained software engineers with advanced computer science degrees in a corporate structure of supervision and review? Linux never had a chance for these esoteric projects (squeezebox server on a SheevaPlug) when it relies on the goodwill of a handful of strangers, who have their own lives and issues to deal with first. This got me thinking as to what this lack of response and lack of crystal clear instructions and advice and lack of easy set up means about the future of Logitech’s Squeezebox line. I saw a video the other day where a poll on the street found that no one even knew what Wi-Fi was. I can assure you that a lot fewer know what a server is, or want a server, or need a server, or can afford a server or have the time to set up and maintain a server. And as stated in other threads, very few people collect music these days or know how to digitize it (and every year those that do collect music are becoming a smaller and smaller share of the market). And why should they? Yeah, you might have thousands and thousands of music tracks. But the everyman out there in the market sees that Rhapsody and Spotify and Pandora and SiriusXM have millions of tracks. Logitech knows this. Logitech is a for profit enterprise. It can’t be expected to devote scarce resources in this competitive world to focusing on yesterday’s techy audiophile consumer when the world is traveling in another direction. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ mortslim's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=11039 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96352 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
