ctbarker32 wrote: > I thought I would pose a question to the community to generate some > discussion about the future of the Squeezebox product we love. > Nice post.
> > On the expanding side, I am very encouraged by the development of > products like Squeezelite that empowers Picoreplayer and Squeezeplug to > harness the power of the incredibly malleable Raspberry Pi platform. > Agreed. Squeezelite is an amazing project. I really enjoy Squeeze On Arch, too. It allows me to run LMS (the server) on diverse hardware such as as CubieTruck. > > On the contracting side, while USB DAC PC Audio is all the rage it is > almost always implemented using some form of host personal computer > hooked up to a DAC. I never see anyone utilizing Squeezebox based > clients using LMS to accomplish the same thing in a more distributed > network environment. > Well, maybe you had the audiophile community in the back of your mind when stating that. For me, a lot of that USB DAC stuff is audiophile voodoo. I know I can buy a transparent DAC for a one-digit euro or dollar amount. I prefer cheap and compact solutions which often aren't USB-based (i.e., I prefer utilizing on-board stuff such as built-in HDMI outs or small internal extension cards). Although, I know many people successfully integrate USB DACs so I think your point is a bit moot anyway. > > I am also discouraged that pretty much all of the proprietary music > server systems > Me, too. Perhaps companies think it's easier to generate profits from proprietary systems. The software in the Squeezebox ecosystem is free and open source. Capable, cheap, and relatively open hardware is widely available. So you cannot lock people into your brand's products like Apple and Sonos can. --- For me, one important thing hampering the adoption of LMS is that it's not really plug-and-play. Since Logitech stopped production, you cannot simply get up and running in 10-15 minutes anymore. That's different from competing solutions where you basically hook up a stand-alone speaker or small black set-top box you bought at Best Buy or Amazon and blast away. For many people, DIY squeezebox is way too technical. I recently set up a system for a friend. I'm almost regretting it now. I had to do all the work. Furthermore, he lacks the IT expertise to properly carry out administrative changes to LMS or the clients. Whenever there's a little problem, I'm now getting IMs or calls. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ poing's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=63617 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=102809 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
