Just to put my 2c worth in.... I agree that generally the release
versions of SlimServer tend to have more issues than I would expect of
'release' software and this does tend to force a product positioning
suitable for technically competent users only. I have been a devoted
Slim user for many many years as it simply offers more 'opportunity'
than any other available solutions. This is the key draw for me.
Unfortunately during that time there have always been issues that
have caused dissatisfaction with the product for me - particularly as I
use a large music library on Windows. The main ones were performance
related , music stalls, CPU utilisation and response time in searches
and scans , and there were always the extra features I felt I needed too
eg FLAC, WMA, Rhapsody, better CLI etc.. I also felt that Windows was
very much a second choice OS for Slim and that their development,
testing and support seemed to focus on Linux, even though I suspect
Windows platform is by far the dominant platform for volume sales. (BTW
how about putting something into SlimServer to report which OS it is
running on back to Slim then platform usage would be clear - or is that
too worrying to people) . Some help posts to the lists also either go
ignored or solicit quite unpleasant responses. I know in an open project
environment this is very difficult to manage but in the end the customer
'feels' this as reflective on Slims' attitudes.
However ...now for the first time with v6.3 I have started to feel
that SlimServer offers mostly everything I want :-). It's performance
has improved substantially and the key features for me are all in there.
With v6.5 I believe Slim will have reached a milestone in delivering a
fully featured product that performs nicely and has an architecture that
suits the application.
So returning to the original 'end user appliance' post at the start
of this thread I really feel for the first time when v6.5 is released
that Slim should concentrate their efforts on providing a rock solid
release version , extensively tested on all platforms by as many people
as they can get involved, perhaps by promotion of a beta campaign. They
should then focus on whatever is needed to allow the 6.5 release to
become more accessible by less technical users , increasing the appeal
and end user satisfaction out to the masses - where the volume sales and
$$$ are :-) Maybe this will be launched as the lucky '7' offering.
There are always going to be new features people want (I would love DRM
and full uPNP player/server support for example) but essentially 6.5 is
, for the first time IMO, a product to be proud of satisfying almost all
users requirements. It should be extensively QA'd to ensure this
opportunity is not marred on release. With 6.5 I think Slim have
potentially arrived.
Kevin
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