Unless it's a IR based device (limited functionality and not what people want) or just a fancy Logitech/SD branded web tablet (i.e. a crippled 770), it's going to have to have some kind of proprietory software if it's going to be as slick as, and compete with, the Sono's.
What does proprietary exactly mean? Closed? Not following standards? Isn't SlimServer proprietary as it is not following common standards (eg. UPnP)?
I think what you want is a dedicated, fat client. Not a web interface, but a binary executable on a dedicated hardware device. But couldn't this application be open source (as eg. the Nokia770)?
Might be my understanding of prprioetary is a linguistic problem of mine :-)
So, my questions are; Are logitech prepared to build a device and software that will function in Linux and all the OS's that SlimServer currently does?
It does not have to: there's already the very powerful CLI. It could talk to the server on that base and http requests (for coverart and more).
And will that remote's software be open source?
I hope so.
There is no way they will start making there own products open, something will have to give.
Why not? I assume you've heard of Open Office. Some ten years ago this was closed source StarOffice, pretty successful in Germany, but hardly anywhere else. When Sun bought them, many of the users thought this was the end. A little later Sun opened the source - something they imho hadn't done before.
The only way to move SlimServer forward is to completely redesign it from scratch. At some point soon they will have to IMO.
I doubt that. 6.3 to 6.5 didn't add much functionality, but there were massive changes in the background. One of the major issues people were complaining about was the scanning process. Too slow, GUI unusable during scanning etc. 6.5 separated the scanner - and complaints about these two issues are virtually gone.
Thats when we will see if we still get an open source and Linux version of Slimserver i guess, if it fact its still called Slimserver after Logitech start bringing it into line with their current porfolio.
That's where I agree: starting from scrath would be a mess. Implementing the current level of functionality would not be possible with a reasonable effort. So why start from scratch anyway?
I still don't understand why everybody's thinking Logitech wanted to kill SD. SD wasn't a competitor. Logitech has its own line of entry level systems. I'd rather say, they want the higher end. Money's not only in the masses, but in the audiophile world, too.
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