RE: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
I think it is a common problem. It seems to be affecting Mac users more than XP users. Or maybe there are just more iTunes users on Mac? The iTunes rescan changed significantly from 5.4 6.2 and produces a different performance profile than before. It has to both parse the iTunes XML and scan the files, so much more work than the filesystem scan only. But it is now a lot more accurate in my experience, and you have the option to only scan playlists. For me, (10,000 songs on 2Ghz Xp box) the SlimServer is unlistenable (although menus are usable) during the scan. I'd recommend setting your automatic rescan interval to 0 (disabled) and using the rescan plugin to schedule a daily rescan at a time you won't be using the system. James NOTICE: If received in error, please destroy and notify sender. Sender does not waive confidentiality or privilege, and use is prohibited. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
RE: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
When I disable the iTunes plugin it works perfectly. but, it no longer uses iTunes which I want it to use. When I tell it to rescan it reverts to not using iTunes. When I switch it to use iTunes it plays music for a few seconds then stops then picks back up. What should I do? Most likely the iTunes rescan is running. Music playback will be patchy until this completes. It can take a while depending on the size of your library so you may want to adjust the iTunes rescan interval accordingly. (otherwise SlimServer may just rescan iTunes continuously) James NOTICE: If received in error, please destroy and notify sender. Sender does not waive confidentiality or privilege, and use is prohibited. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
RE: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
iTunes plugin = from iTunes iTunes Update plugin = to iTunes James NOTICE: If received in error, please destroy and notify sender. Sender does not waive confidentiality or privilege, and use is prohibited. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
On 5/11/05 at 17:36 -0800, kdf wrote That being said, at every release, I've wished that there were NO changes for several days on a beta release. Let it get out to those who test, CLOSE bug reports on anything aside from that beta (avoid the clutter). Then spend a few days taking specific reports and cleaning out issues. The downside is that it requires patience from both users and marketing. Not always easy to do, and this wouldn't be the first place I've seen these problems. There are valid reasons for some software providers not releasing product updates for months, if not years. I had something of a feeling that 6.2 was released too early, perhaps because SB3 was just coming out. What I mean by too early is that there seemed to me to be a very short period of time between the release of 6.2 beta (as distinct from the nightlys, which we know are going to get changed) and the full 6.2, and I was surprised that there wasn't a lot more time allowed for testing the beta. -- Daniel Cohen ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
dryden555 wrote: And I'm told I am being too negative! Non-techies are not to generalized as people who suck. You're actually supporting my point that this forum has a way of programatically alienating non-developers. You're misunderstanding me and applying your own agenda to my statement. People suck does not mean Non-techies are people who suck, it means that human beings are continually driven to push their toys past breaking point and then cry to the skies that the toy is broken. I am people, and I suck. So do you. If you meet someone perfect, join their monastery and hope to learn, but I can promise you there won't be any computers or Squeezeboxen in there. Why not? Because computers suck. As our first attempt at recreating ourselves, they are an excellent example of why we suck: flexible, general purpose systems designed through the time-honored bandaid accretion methodology, and then asked to perform like a Platonic ideal at seventeen million different functions at once. The marvel is that they work at all, not that they suck. Anyway, I want to thank M Wagner again for helping me with the suggestion to revert to 5.4.1. That worked perfectly with my sb1. Listening to it right now. If you browse the archives back to the release of 5.4.1 you can read this same argument there. But now it's a paragon of stability because it works for your use case. Honestly I was completely ready to give up on my sb1 after several versions of the software had bugs in the standard functionality of the device. This isn't just about ver 6.2. I hope someone within the company is reading my posts as a substantive sign that many consumers dont have time for bug reports, re-installing and forum posts. your average consumer The forums are diligently read and replied to by SDI's fine owners, who are much more positive in outlook than me -- let's all hope they stay that way :) -- Jack At Monkeynoodle Dot Org: It's A Scientific Venture! I spent all me tin with the ladies drinking gin so across the Western ocean I must wander -- trad. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
From: deksawyer [EMAIL PROTECTED] One thing I did notice with the replacement; about a min after it was switched on it would hang for about 15-20 secs then come back again. Now it's actually on as I can ping it, but there is no sound and no display. Anyone ever seen this behaviour before...?? Is it possible that it has a saved brightness that is totally dark? When in this state, hit the brightness button on the remote. I suspect that you'll then see the display. -- Jeff ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
And one more thing to add. after having these previously described drops, it usually stops after 30 to 60 minutes and then works fine (at least until the next time I reboot). Has the server completed scanning your music collection? [The banner on the web page changes from rescanning to the number of songs you have when it is done] Performance is alway compromised whilst rescanning, but it should complete after a short while. Do you have iTunes or other plugins active for scanning your music library? If you are running 6.2, you could go to the Network and Server Health section of the help web page, enable performance monitoring and then follow the instructions. If you queue up a set of songs to play, reset the counters, leave it for a while and then post the graphs shown it will give us a good indication of what the server process and network are doing. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
dspeirs wrote: I saw that you're running on Windows... is the machine clean? Yeah, I use it exclusively for itunes, slimserver and EAC try disabling the iTunes plugin. -- Jack At Monkeynoodle Dot Org: It's A Scientific Venture! I spent all me tin with the ladies drinking gin so across the Western ocean I must wander -- trad. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
dryden555 wrote: In short, I wouldn't reccomend a slimdevice for a non-techie. The problem: Open architecture is not always a 100% positive. The voices on this forum are heavily from developers. Users like myself get a lot of friendly support on the forum which is cool. But developers dont mind bugs as much as the rest of us users who bought the device do. We dont have time for uninstalling and tweaking. We just want the standard functionality to work out of the box. We generally dont care about bugginess in esoteric plug-ins. No one will agree with me in this developer-centric forum but, seriously, these great hardware devices are far too much trouble for a non-technical person. You'll never see them in BestBuy because there would be a 90% return rate on them. Users would be utterly clueless when they encounter the first bug. Sorry for the negativity but sheesh the bugs really got to me! the world is not a perfect place. this is because it's full of people, who suck. Increasingly these people use computers, which also suck. Add in the fact that there's a work component in just about everything, and work obviously sucks. So there ya go. Listen to some Morrisey albums, and appreciate the Slimserver bugs as memento mori reminders. Another way to put it... what piece of consumer gear would you consider acceptably usable? Say the 300-disc Sony CD changer that I replaced with my first SliMP3 because it couldn't play half of my CDs? How about my mother-in-law's Linksys DSL router that crashes every month, or my neighbor's NetGear DSL router that couldn't talk to the DSL modem without a firmware upgrade? My wife's two-year old Sony Vaio laptop with the failing screen and dead keyboard? Or her iPod that helpfully deleted all of its audiobooks when she switched computers? The Magellan GPS that takes twenty minutes to locate satellites and figure out that you've moved it to a new location? Oo, I know, the simple kitchen mop with a replaceable head... heads that are never, ever, ever in stock in the same county where you bought the mop. -- Jack At Monkeynoodle Dot Org: It's A Scientific Venture! I spent all me tin with the ladies drinking gin so across the Western ocean I must wander -- trad. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
On 5-Nov-05, at 8:34 AM, dryden555 wrote: In short, I wouldn't reccomend a slimdevice for a non-techie. hmm..deja vu. does your mailer have a bug too? ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
On Sat, 2005-11-05 at 17:01 -0800, Bonesteel wrote: If Slim Devices published performance metrics for each release that we could review it might make it easier to judge if we're willing to take the risk of an upgrade. I don't work for SD, I'm just a happy user, but I think that it is prudent to approach new releases from nearly any vendor with caution. I never install a new OS from Microsoft until the first service pack is out. I let someone else got the pioneer's arrows. Just because something new is available, there is no reason to install it unless you are unhappy with your installed version. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
On 5-Nov-05, at 5:16 PM, Pat Farrell wrote: On Sat, 2005-11-05 at 17:01 -0800, Bonesteel wrote: If Slim Devices published performance metrics for each release that we could review it might make it easier to judge if we're willing to take the risk of an upgrade. I don't work for SD, I'm just a happy user, but I think that it is prudent to approach new releases from nearly any vendor with caution. I never install a new OS from Microsoft until the first service pack is out. I let someone else got the pioneer's arrows. Just because something new is available, there is no reason to install it unless you are unhappy with your installed version. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. As a volunteer developer, AND a user, I suffer from the same frustration of broken builds (sometimes after an update right before sleep time) I also see the pressure to release (why do we have to keep downloading nightly builds?) There are always a number of people who try a nightly, see something wrong and uninstall it without saying a thing. On release, someone else gets burned. That being said, at every release, I've wished that there were NO changes for several days on a beta release. Let it get out to those who test, CLOSE bug reports on anything aside from that beta (avoid the clutter). Then spend a few days taking specific reports and cleaning out issues. The downside is that it requires patience from both users and marketing. Not always easy to do, and this wouldn't be the first place I've seen these problems. There are valid reasons for some software providers not releasing product updates for months, if not years. -k ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
Michaelwagner wrote: ... resources needed for this would be astronomical. Even the matrix I showed you above, 6 server configurations, 6 client configurations, would be a 36 test matrix. Add low memory, regular memory, fast processor, slow processor configurations, and you're at 144 combinations (well, a few less, because there is no memory size variation available for the NSLU2). ... I just want to point out a couple more complicating factors: plugins take the matrix out to 1000x1000 or so, and each test needs to run for at least two or three songs to make sure that transition errors are caught. Oh, forgot synchronization issues, make that 2000x2000. -- Jack At Monkeynoodle Dot Org: It's A Scientific Venture! I spent all me tin with the ladies drinking gin so across the Western ocean I must wander -- trad. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
Re: [slim] Re: I love my Squeezebox, but it NEVER works perfectly
Bonesteel wrote: A spritied defense, yet the simple fact is that until they identify what platforms they test it on and what tests they perform, the unknown gaps in testing indeed get pushed to we consumers. The limited regression testing increases the number of these instances we need to deal with. I'm beginning to get that why am I bothering feeling here, but I'll go ahead one more time You are getting better support for far less money than you understand. Go buy some commercial enterprise software some time, you'll see more bugs, worse support, and a hole in your wallet that looks like a fleet of luxury cars. -- Jack At Monkeynoodle Dot Org: It's A Scientific Venture! I spent all me tin with the ladies drinking gin so across the Western ocean I must wander -- trad. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
