Haven't posted here in a long time.
Which is actually testament to having finally got a stable and reliable
system (using a local 7.5 server) - and then not touching it at all.
Like many, I had suffered the very unreliable alarm function on the
radio. Almost to the point of giving up on it.
Anyway, I finally had to rebuild my NAS this week (ReadyNas Duo) after
installing 2 new 2TB disks for all those videos.
I suspect that this post is more predictable than the plot of Titanic.
You know what's coming, right.
- Reinstalled the NAS
- Reinstalled Squeezebox server (LMS 7.7)
- Upgraded software on all squeezeboxes (radio touch - both wired to
network)
- Copied all music video to NAS. Much time passes
- Tested that radio and touch were playing music and radio - and showing
the right time.
- Grumbled a bit that I now had to licence the Custom Clock plugin which
I can't live without.
- Set my alarm for 6am, checked that radio was showing alarm at the
right time.
- Then set my mobile phone to wake me at 6.05 - just in case.
And guess what.
- Woke up to the inevitable sound of Marimba from the iPhone.
- Spent next 10 minutes persuading the wife not drop the radio out of
the window.
OK, so I eventually figured out what had happened.
I had neglected to reset the correct timezone on the NAS - so it had
defaulted to centre of the known Universe (ie US Eastern time)
So even though the radio was showing the correct time, the server was 5
hours behind.
But my point is this...
If I set an alarm for 6am on the radio interface, then there is
absolutely ZERO excuse for the radio to know it is 6am and do nothing -
not even a fallback.
Even if the server goes missing, or has the wrong timezone or any other
problem - the radio should be self-contained enough to at least play the
fallback.
I know all the arguments about the legacy server-based architecture, but
surely the unit must be self-sufficient enough to cope with the above.
Wasn't that the point of the fallback alarm ?
Its more than two years on, and as ever Squeezebox remains too
problematic for anyone without a computer science degree.
But for a few (critical) failings in the user-experience, the radio
could have been such a crossover consumer product.
I don't know why it frustrates me so. I guess its the sense of
opportunity lost. Its as if Logi are happy to let it die.
Rant over.
See you in 2 years when I next upgrade.
squishy's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=35390
View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=96234
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