I would agree with most arguments listed above. One observation raises some questions on my side. Ive just recently visited Hi-Fi shop next to me to have a look on local offering and prices (thinking to upgrade my already aging home cinema) and what Ive seen was a bit surprising. Majority of vendors is moving towards AirPlay or DLNA, or both together. Most common platforms offer iPad/iPhone plugs, it might be for extra money or not - it does no matter for this discussion.
For me it is an indicator about the market need or market development trend. Some years ago I was looking on Philips audio devices and was puzzled what DLNA could actually mean - now it is everywhere. It was too complex to understand and to configure, documentation was huge at that time. Most of you say that server is essential - agree, but we do have it on each Apple notebook or even Windows one when we install iTune. When I recall my experience with iTune - it is easy to install (it was actually one click), no extra configuration. When I wanted to rip CD - again it was done with one click. When I wanted to change tags - it is part of iTune functionality - it was very easy and very intuitive. Meaning average not-computer addicted person can do it with no special education. Whole cycle is done using preconfigured software named iTune. I guess whole story is about usability. I would not invent the wheel by saying that complexity limits the market. I see that it was exactly this for Squeeze devices. I do not want to hammer it, just share the observation and experience. Visiting this shop I had a talk about possibilities available at many devices, and I was very surprised about the progress made by the industry over several, actually just few years. Most devices can a lot now: play net radio, play from HDD or USB stick, many support FLAC now, can synchronously play over the net. Majority supports up to 5 devices or even more at the same time. Most have one-two pages documentation how to configure the device quickly. In the same time have full set of possible features to tweak anything e.g. IP addressed, network settings and many other things. Even offer external over the net device management like Duet does. One of most astonishing messages on the label was: Radio: 2.000+ stations. I see that niche becomes small, very packed by elephants, and as it is written in many strategy books - niche position is difficult to keep over long time. There is only one way to get on track - to get out of niche and become a player on mass market. Logitech knows how to do it - look on devices around the globe. Each of us has one or more ;-) - I type this message on Logitech keyboard and using Logitech mouse. But this is a bit different market, would it work for Squeeze devices? Staying in this niche seems to me become vitally dangerous. -- AndreE ============================================================== Duet: 2 Controllers + 4 Receivers and 1 Touch Intel Atom 330 Linux Server wired Ethernet to 1Gb Switch --> Router --> DSL --> net... and happy Family ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AndreE's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=30476 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=91090
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