JJZolx wrote: > > From the discussion, we're not talking what I'd call DIY any more. If it > relies on the existing LMS and its infrastructure, that part of the > setup is no different than Squeezebox, and while installation and setup > have never really been perfected, plenty of neophytes have gotten LMS up > and running with little instruction. The device itself would be > comparable to a Receiver, and with a web interface for network > configuration, it could arguably be even easier to set up. > With DIY I meant that each user would have to buy the parts and assemble it themselves and download and install the software, even if the software part would just be a matter of downloading an image and loading it to a SDHC card (or similar). This is all a big step compared to getting a Squeezebox Receiver in the store.
If someone would decide to sell it per-assembled and pre-installed they would end up with patent/licensing issues regarding MP3, WMA, AAC codecs as far as I've understood, since it would then be considered to be a end consumer device where these patents/licenses applies. Getting the necessary licenses would increase the price a bit more and would in worst case make it too expensive even for enthusiasts, especially if you can only sell it to 100 people where the MP3 license would add $150 to each device. Not sure if it would be possible to solve by letting the user install the codecs themselves, but that would make it even more complex to set it up and make it kind of a DIY device again. JJZolx wrote: > > You keep using words like "targeting" and "sell". > > Do you have commercial aspirations for this project? > No, not at this time, but someone designing a new hardware needs to decide what type of users they will be able to recommend/convince to buy it. If you don't do this, you can easily end up in a scenario where you add a lot of features which the users buying it won't need or a scenario where it misses features which would be needed for people to buy it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ erland's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3124 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=97881 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
