junien;147441 Wrote: > Actually I am not sure I see a dicotomy between tech-led development and > user-friendliness. In fact I was personally impressed about the ease of > installation and of use of my Squeezebox. The user interface of the > Slim Server could probably become more consumer oriented. Yet this is > not a priority. > I appreciate your answer, but you've kind of shown your hand there a bit - it's usually Sean who says what the priority is ;-) Apologies, I'm a bit too sharp sometimes, I'm sure that wasn't the meaning of your post! But it does raise a point, the UI is an issue for a lot of people. I suppose the answer is a fancy new remote - it's something I wanted, so I can't complain.
I was referring to the fact that as a tech-led development, consideration for non-technical users can be a low priority (and I didn't say it is in this case) since it is a community driven development for that community of technical people. To get that 10x user base happy and contented, you're going to have to start making design and marketing decisions about the product and request that the community follow them. If I were Logitech and examining the complete cost base for extending the product market size, then support has to be measured and relying on the free time of enthusiasts isn't really going to cut the mustard. junien;147441 Wrote: > We are much more interested in extending the current technology to new > hardware products and new markets. > With more users, the cracks in SlimServer will show more. I hope the community here is feeling up to the job. Believe me, once the average Joe gets hold of this and starts asking where he plugs it into his computer, this forum will get a taste of the future. junien;147441 Wrote: > I also hope that the open source community will continue to be motivated > in making the products stronger and more versatile. > That depends - at the moment they are developing for a community of generally polite fellow enthusiasts who love the product because it is hackable. When that changes as SlimServer is used with numerous other products and the user base extends to 10 times what it is today and comments on the groups change from "I'm having a few problems" to "the pos software won't work", that willingness to contribute may change. Hey, I'm probably wrong, but as I said I'm a cynical b*sta*d - unfortunately that's usually the correct stance when it comes to corporate life. I've watched and been involved in acquisitions several times. The usual timetable is that the founders leave as soon as the financial handcuffs come off (earn-outs, restricted stock selling etc.), key staff go somewhere else where the small compoany spirit still exists (or where there is equity to be had), the proposed new products get shelved (testing new price points == we'll kill it if it doesn't sell) and the original customers who enjoyed the kudos of owning the audiophile product go elsewhere. I'd buy a Slim Transporter, not sure I'd buy a Logitech one. Yes, that's dumb if it's the same product inside, but HiFi snobbery is a critical aspect of the market. -- CardinalFang You're only young once, but you can be immature forever... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CardinalFang's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=962 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28821 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/discuss
