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#300350 - 07/07/2007 21:52 new Empeg?
haffi
new poster

Registered: 04/06/2002
Posts: 19
Loc: Iceland
Has anyone found anything that today is and "up to date empeg" meaning,
New hardware and something that can do the same thing as our beloved empeg, but
Has newer hardware(gb ethernet, wifi ? Sata drivers ? more mem and such ? )
What are the current ppl that designed empeg using today ? Are they not building something more cool ?
_________________________
Hafþór Hilmarsson
CCIE VOICE #24527
Iceland.

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#300351 - 08/07/2007 04:58 Re: new Empeg? [Re: haffi]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
Yup they are....
_________________________
One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

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#300352 - 08/07/2007 11:43 Re: new Empeg? [Re: haffi]
peter
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4172
Loc: Cambridge, England
Quote:
What are the current ppl that designed empeg using today ? Are they not building something more cool ?

Former Empeg employees are today spread across many different companies: some at Sigmatel, some at Numark, two at Roku, two at Apple, and so on. The most recently-released, and probably the final, product in direct descent from the Empeg is the Trekstor Vibez portable MP3 player: that was our H4, our swan-song, our this-is-what-you-could-have-won.

A Squeezebox, or maybe a Roku Soundbridge, is a better purchase now than a Rio Receiver, and the equal of the car-player Receiver Edition.

Several companies (though, sadly, not us) now produce devices which effectively supersede the Rio Central.

The Trekstor Vibez supersedes all the Rio hard-drive portables, and many companies including Apple and Creative have superseded the Rio flash-based portables.

But the car-player... aaah, the car-player. Seven years later there is still no other product in that form factor that can do what I do with mine: turn up to parties with 150+Gbytes of FLAC music in a small cloth bag, and demand only mains power and a line-input to access it all, with a remote-control and a remotely-readable display. As an actual car stereo, I don't even know now whether it has any equals, although for a while now it's at least had competitors -- it didn't even have those for some years. So while it would be nice to think some or all of the car-player team might one day "build something more cool" than the car-player, I wouldn't be surprised if none of us ever did.

Peter

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#300353 - 08/07/2007 13:57 Re: new Empeg? [Re: peter]
FireFox31
pooh-bah

Registered: 19/09/2002
Posts: 2494
Loc: East Coast, USA
Seven year old? Or nine year old? I thought the MK1 "worked on the first try" back in 1998?
_________________________
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FireFox31
110gig MKIIa (30+80), Eutronix lights, 32 meg stacked RAM, Filener orange gel lens, Greenlights Lit Buttons green set

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#300354 - 08/07/2007 14:39 Re: new Empeg? [Re: FireFox31]
peter
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4172
Loc: Cambridge, England
Quote:
Seven year old? Or nine year old? I thought the MK1 "worked on the first try" back in 1998?

Well, true. But I was thinking of the Mark 2, which mine is, and some of whose features -- Ethernet, particularly -- I can't do without.

Peter

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#300355 - 15/07/2007 01:25 Re: new Empeg? [Re: haffi]
brax
member

Registered: 22/07/2005
Posts: 109
Loc: Birmingham, AL
Several years ago around the time the Empeg had been out for a year or two, SSI Neo had a hard drive based radio and mp3 player that they were looking to release. Not sure why but it was never released. Now it had no where near the functions as the Empeg from what I remember, it was basically just a radio and a hard drive based mp3 player that was in a 1 1/2 din chassis. I believe that it did have a CD slot though from what I recall. It did not have an advanced EQ like the Empeg does or the open type interface to be able to add software hacks.

Someone here may remember it better then I. They decided to release the Neo Jukebox and run with it. I had emailed them about the radio/mp3 when I came across it about when it was to be released because it was going to be half the cost of the Empeg. They said that it was still in the development stage and it never made it to market.

I doubt seriously that there will ever be anything like the Empeg, a radio/ hard drive mp3 player/EQ/hackable all in one unit. I know that some of the "big" companies have come out with their hard drive mp3/radio players (I believe that Pioneer had one) they were close in price to the Empeg. I think the Empeg has some better "features for the money" and the others are not able to be played at home and limited on drive size.

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#300356 - 15/07/2007 10:39 Re: new Empeg? [Re: haffi]
brax
member

Registered: 22/07/2005
Posts: 109
Loc: Birmingham, AL
I knew a little surfing would find an old link

SSI Neo 5100


Edited by brax (15/07/2007 10:40)

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#300357 - 15/07/2007 21:03 Re: new Empeg? [Re: brax]
haffi
new poster

Registered: 04/06/2002
Posts: 19
Loc: Iceland
aye I had NEO 35
before I bought my empeg since I did not want to stash out the 1000$ it cost at that time. However it was just normail disk with a small bios software running on it with just play ability and it really did not to any justice to being a good player... I sold it and was very happy.
_________________________
Hafþór Hilmarsson
CCIE VOICE #24527
Iceland.

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#300358 - 13/08/2007 13:52 Re: new Empeg? [Re: peter]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
The most recently-released, and probably the final, product in direct descent from the Empeg is the Trekstor Vibez portable MP3 player: that was our H4, our swan-song, our this-is-what-you-could-have-won.



This just made me very very sad.

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#300359 - 18/10/2007 01:59 Re: new Empeg? [Re: rubennyc]
jimhogan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Quote:
Quote:
The most recently-released, and probably the final, product in direct descent from the Empeg is the Trekstor Vibez portable MP3 player: that was our H4, our swan-song, our this-is-what-you-could-have-won.



This just made me very very sad.

Worse, I just had to go buy one
_________________________
Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.

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#300360 - 26/10/2007 16:45 Re: new Empeg? [Re: jimhogan]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
The most recently-released, and probably the final, product in direct descent from the Empeg is the Trekstor Vibez portable MP3 player: that was our H4, our swan-song, our this-is-what-you-could-have-won.



This just made me very very sad.

Worse, I just had to go buy one


So, how are you liking it?

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#300361 - 06/11/2007 23:50 Re: new Empeg? [Re: rubennyc]
jimhogan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Quote:
So, how are you liking it?

Wish I could tell you. Backordered at Amazon until later this month.
_________________________
Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.

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#300362 - 07/11/2007 10:59 Re: new Empeg? [Re: jimhogan]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
Quote:
So, how are you liking it?

Wish I could tell you. Backordered at Amazon until later this month.


Uh oh. With Cornice out of business, I wonder where they're getting their 12 GB drives. If the answer is, nobody, you're 12 GB HDD vibez may turn into an 8 GB flash vibez.

^ This is pure conjecture, of course.

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#300363 - 15/11/2007 00:00 Re: new Empeg? [Re: rubennyc]
jimhogan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
So, how are you liking it?

Wish I could tell you. Backordered at Amazon until later this month.


Uh oh. With Cornice out of business, I wonder where they're getting their 12 GB drives. If the answer is, nobody, you're 12 GB HDD vibez may turn into an 8 GB flash vibez.

^ This is pure conjecture, of course.

Well I got a shipment notice today. Supposed to be here on the 21st.
_________________________
Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.

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#300364 - 15/11/2007 16:30 Re: new Empeg? [Re: jimhogan]
schofiel
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
I've just bought one recently, with the FM tuner. I have to say, damn nice bit of kit, actually. Reminds me a lot of the Karma, but this is in colour! Great fun. Have already loaded about 5G onto it and I am really enjoying it.

If they can improve the availability and also that of the accessories (specifically the remote and the pedestal/stereo connector) then it would be just perfect.

Shame there's no-one left to carry on the development
_________________________
One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

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#300365 - 15/11/2007 16:35 Re: new Empeg? [Re: schofiel]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:

If they can improve the availability and also that of the accessories (specifically the remote and the pedestal/stereo connector) then it would be just perfect.

Shame there's no-one left to carry on the development


Isn't Peter still there? Or did he jump ship as well?

On the accessories, the in-line remote works very nicely. I also highly recommend the custom vibez case made by Noreve. A near perfect fit and offers excellent protection.

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#300366 - 15/11/2007 17:25 Re: new Empeg? [Re: rubennyc]
andy
carpal tunnel

Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5914
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
Quote:
Quote:

If they can improve the availability and also that of the accessories (specifically the remote and the pedestal/stereo connector) then it would be just perfect.

Shame there's no-one left to carry on the development


Isn't Peter still there? Or did he jump ship as well?



Dunno, this was what Hugo had to say about it on the empeg Facebook group when I asked if everyone had left (when John Ripley left):

"Pretty much.... a shame, but there's only so much mismanagement and pointless dead-ends that people can take. There's a lesson in there somewhere... actually, there's a whole book of lessons with accompanying workbook and lecture series.

<sigh>"
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Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday

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#300367 - 18/11/2007 00:38 Re: new Empeg? [Re: schofiel]
jimhogan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Quote:
I've just bought one recently, with the FM tuner. I have to say, damn nice bit of kit, actually. Reminds me a lot of the Karma, but this is in colour! Great fun. Have already loaded about 5G onto it and I am really enjoying it.

Mine showed up early and I have only a few songs on it, but it seems like a very well sorted bit of hardware/software and I love the size/layout. I just have to figure out what to do to manage playlists and such sans emplode.

Quote:
If they can improve the availability and also that of the accessories (specifically the remote and the pedestal/stereo connector) then it would be just perfect.

Shame there's no-one left to carry on the development

I will confess to a little treble melancholia. Just got back from seeing "No Country for Old Men" and the first song that comes up on the Vibez is Kathleen Edwards "In State" and I have to look at the Vibez menu and contemplate that there may not be a Vibez Supremo. The thought of all that code getting put in a cardboard box and tossed in a musty basement....what could have been.
_________________________
Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.

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#300368 - 18/11/2007 12:26 Re: new Empeg? [Re: jimhogan]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
FYI, you may want to give the vibez faq over at Riovolution a read: http://www.riovolution.org/thread/523

Sadly, the vibez does not offer you a way to manage playlists independently of the Now Playing list (Menu -> Now Playing). The Now Playing list is just as powerful as the Karma's, and you can save that as a named playlist. But to edit a saved playlist, you need to load it as the Now Playling list, change what you want, then save it back.

Or, use your favorite .m3u playlist editor on your computer and copy it down.

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#300369 - 19/11/2007 03:33 Re: new Empeg? [Re: schofiel]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
Quote:
Shame there's no-one left to carry on the development


Oh but there is... Richard is now at Trekstor, and I have every reason to believe he's working on the empeg codebase still. For those who didn't know, Richard was the one behind the extras in the Carbon's "developers cut"

Hugo

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#300370 - 19/11/2007 09:45 Re: new Empeg? [Re: altman]
LittleBlueThing
addict

Registered: 11/01/2002
Posts: 612
Loc: Reading, UK
Quote:
Richard is now at Trekstor, and I have every reason to believe he's working on the empeg codebase still.

Hugo

Could you please avoid saying 'empeg codebase' - I find it too emotionally distressing
_________________________
LittleBlueThing Running twin 30's

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#300371 - 19/11/2007 12:38 Re: new Empeg? [Re: altman]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
Quote:
Shame there's no-one left to carry on the development


Oh but there is... Richard is now at Trekstor, and I have every reason to believe he's working on the empeg codebase still. For those who didn't know, Richard was the one behind the extras in the Carbon's "developers cut"

Hugo


Oh, please, please, please tell me this means a firmware update is coming! I really miss being able to edit saved playlists without interrupting what I'm listening to. (Plus the small handful of annoying bugs that need to be fixed.)

This sounds like very very good news.

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#300372 - 20/11/2007 11:52 Re: new Empeg? [Re: rubennyc]
peter
carpal tunnel

Registered: 13/07/2000
Posts: 4172
Loc: Cambridge, England
Quote:
Isn't Peter still there? Or did he jump ship as well?

I jumped ship the other week. There's no-one left at Sigmatel now who was ever an employee of Empeg Limited; not even anyone who was in 2003's Chapter 11 photo. The final remaining person there ever to have worked on the car-player is Dave, who did a lot of work (including all the tuner stuff) for the skunkworks v3 alphas.

Peter

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#300373 - 20/11/2007 12:30 Re: new Empeg? [Re: peter]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
Quote:
Isn't Peter still there? Or did he jump ship as well?

I jumped ship the other week. There's no-one left at Sigmatel now who was ever an employee of Empeg Limited; not even anyone who was in 2003's Chapter 11 photo. The final remaining person there ever to have worked on the car-player is Dave, who did a lot of work (including all the tuner stuff) for the skunkworks v3 alphas.

Peter


Hopefully on to greener pastures? Best of luck with the new job.

On a related note: Can you tell us if an updated vibez firmware actually was in the works or not? I don't trust anything the guys over in TrekStor's tech support group tell me.

Thx.

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#300374 - 21/11/2007 15:54 Re: new Empeg? [Re: rubennyc]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Isn't Peter still there? Or did he jump ship as well?

I jumped ship the other week. There's no-one left at Sigmatel now who was ever an employee of Empeg Limited; not even anyone who was in 2003's Chapter 11 photo. The final remaining person there ever to have worked on the car-player is Dave, who did a lot of work (including all the tuner stuff) for the skunkworks v3 alphas.

Peter


Hopefully on to greener pastures? Best of luck with the new job.

On a related note: Can you tell us if an updated vibez firmware actually was in the works or not? I don't trust anything the guys over in TrekStor's tech support group tell me.

Thx.


Looks like my question has been answered on a certain other board. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

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#300375 - 21/11/2007 21:49 Re: new Empeg? [Re: rubennyc]
altman
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/05/1999
Posts: 3457
Loc: Palo Alto, CA
Which other board, btw? I have to say I have no idea whether new firmware would appear for the Vibez or not, I was just saying that it's at least in the realms of possibility given who works there

Hugo

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#300376 - 21/11/2007 22:01 Re: new Empeg? [Re: altman]
andy
carpal tunnel

Registered: 10/06/1999
Posts: 5914
Loc: Wivenhoe, Essex, UK
_________________________
Remind me to change my signature to something more interesting someday

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#300377 - 22/11/2007 00:17 Re: new Empeg? [Re: andy]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
http://www.riovolution.org/thread/794


AgentM fell of the face of the Earth, but the Riovolution lives on.

BTW: Great work on v1.11 so far. My eternal gratitude to everyone involved. I got so spoiled by the Karma that no other portable on the market could make me as happy as this.

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#300378 - 22/11/2007 16:33 The Trekstor Parrot [Re: rubennyc]
jimhogan
carpal tunnel

Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
Well, after about 3 hours of use, it is making a repetitive hard drive clicking noise and won't allow me to load music. Then it disappears as a device.

I am getting the feeling that it is an ex-Vibez.
_________________________
Jim


'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.

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#300379 - 22/11/2007 23:02 Re: The Trekstor Parrot [Re: jimhogan]
rubennyc
member

Registered: 27/01/2006
Posts: 142
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Quote:
Well, after about 3 hours of use, it is making a repetitive hard drive clicking noise and won't allow me to load music. Then it disappears as a device.

I am getting the feeling that it is an ex-Vibez.


I may be American, but I actually got the Monty Python reference.

That sucks, dude. Definitely RMA it. I've had mine since March with no such problems. Hell, a month ago, it took a double bounce from the top of a treadmill, onto the moving belt which then flung it 10 feet onto the gym floor; and it hasn't missed a beat.

Then, when you get the replacement, throw the v1.11 Beta on it asap.

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