Sounds pretty cool, check it out: http://www.slimdevices.com/

Interesting but one comment. I would hope the final product come closed or at least encased in plastic. I like the design and small profile but I can think about is dust and cat hair getting on the board. Now if the display was ProLux, it would be incredibly sweet.

Greg

P.S. I also don't agree with this comment on their FAQ page:

The fluorescent display looks great, but aren't those pretty expensive? Have you considered using a cheaper LCD display?

We simply were not willing to compromise on the SliMP3's interface. We evaluated several LCD displays from different manufacturers, but none came remotely close to the VFD in brightness and readability. Many were completely unreadable at a distance of just five feet. Fluorescent displays cost about twice as much, and you get what you pay for!


Also, their lack of info on the Rio seems odd. I thought RR worked on Mac and Lynux?

Also, their lack of info on the Rio seems odd. I thought RR worked on Mac and Lynux?

Nope, at least not officially. But the Rio Receiver isn't based on Windows file sharing like it says in the FAQ.

I think I'm going to order one. I'd rather have a Rio Receiver, but SonicBlue don't seem to be interested in the Dutch market... :-(

There are third-party solutions which allow the Receiver to work on Mac and Linux.

One word: LAME.

Will it take off? Maybe. At the current price? Not a chance. too much for such an unfinished and unpolished product with very little in the way of expandability. It's using a Micronas MP3 decoder...

Anyone wanting a Rio Receiver: PayPal some money to someone in the US that you trust and get them to buy one for you and ship it to wherever you wish to receive it.

Not to mention that Sonic would more than likely have a better and more polished thin client before this project gets anywhere near completed.

Bruno

Still shuddering at the thought of a 40 column by 2 VFD. Ugh. (Note: they don't even say "column" on their site - thankfully it's not pixels. ha :)

It seems to be mostly awlful, except:

- VFD is nice in this kind of product, although a graphic version would have been nicer
- The web site reminds me of empeg in the early days - photos of the production line and all that

Rob

Still shuddering at the thought of a 40 column by 2 VFD. Ugh. (Note: they don't even say "column" on their site - thankfully it's not pixels. ha

Yes, but I agree with their mentalty, I can read the screen away from the device. I will hold this against the RioReciever, and any other device that integrates into my stereo rack that can't be used from the couch. A RioReciever in the bedroom on my nightstand seems to be a better idea. Of course, if I go all out with the Rio solution, this shouldn't be an issue soon. Those blurry photos of the mystery device do give one thing away, it sure looks to be a bright display.

Yes, that VFD is pretty nice. Reminds me of Hugo's original MP3Mobile.

Too bad the Receiver's display isn't like that.

Yes, it's a shame about the Receiver's display. There were a few issues during the design stage.. it's lucky the sound quality is so damn good really.

VFD's are nice, but very expensive in comparison - OEM's will rarely go for them in a cost sensitive application.

One interesting thought about the Slimpy thing is exactly how the user is shielded from the high voltage stuff on the back of the VFD. Another interesting thought is quite how they got it through CE and FCC approvals (EMC, safety etc), without which they can't legally sell it in Europe or the USA.

Rob

rob
(Carpal Tunnel)

Hmm, your tag continues to change, while Tony is still stuck at old hand. Odd...

Yes, there appears to be some sort of a system bug where I'm stuck at the level I was at when I got promoted to Moderator. I never really cared about it, so I never bugged Paul about it.

I want to get mine back to Enthusiast. I'm not a big fan of the addict tag.. I mean I am an addict, but do I really need to be reminded about it?

Actually the thing I'd like to change is my nickname, this one is a holdover from my IRC days... I had all but abandoned it back in 1999 when I joined the BBS. But if I start a new account so I can get a new username, I'm back to newbie and I lose my l33t status. Sigh.

This popped up on the boards about 4 months ago. Interesting idea, but I'd rather spend my 269 dollars on something else.

Sean

Do you have any ideas how I could get my hands on a Rio Receiver from here in the Netherlands? It doesn't appear to be for sale here, I can find no online store that carries it and will ship to the Netherlands, and I don't know anyone in the UK or the US who I can ask to buy one and send it to me....

On a related note, do you happen to know why it is that I can't buy a Rio Receiver here? Would it be possible for the international empeg store to carry it so I could order one?

I really want to buy one, but it's almost as if there's an international conspiracy to keep all Rio Receivers out of my hands... :-(

Having a friend in the UK wouldn't help either as the UK suppliers are having no luck in getting SonicBlue to send them any Receivers. I am in the UK and I have just had to get a friend in the US to buy one and ship it to me.

I don't think SonicBlue are aware that there is anything beyond the US borders...

I am trying to gauge the want for Rio Receivers overseas. Crutchfield sells them in the US for $199. I would have no problem buying a few at a time and sending them out. I work for a company that has UPS and FedEx shipping computers and sending stuff overseas is not that much of a pain. I've sent CueCats to someone on this BBS in Switzerland before.

I figure I would charge $250 US plus whatever shipping is. This is not to rape anyone, but rather because I have to pay shipping and, if you pay via credit card with PayPal, they take a cut. Also, just because someone commits to a receiver doesn't mean they won't back out.

If not PayPal, the company I work for may be willing to stock a couple and charge directly with their merchant account. Send me an email to the address in my profile and let me know what kind of interest there is.

Remember that the $199 price includes an HPNA adapter card.

I thought I saw someone who got a $149.00 unit which did not include the adapter card. However, I could not find that option on the Crutchfield web site.

It is cool!

I have the Nr. 65 of the first 100 devices...And I don't wanna miss it!

But I think it's a device for geeks like the Empeg!

bye

Here a new review form Slashdot:
http://slashdot.org/features/01/12/10/1921200.shtml

bye

if you feel lucky, you can save $30 by ordering the version without the HPNA card directly from the e-store for $169.95.

i must admit, i'd consider ordering from crutchfield at the higher price, even if i didn't want the HPNA card.

--dan.

yeah but from the estore you might get lucky and get an extra empeg or something :-)

I've sent CueCats to someone on this BBS in Switzerland before.

So, since you know something about CueCats, and you're a music fan, perhaps you can help me. I have been searching FOREVER to find a program that can take the CD barcodes that my CueCat reads (unscrambled) and retrieve the associated CDDB info (Artist, Album, Track, Time, etc.). Best I've found is ones that read the CD when you insert it and populate a database. But, that still takes longer than scanning the barcodes. Although, I'd love to hear anybody's opinion on good CD database programs.

While I don't have any direct knowledge on the subject, I suspect that what you want isn't possible. The CDDB info is indexed by a number that is generated from the CD's table of contents. The barcode contains an entirely different, unrelated number which CDDB doesn't know anything about...

The barcode contains an entirely different, unrelated number which CDDB doesn't know anything about...

Unfortunately, I would have to agree with this statement. I've modded two cats to be regular barcode scanners for entering UPS/FedEx tracking numbers into our database

EDIT: I still can't find anything, but i think it's possible to write a program to access barpoint.com to get track details.

The folks behind DVD Profiler (which works with barcodes) were going to release a program for music CDs that would do what you want. Check their web site.

People in their forum should also be familiar with other solutions. I am next to positive a barcode referenced database and client exist.

Bruno

I also have one (#27, I believe), and love it. I don't want something that racks with the rest of my equipment, as I already have two 5' racks full of equipment in my living room, and don't have room for more. The SliMP3 sits on my tv (56" 16:9 HD set), next to my center speaker. It also sits snugly in front of the Linksys WAP11 802.11b access point that I use to bridge my living room ethernet devices to my spare bedroom/home office LAN.

As for the high voltage on the exposed board, there isn't any. The power supply is feeding 5V at a low amperage. Besides, once the unit is plugged in, you'd never need to touch it, unless you're moving it around. If you're doing that, just unplug it.

I agree it's about $100 more than it should be, but until Sean can ramp up production, the low volume is increasing component costs.

Plus, the server code's written entirely in Perl. Infinite hackability (I added Live365 streaming capability to mine.)