VBA needs to become a CONSUMER product

[liffy99]

Don't get me wrong - the concept of the VBA is a sound one. A compact, affordable and quiet unit making it easy to load, store and stream media at home. And when it works it works well.


But it's just too flaky to be a mainstream product at the moment, needing customers that are far more savvy about networks, Linux and file management than the average user.


Getting software upgrades is all well and good but the foundations really need sorting first. So in the spirit of CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, can I make some suggestions;


1) Write a proper manual. One that is just as useful for MAC users as much as the 90% using Windows. Include diagrams of connectivity options; explain in clear and unambiguous terms what instructions are seeking to do, and pay attention to spelling and grammar. Don't assume that all users are comfortable with Linux scripts. As a reasonably intelligent user I am firmly at the 'application' end of the IT spectrum yet I'm expected to enter Command Line instructions without even being told how to access the Command Line !


The Documentation section is a start but it is in some places inaccurate, has broken web links and is very short on the WHY. Have its contents been road tested - for example by giving the page to a brother / mother / bloke in the street and asking them to follow the instructions ?


2) Don't rely on the Forum as a support function. It's great to have so many interested and dedicated users involved, but this does NOT replace the need for technical support that can respond in a reasonable time.


3) State what options on the VBA work and which do not. For example, part of my decision to buy a VBA was based on the presence of a multi-card reader. Yet it seems almost criminal that, for a unit that is intended to store photos (as much as other media files) it is disabled. I've no idea which other of the connectivity options work (all of the USB slots for instance).


4) Check that the stated functionality actually works across different platforms. I'm writing this as a result of disabling my entire music system by having had the audacity to run the GUI Upgrade function (which has kicked my VBA off the network and now means I have to source a monitor and keyboard just to try and see what the issue is).


5) Consider creating a FAQ section. The search function is not the most helpful I've used by a long way and one is often left with competing and conflicting information. An FAQ should contain definitive answers.


6) Suggestions are obvioulsy listened, and responded, to. Might it be an idea to prioritise what customers actually want (e.g. by having a top 5). For example mine would certainly include a) making the card reader work, b) having a clear and effective backup (and restore) function and c) making Upgrade work properly to include all upgrade versions (the instructions for trying to get to the latest version terrify me).


So a bit of a rant perhaps, but I would love to see the popularity of the VBA increase. To do so though means paying a lot of attention to ease of use for the average consumer. As it stands the VBA may be fine for the more technically knowledgeable (and the opportunity to tweak away for those that want to should not be lost) but would not pass muster if launched by Logitech, Microsoft or Apple.


OK - shoot me !

[Musky]

I totally agree. It might be fine for the free downloaded version of Vortexbox to require all sorts of computer/Linux knowledge but if you fork out upwards of £350 for the Appliances they should be sorted. I don't think the lack of an ordinary clear instructions/manual would be remotely acceptable in anything else costing £20 never mind £350. The basic idea is good and the ripping/storage part seems to work well, but pretty much everything else could do with sorting in one way or another to make it all more user friendly.


Shoot me too

[hifihere]

Vortexbox is an open source project that changes faster than


a manual could be updated. Altough an appliance is being sold


it is far from a consumer product since it's use is wide open to


the changes that the user wants to make.




A true consumer product has to be locked down to developement


by the manufacturer. It is what the manufacturer makes it to be.


An open source project is free to go in many different directions


at once. It is what we (the community) makes it to be.

[Musky]

Why not have a manual for Vba as it comes from the factory before the more advanced user alters it. At least you would have a basis to start from. Might sell more too if it were more fixed down. I suspect a lot of people just want to rip their music to it and then play it back without having to do anything more complicated - this is what I thought I would do using Vb player, but the gap thing put an end to that to a certain extent, making me have to download more new things that I didn't want to, such as Mp3tag, CryptoTerm, Subsonic etc. If it had worked fully straight from the box would I have needed any of these things? Later I might have wanted to do all sorts of things but maybe not straight away just to play my music normally. Some of my problems have been down to insufficient research on my part, but I think that if I had done more research I might not have bought this system.

[andrew]

1. Good idea. we'll write one when we have the time!

2. Forum support is great! We would have to charge double for our products if we had dedicated phone support. Users like VortexBox becasue it does a lot for the price.

3. Not sure why you though the VortexBox Appliance had a card reader. It's not listed in the specs and not shown in any pictures. I fact it's not mentioned anywhere!

4. There are literally thousnads of network routers on the market. Most of them are low cost and have lots of problems. We could never test them all. We do provide a list of routers that work well with VortexBox.

http://astore.amazon.com/vort-.....amp;node=3

5. we have a FAQ. We just need to add more to it http://vortexbox.org/documentation/ (if only there were more hours in the day) Fortunatlly may users have been updating our wiki with lot's of information!

6. If only we could make VortexBox do what everybody wants! We do have a several forum threads where users express what they want. We try our best to add features if they are possible.

[6p14pev]

My personal opinion is that it is not unreasonable to expect a manual


when you fork upwards of $350 for a product. It need not be anything


too fancy - a "Getting Started" tutorial, with pictures and clear


instructions on some of the most common tasks that a user would


want to perform.


Screenshots from a working system, so that users have a basis for


comparing their own system's output to what is shown in the manual


would definitely help.


It is true, all of the information is available either in the Wiki, or on the


forum, but a printed document would be much appreciated by users.


Maintaining this document should not be too difficult since the basic


feature set of VB is quite solid now.


Also, a section on troubleshooting for the most commonly experienced


problems would be invaluable.


VB is a great product; a self-contained manual would make it better,


in my opinion.

[liffy99]

Thanks for the feedback - a few points though;


1) There are so many basics that just aren't mentioned. My favourite - lots of discussion about command line usage but no explanation of how to get to a command line for Mac users - this is just a sentence to be added - launch Mac 'Terminal' and use the ssh command etc. Surely this should be part of your instructions by now.


2) Forum support is useful, in fact I'd much more in the dark withoiut it, but how is a user to know what is, or not, a definitive solution ? Might end up trying something and getting in more of a mess. VBA software versions could be released at specific points (every 6 months ?) with definitive changes and an updated manual (it wouldn't be as hard to update additions once it's written). The download software could be subject to a different regime. People like me would be content with the former, tweakers the latter.


3) Card Reader - it's in the pictures of the VBA if you look closely ! Still ! Will this ever be part of the VBA ? I assumed that if its part of the package it would work.


4) Sorry, I wasn't referring to routers (I've not had any issues on that score with a BT Home Hub), more about operability for Apple as much as Windows users.


5) FAQ - yes there is one, with 3 entries !


But fully support a move to write a manual for the 'standard' VBA. If people want to tweak settings etc then so be it, and that's up to them. Whewn I bought my VBA all I got was a single A4 sheet which told me nothing more than the Root password !


And why, several months after support for Fedora 11 was removed, is there still no warning on the website for v1.4 or v1.5 users, that trying to use the Upgrade function will disable their system (as it has done mine) ? Unbelievable given the serious consequences this has had.


Still very sore and now trying to find a keyboard / monitor to get my system running again

[andrew]

1. You should never need to go to command line. If you do connecting a monitor and keyboard is fairly straight forward. If you can set up a Mac or PC, most people have, you can connect a monitor and keyboard.


2. We do this already. If you hit the update button you get minor releases. To get a major release (about once a year) you need the command line.


3. The card reader in NOT in the picture. I actually when to the trouble to photoshop it out to prevent confusion. It will never be supported. It just happens to be on the motherboard we use but we have no software for it.


4. Good to hear it.


Many consumer electronics including iPods etc. Don't come with manuals. This is probably because the software is updated so quickly a manual would be obsolete by the time it came back from the printers.


You system should NOT be disabled during an upgrade. If you can't get to it over the network this is usually caused by a problem with your router. Power off your router and your VortexBox. Then power on your router wait a few minutes and power on your VortexBox. If this doesn’t work you may have some other problem with you network. I can work with you over email to resolve it.

[Musky]

Difficult to get gapless playback without point 1

[liffy99]

Hi Andrew and thanks for the replies - any help would be appreciated but;




"1. You should never need to go to command line" and then you say . . .


"To get a major release (about once a year) you need the command line." I rest my case.


3. the reader IS in the picture at the top of this screen. Enlarge the image and take a look . .


And as for the disabled system I've restarted the VBA and router several times, tried pinging, messing about in Finder trying to find the VBA on the network. All was fine before I attempted the Upgrade. Yes, I've lost connection to a change IP address a couple of times in the past but always managed to resolve that. The BT Homehub gives me the IP addresses (thought there are a couple of 'unknowns' in there too which I'm not too sure about).


If you think I can resolve this without finding and connecting a monitor and keyboard please tell me where to start . All the other stuff on my home network is working.


regards