Joining the party 3 drinks too late

[Michaelwagner]

Hi everyone!

I've been away from the Slim community for a while now - most of this year, in fact. It's been the summer from hell. So I'm a few drinks behind, I guess.

I got this wonderful letter a few days ago, asking if I wanted to try this thing out, and since it sounds like tha answer to my prayers, I said sure.

It arrived yesterday. Last night I was too tired to try it out.

Today I plugged the battery in and it started working. No manual came with it, not even a url on a scrap of paper, so I don't know much about it other than the pictures that Ben and others posted.

It connects to my wireless system, after a half dozen tries. But it can't find any slim servers. So I found the button that says "upgrade firmware". First mistake. I don't know what it did, but I seem to have more or less bricked it. Well, not quite, but the brightness is now such that no one without night vision glasses could see it, and the brightness control only flashes, doesn't actually do anything.

Factory reset only causes it to forget my SSID and WEP key, but doesn't actually reset it to the way I got it from the factory (which seems strange).

Are there software/server pre-reqs for this thing? I'm running 6.5B2, which I guess is a bit old for this guy. I was going to install 6.5.4 but I saw somewhere that you need 7. I guess I'll try that next.

[pfarrell]

I got mine yesterday, it needs a 7 series server.

[Michaelwagner]

I'm running 7 now. 7.0 - 13050.

Updating the remote software doesn't clear up the screen, which is the next best thing to unreadable, it's so dim.

[snarlydwarf]

Under Remote Settings there should be a brightness setting.

Home Button, Settings, Remote Settings, and it should be the first in the list.

[Michaelwagner]

Yes, and it doesn't work.

[Michaelwagner]

Or, rather, it does work, but not much. On a scale of 1 to 10, it spans the range from 1 to 2.

[snarlydwarf]

Weird, although I just noticed thaat with the current firmware mine goes to Very Dark at around 80% on the meter... below that is fine and above is fine but there is a range where it is Very Dark around 80% on the meter.

[Michaelwagner]

How do I figure out if I have the most recent firmware?

Mine says POP2 richard@jive-arm #35 Aug 22nd.

Didn't someone say it was being updated every night?

Does it go automatically to the slim/logitech web site to get the latest update or do I have to do something?

Sometimes the display gets brighter for a second.

And it was good and bright when I first got it, for the first 10 minutes, until I thought updating the firmware was a good idea.

[Michaelwagner]

That is, I selected Advanced Settings and then Software Update. Do I have to do more than that?

[kdf]

On 18-Sep-07, at 7:41 PM, Michaelwagner wrote:

>
> That is, I selected Advanced Settings and then Software Update. Do I
> have to do more than that?

There should be an option to update from server, once you have a more
recent firmware.

however with Aug 22, you probably only have the option of updating
from SDCard. Instructions for this are on the wiki:
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?Jive

Make friends with the wiki, and all of the jive pages. Keep tabs on
the threads in the Jive section of the forums.
There is also a developers room on campfire, mentioned by Dean in the
Developer forum.

Once you get the SDcard update and have more recent firmware, then
you should be able to download from your server each day. Best plan
is to make sure you have the latest before looking to point out any
bugs. Things are moving very quickly (even faster than I normally
keep up with). There are more hours in the day with active
development thanks to folks in more timezones. You can also join the
jive-checkins mailing list for the notices on the very latest checkins.

-kdf

[kdf]

On 18-Sep-07, at 7:39 PM, Michaelwagner wrote:

>
> How do I figure out if I have the most recent firmware?
>
> Mine says POP2 richard@jive-arm #35 Aug 22nd.

old stuff. You'll need to update via the SDCARD:
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?JiveBDK

but once you've done that, the nightly builds should keep a daily
firmware available for you to upgrade from your server.
-kdf

[Michaelwagner]

Hmm...I got the version without the SDcard ... I can buy an SDcard, I guess, but there's more, right, there's a serial port card?

[kdf]

On 18-Sep-07, at 8:47 PM, Michaelwagner wrote:

>
> Hmm...I got the version without the SDcard ... I can buy an SDcard, I
> guess, but there's more, right, there's a serial port card?

ah, right. The Hardware Beta only comes with the hardware.
However, the software image is only 12M so it doesn't require a huge
card.

the wiki has a list of cards known to work.

-kdf

[MickeyG]

Michael -- All of what you say is true. The plan was to post all of the documentation on the website, and a letter was enclosed in each box telling you to look there. Either the letter needs to be more obviously situated in the box or it wasn't included in yours. Thank you for the feedback, and keep on posting your opinions on the forums.

The gory details of getting started are here: http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?JiveBDK.

To summarize:

1. It does take a little work to get going. We're still working out the kinks in the out-of-box experience.
2. You need to upgrade to SlimServer 7 and get it running before you start up the Jive Hardware Platform. If not, then you'll run into the issues that you mention below. That wasn't clearly spelled out in the wiki. This requirement will be disappearing soon.
3. The version of firmware that came with this Jive Hardware Platform can have a problem updating firmware wirelessly. However, we've tried it here a couple of times with exactly the same firmware and hardware and it does work. You definitely need to have SlimServer 7 running first before attempting the upgrade. If you couldn't get it to work, you'll need to download the jive.bin file from here http://www.slimdevices.com/update/firmware/7.0/jive.bin onto an SD card.
4. You'll just need to use one of the SD cards listed in the wiki above. If you don't have one handy, then let me know and I can send one to you.
5. Only an SD card is optionally needed to update the firmware. The other hardware is needed if you're going to debug on the Linux 2.6 environment running on the Jive Hardware Platform. Let me know if you'd like create Jive applets, and I'll send you the additional hardware!
6. On one of the successful firmware upgrades we made, I saw the screen brightness issue you mentioned. It was pretty dark! I had never seen that before. However, it's bright enough to be allow you to navigate to Settings->Remote Settings->Brightness.

Mickey

[mvalera]

You will need to buy an SD card, but the serial port is not utilized for upgrading the firmware.

Please download the latest jive.bin firmware from:
http://www.slimdevices.com/downloads/nightly/latest/7.0/

Load it on the SD Card.

Place the SD card in the slot behind the battery.

Then on the Jive goto: Settings -> Remote Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Software Update -> Update from SD

The update should automatically work from then on.

[Michaelwagner]

There was an envelope in my package, but it only contained a pro forma invoice for export purposes.

Did outside-the-us packages get handled differently? Maybe since there was already an envelope inside, the other envelope was skipped?

I'll pick up an SD card on the way home today. I already printed off the Wiki page with the "good to go" card list.

[MickeyG]

There was an envelope in my package, but it only contained a pro forma invoice for export purposes.

Did outside-the-us packages get handled differently? Maybe since there was already an envelope inside, the other envelope was skipped?

I'll pick up an SD card on the way home today. I already printed off the Wiki page with the "good to go" card list.

I'm part of the team that packs the beta boxes. We're a small group, so we all wear many hats.

Shipments from US to Canada require a customs declaration on the outside, and we stick it on after the box is packed and labeled. The envelope with instructions goes in the box before that. I don't know whether it was accidentally omitted, but since you didn't find it I'll assume it was. Sorry about that.

I'm glad the SD compatibility card list came in handy. We bought every manufacturer we could find at the local Fry's Electronics, so I hope one of those listed is available near you.

Mickey

[Michaelwagner]

My apologies. I just found the envelope. It got in between two other objects in my briefcase and hid :-)

Had I read the damned thing, I would be in better shape now, I guess.

[kdf]

I'm glad the SD compatibility card list came in handy. We bought every manufacturer we could find at the local Fry's Electronics, so I hope one of those listed is available near you.

I have a selection at home from PNY, and Patriot ranging from about 512 to 2G. For qualifying on that list, is it a case of being able to plugin in and mount or will some work at this level and still fail to allow the firmware upgrade? Most of mine have data that I'd rather not have to move aside if they can qualify simply by being able to read what is already there.

If they work, I can add to the wiki.

-kdf

[MickeyG]

I have a selection at home from PNY, and Patriot ranging from about 512 to 2G. For qualifying on that list, is it a case of being able to plugin in and mount or will some work at this level and still fail to allow the firmware upgrade? Most of mine have data that I'd rather not have to move aside if they can qualify simply by being able to read what is already there.

If they work, I can add to the wiki.

-kdf

We stuck each of them into the Jive Hardware Platform and made sure they performed a firmware upgrade, rebooted afterwards, and you could see a new version in the About Jive screen.

It's most likely that the 512K and 1GB work fine, and anything bigger won't. When they don't, the "Upgrade from SD card" option doesn't even appear on the "Software Update" screen. Not sure why some cards aren't recognized -- possibly a Linux driver issue.

Mickey

[MickeyG]

My apologies. I just found the envelope. It got in between two other objects in my briefcase and hid :-)

Had I read the damned thing, I would be in better shape now, I guess.

Thanks for the update. Maybe you're actually 4 drinks too late? 8^)

Mickey

[Michaelwagner]

Maybe you're actually 4 drinks too late? 8^)
So it would appear. I did buy a Kingston 1G card this evening and will try it out tonight or tomorrow. Gosh, they're down to $39 or something.

[kdf]

On 19-Sep-07, at 2:57 PM, MickeyG wrote:

>
> It's most likely that the 512K and 1GB work fine, and anything bigger
> won't.

Seems to fit with what I have here.

512M Soultek works
1G PNY works
2G Patriot microSD with adaptor fails

My other card is a 1G Kingston which, of course, works

-kdf

[snarlydwarf]

The 32M (I think) MobileSD that came with my N700 worked, too (with the adaptor).

There was some kernel patch to get the N700 accept cards larger than 1G, but as I recall even those can be iffy, the high-speed cards seem to vary in their specs a bunch.

[Michaelwagner]

My other card is a 1G Kingston
Sounds like a bumper sticker :-)

[Michaelwagner]

Is there some kind of booby prize for the first person to brick theirs?

I now have a nice new Kingston 1GB SDcard. I put jive.bin on it. It put the card in the Jive hardware. It recognizes the card. It copies and verifies the update. It reboots. It's the same old software from August. #35 IIRC. I looked at the header for the jive.bin I downloaded from the site. It's got a September 20th date stamp in it and say it's #39 (I think - I'm not familiar with these headers). So I fed it the right update, and it didn't update.

Anyone got any more suggestions?

Oh, the display hardware is good and bright when it first boots up and shows the logitech logo (what is that logo, anyways, a chicken head?) but almost immediately aferwards it dims down to barely readable levels.

[Michaelwagner]

Oh, and I've memorized my complete WEP key now :-(

[dean]

On Sep 20, 2007, at 7:05 AM, Michaelwagner wrote:
> Is there some kind of booby prize for the first person to brick
> theirs?
Yes!

A replacement. :)


> I now have a nice new Kingston 1GB SDcard. I put jive.bin on it. It
> put
> the card in the Jive hardware. It recognizes the card. It copies and
> verifies the update. It reboots. It's the same old software from
> August. #35 IIRC. I looked at the header for the jive.bin I downloaded
> from the site. It's got a September 20th date stamp in it and say it's
> #39 (I think - I'm not familiar with these headers). So I fed it the
> right update, and it didn't update.
>
> Anyone got any more suggestions?
The jive.bin file is really a zip file. Unzip it and verify that the
version file in there has the right number.

> Oh, the display hardware is good and bright when it first boots up and
> shows the logitech logo (what is that logo, anyways, a chicken head?)
A stylized hand, I think.

> but almost immediately aferwards it dims down to barely readable
> levels.
We're working on that brightness sequence at boot time.

[Patrick Dixon]

Is there some kind of booby prize for the first person to brick theirs?

I think I beat you to it. Having got mine working yesterday, it now boots straight into the Player screen but won't respond to any buttons. If I play something using the normal remote, it tells me that it's playing, but that's about it. I've pulled the battery about 3 times, but I can't get it to reset.

Is there a button combination that will give a factory reset on boot, like the SB?

[snarlydwarf]

Maybe it isn't bricked at all: I had been running 7.0 from the tarball, which worked fine, but it seems to have broken on the 19th build. Not sure what broke, but it refuses to find players. (I see it ask when I use tcpdump, and it gets an answer, but for some reason no players show up...)

Reverting to the 18th fixed it. I haven't tried the 20th yet.

[Siduhe]

I think I beat you to it. Having got mine working yesterday, it now boots straight into the Player screen but won't respond to any buttons.

Two of my buttons are non-operational - home and back. Back worked when I first got it but now doesn't. Home has never worked. Am assuming this is a hardware issue.

[rtitmuss]

> but almost immediately aferwards it dims down to barely readable
> levels.
We're working on that brightness sequence at boot time.

True, we are but I think Michael's problem is that the screen stays dim and he can't change it in the brightness menu. Michael is that correct?

[rtitmuss]

Two of my buttons are non-operational - home and back. Back worked when I first got it but now doesn't. Home has never worked. Am assuming this is a hardware issue.

If you look in the advanced settings you'll find a factory test menu for testing the keypad. Can you try this to see if the buttons are detected correctly.

[rtitmuss]

I think I beat you to it. Having got mine working yesterday, it now boots straight into the Player screen but won't respond to any buttons.

Strange, can you scroll up/down?


Is there a button combination that will give a factory reset on boot, like the SB?

Yes press ADD while powering on, like the SB.

You can also revert to a previous firmware, press VOL UP while powering on.

[snarlydwarf]

Okay, just installed the Deb from last night, and Jive dropped offline again, not finding any players.

The tarball from the 18th works, but the tarball from the 19th does the same thing as the .deb: it cant find players, and software update doesn't work (it is almost like it cant find the server, but I have seen it find the server with tcpdump, and the server nicely responds with a list of players...)

Jive version 1r497, various tarballs/debs :)

[Michaelwagner]

Gosh, who'da thunk it. So much competition for the honorific of first-to-brick! I thought I'd be the first idiot to break it, but it seems I have a lot of competition at the bottom :-)

Dean: I didn't realize it was a zip file (although the download did seem to think it was a zip file, but I didn't think any more of it). I looked at it with PSPAD. Maybe it unzipped it for me, but somehow it was totally transparent. Near the front of the file, I saw an email address, a version number, a date stamp, all very readable.

Do I need to do anything to get my replacement? Or is it going to mail itself to me on the strength of this thread alone?

If that's a stylized hand, it's 2 fingers short of a full load.

Richard: you are correct. The box boots up and is quite bright during the chicken head logo, then dims. The brightness control works, but the range is wrong, it goes from dim to very dim to totally unusable. You can see, as you rotate the dial, flashes of the proper brightness but they are fleeting. I know what the proper brightness was, because the display was fine until the first time I tried to update the software. Of course, it couldn't find my slim server then either, so it wasn't much good, but at least it made a decent nightlight. :-)

Siduhe - the wiki claims that holding home will turn the device off. I've never experienced this. But if you're inside a player, looking at, say, "now playing", pressing home gets you back to where the list of players is (and remote settings). At least, it does for me (not that I can see it well, but if I squint, I can see it happening).

[bpa]

On my Jive I found I had to hold the home key down for 15 secs before it powered off.

I read somewhere that Jive holds 2 copies of the jive system so that if an update fails you can boot up the previous version. To do this you need to press a key while powering up the jive but I can't find the info which says which key.

[Patrick Dixon]

Strange, can you scroll up/down?



Yes press ADD while powering on, like the SB.

You can also revert to a previous firmware, press VOL UP while powering on.OK thanks.

I think this is a problem with the latest nightly (ubuntu, unstable).

On powering up the remote, unless you are really, really quick, it drops you straight to the Player menu, which seems broken. The scroll, enter and back buttons click, but there is no action for them to take; the home, play and other player buttons do nothing and the Player screen is empty (no playlist). Add/Play locks it, and hold home powers off (this takes a long time as bpa says).

If I'm quick and intercept it before it gets to the player menu, I can get into settings which seems ok. I have managed to factory reset and update firmware, but it's still the same.

Is this another 'old perl module' issue do you think?

BTW, the button click seems to randomly come and go - anyone else seeing that?

[bpa]

In the Wiki Jive Flash layout page - try booting with ADD key or with VOL+ key pressed.



By default pressing ADD on boot will perform a factory reset.
Pressing VOL+ is enabled by the upgrader.

[Patrick Dixon]

> Oh, the display hardware is good and bright when it first boots up and
> shows the logitech logo (what is that logo, anyways, a chicken head?)
A stylized hand, I think.
It's only got three fingers :-)

[Michaelwagner]

On my Jive I found I had to hold the home key down for 15 secs before it powered off.
Thanks! Holding it down for something between 10 and 15 seconds did the trick for me!

[Michaelwagner]

I've found that I have a hidden talent - not only was I an early bricker, but I'm working on how many different ways I can brick the thing unintentionally.

Today I tried to remove the oh-so-tight battery cover, and I managed to lock the screen. It says - screen locked, press add and play to unlock, but it doesn't work. However, pressing this key paid does brighten up the screen momentarily, but then it locks the screen again and chimps down into power save mode. Very sparing on power, this remote is.

[rtitmuss]

Michael,

Something is clearly wrong with your unit. In some ways it sounds like your running a much too old firmware for that hardware revision, or your kernel and filesystem are mismatched.

I think you said you upgraded the firmware? If so try pressing the volume up key when putting the battery in, it should reboot to the original then. Does that work better with the backlight/key lock behavior?

Richard

[Siduhe]

If you look in the advanced settings you'll find a factory test menu for testing the keypad. Can you try this to see if the buttons are detected correctly.

Thanks for the tip - the back button responds and is detected, but the home button is not. Holding the home button down for 15 seconds or more doesn't do anything either.

[oreillymj]

At first I was assuming that only U.S. citizens where getting on to the Jive beta program, and since I live in Eire wouldn't be included.

But now I remember, I got both my SB2 & SB3 delivered to friends in the U.S. for transportation home. I only got the SB3 remote upgrade delivered to my home address.

Anyway, Jive looks cool. Would it appear to be close to "release candidate" stage where existing owners could buy one?

[oreillymj]

Wow, I just noticed I had 2 PM's waiting for me and 1 was a beta sign up. Hope I'm not too late.

[Fifer]

Wow, I just noticed I had 2 PM's waiting for me and 1 was a beta sign up. Hope I'm not too late.

I hope not (and don't think you will be). I only saw my invite when I returned from holiday last weekend. The system allowed me to register and said I'd receive a UPS advice when it ships, so I'm eagerly awaiting that email. (I'm in Scotland btw).

[Michaelwagner]

I think you said you upgraded the firmware?
I tried, but the upgrade never took. It still says the August date (20th?).
I tried to back up the software, but that didn't change anything, perhaps because I tried upgrading so often, the backup image is the same bad image.

[Michaelwagner]

At first I was assuming that only U.S. citizens where getting on to the Jive beta program, and since I live in Eire wouldn't be included.
I'm in Canada, FWIW. I know those in the EU think Canada is a part of the US, but, trust me, it's not.

(and Switzerland is part of Europe, right, Michael?)

[Craig]

I hope not (and don't think you will be). I only saw my invite when I returned from holiday last weekend. The system allowed me to register and said I'd receive a UPS advice when it ships, so I'm eagerly awaiting that email. (I'm in Scotland btw).

I hope I'm not either, I got my email and filled the form in over two weeks ago and I've heard nothing yet :(

Craig

[Fifer]

I hope I'm not either, I got my email and filled the form in over two weeks ago and I've heard nothing yet :(

Craig

I filled mine in a week ago today. I'm sure the Slim team are just figuring out the best way to drop-ship a batch to the UK. ;)

[slimpy]

I signed up on the 7th and haven't heard anything since. Yesterday I contacted Mike Lavera and he said that they just got some more units in and that they will ship soon.

-s.

[Michaelwagner]

Yesterday I contacted Mike Lavera and he said that they just got some more units in and that they will ship soon.
Hopefully they'll have more recent firmware in them :-)

[mvalera]

We program them in batches so they are likely a few days old by the time they ship, and several days old by the time you get them.

We update the firmware every night, I'd do an update right after you get it set up.

Mike

[Michaelwagner]

Well, this version 7 server that's required for the jive platform still has a couple of rough spots.

My grandson was dancing in my lap to the music, but then his granny moved him into the living room, so I tried to synchronize the two players. A little dialogue box popped up that said "Imagine a nice little synchronization dialogue box here".

So I laughed, but it didn't synchronize the two players (and in fact, I couldn't find any way to synchronize the players, because the player settings menu had no save button visible).

I know this isn't about the Jive remote, but it is about the server that's a prerequisite to testing the remote.

[Craig]

Well mine is now in the hands of UPS so don't be playing that damn music so loud that you can't hear me knocking :-)

Craig

[Fifer]

When did you get your shipping confirmation Craig?

EDIT: No matter, mine is with UPS too, due for delivery tomorrow. (I found the notification in my Spam bucket).

[tyler_durden]

I never saw the email, and only discovered the private message on Sunday. I filled out the form but haven't heard from anyone about it yet. Is it too late?

TD