Favourite things about the Jive hardware

[adamslim]

Rather than list my little moans - many of which are covered elsewhere, and which I will add to in due course - I thought a thread that highlights what people really like would be nice.

The intention is to avoid the Ford approach, where (according to the urban myth) they get people to give feedback, and remove anything that 10% or more didn't like - resulting in something outrageously bland.

Of course, feel free to suggest anything that hasn't been thought of that you think will make it really special :)

My Shortlist:

The motion detector thing that turns it on as soon as you move it. Absolutely marvellous. It looks off, I pick it up and it's on. So cool.

The base, which is solid and shiny - better than any PDA cradle I've had.

What would make it totally cool - make it milled out of solid metal: really heavy and cool to the touch.

Adam

[Mark Lanctot]

Good thread!

My likes:

- the charging stand as you mentioned. Really well-built and substantial. The clip-on power prongs are a neat idea.

- the build quality of the remote itself is very good. It's quite solid.

- the remote's weight and balance are perfect - the unit is very comfortable in the hand

- the buttons are easy to operate with the thumb of the same hand that's holding the remote

- the screen has a good resolution, colour balance and backlighting level

- I'll second the motion sensor. Works flawlessly.

[snarlydwarf]

The weight and size are perfect. "The size of a Hershey's Bar" is easy to hold without resorting to odd hourglass shapes (like the ugly Comcast remote ick). The mass is enough to feel substantial and not cheesy.

The fonts are pretty: very readable.

I'm taking a break from breaking servers ("oops, sorry, no one can send mail...") at work for the next few days, so I should have some time to play with it more. So far, I am quite impressed.

[Mark Lanctot]

Oh, I almost forgot!

I love the JHB startup sound. It's very high-quality, very classy. It hints that the subsequent user experience will follow the same vein.

[Mark Lanctot]

Wow, just found another thing. I started using Flickr yesterday, and suddenly realized what the Flickr screensaver was all about.

Very cool! Everything's oriented sideways though.

[autopilot]

But it's the Jive software we are testing. Don't get too hung up on the hardware, it's just a vehicle to test the software. Will chance before it ever goes retail.

[nicketynick]

But it's the Jive software we are testing. Don't get too hung up on the hardware, it's just a vehicle to test the software. Will chance before it ever goes retail.

Meh, don't kid yourself - this is just as much a test of the hardware as the software. There has been some significant effort invested in the hardware already - it's not just a convenient shell for testing the software. (imo, etc.) For example, if you check the "About Jive" item under Controller Settings/Advanced, there is a credit to our esteemed friend Fred Bould - I seriously doubt he would be involved if this wasn't a serious effort.

[Mark Lanctot]

But it's the Jive software we are testing. Don't get too hung up on the hardware, it's just a vehicle to test the software. Will chance before it ever goes retail.

You're probably right, but all the same, there are some positives with the software which would be great if they are carried over into a commercial product.

I just wanted to put them out here before (for example) the dev team decided to eliminate the startup sound because no one ever commented on it.

[cliveb]

I just wanted to put them out here before (for example) the dev team decided to eliminate the startup sound because no one ever commented on it.
Just to add an alternate POV, it wouldn't bother me if they eliminated the startup sound. I find it kind of pointless, and would certainly switch it off if I could.

[funkstar]

Just to add an alternate POV, it wouldn't bother me if they eliminated the startup sound. I find it kind of pointless, and would certainly switch it off if I could.
Snap. I hate startup sounds.

[mflint]

My favourite thing so far: getting to work this morning to find an invitation in my inbox. Cheers guys!

But... if your intention is to sell the device, it's probably not a good idea to give away hardware to all and sundry! ;-)

Matthew :-D

[)p(]

My favourite thing so far:
But... if your intention is to sell the device, it's probably not a good idea to give away hardware to all and sundry! ;-)

Matthew :-D

I would not mind that at all...looks almost like folks like me without one are becoming the minority on this forum ;)

peter

[funkstar]

But... if your intention is to sell the device, it's probably not a good idea to give away hardware to all and sundry! ;-)
No idea on the actual figures, but i think the forum membership would be a tiny fraction of the actual customer base. And if there is going to be a huge marketing push for any new device (why wouldn't there be?) then that ratio is going to get even smaller.

[slimpy]

No idea on the actual figures, but i think the forum membership would be a tiny fraction of the actual customer base. And if there is going to be a huge marketing push for any new device (why wouldn't there be?) then that ratio is going to get even smaller.
Especially if the jive remote will be bundled with a new hardware player (without display)...

-s.

[funkstar]

'zactly ;)

[Heimiko]

I would not mind that at all...looks almost like folks like me without one are becoming the minority on this forum ;)
peter

not really, it's just you're peeking inside the Jive section, which contains mostly jave-hardware owners I guess ;-) I'm also peeking (no jive here). Eagerly awaiting official release so I can test this bad boy myself. Some windows (or maybe PDA?) version would be great for some test ride. I read somewhere this was planned along the way.

[bpa]

There is a Jive desktop which can run on Linux and Windows and it appears like Jive remote except you use the keyboard instead of the real buttons.

In another post it was mentioned that it is intended that the Jive desktop will take over from SoftSqueeze.

At present you have to build yourself. Here are the Windows build instructions

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?BuildingJiveOnVCExpress

The general Jive instructions are here - the build instruction for a desktop are a little bit down the page
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?JiveSoftware

[)p(]

not really, it's just you're peeking inside the Jive section, which contains mostly jave-hardware owners I guess ;-) I'm also peeking (no jive here). Eagerly awaiting official release so I can test this bad boy myself. Some windows (or maybe PDA?) version would be great for some test ride. I read somewhere this was planned along the way.


Hehe...I guess that is why we peek here...waiting for the official release impatiently :)


peter