Giving up on SqueezeBox. DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!

[oldsmobuick]

I have tried and tried and tried. I'm finally giving up. As a career tech support professional, I am very sharp when it comes to things computer-related. I can honestly say that SqueezeBox and Slim Server are in NO WAY ready for prime time.

The server takes up 80-90% of my CPU, rendering my 2 GHz mac G5 totally useless anytime i click on an artist, genre, etc. for MINUTES while it freezez the browser and tries to load LOCAL data! I've played with settings and versions now for about 5 months and have never been able to arrive at an acceptable level of performance.

I am using production version software (6.1), not the beta stuff.

I will recommend that my other leading-edge tech friends stay away from squeezebox and I shall return to iTunes/Airport Express. I urge the moderators to leave this message up so that it can serve as a warning to those considering the squeezebox.

-Nick Johnson

[seanadams]

Nice. Did you try contacting us for help before deciding to get on here and slam the product with your own anecdotal experience which is evidently not the norm?

[oldsmobuick]

I went through the boards if that's what you mean. A user should NOT NEED to spend time dealing with tech support when using a standard config and release. I think your sarcastic and unapolagetic reply goes a long way in showing the type of attitude Slim has toward its customers.

Take note, people! THIS IS THE CEO who has this attitude! Oh yeah, forgot to mention my Squeezebox was DOA from the factory. I was told to DISASSEMBLE the unit and reposition the circuit board in order to get it working. Does this sound ready for prime time to you?

[chris]

Tech support was very helpful. just be sure that if you take off the card under the wireless card that you keep track of the bolt, spacer and tiny tiny nut.
-nick

*sigh* ...

[radish]

I was told to DISASSEMBLE the unit and reposition the circuit board in order to get it working. Does this sound ready for prime time to you?

Not only did you thank Slim for their help at the time (had a patience transplant since then?) but this was simply a helpful suggestion. What happens when your new iMac doesn't work? It's back to Apple for a couple of weeks to get fixed. I'm sure Slim would have happily RMAd the faulty unit if you preferred, but they gave you a solution which would avoid having to be without your unit. That strikes me as excellent service, and something Apple (and others) could learn from.

I urge the moderators to leave this message up so that it can serve as a warning to those considering the squeezebox.

I'm sure they will. One bad comment amongst 1000's of good ones is hardly likely to cause any problems.

I shall return to iTunes/Airport Express

OK. Good luck with that!

I am very sharp when it comes to things computer-related.

Careful you don't cut yourself...

[seanadams]

I went through the boards if that's what you mean. A user should NOT NEED to spend time dealing with tech support when using a standard config and release. I think your sarcastic and unapolagetic reply goes a long way in showing the type of attitude Slim has toward its customers.

Take note, people! THIS IS THE CEO who has this attitude! Oh yeah, forgot to mention my Squeezebox was DOA from the factory. I was told to DISASSEMBLE the unit and reposition the circuit board in order to get it working. Does this sound ready for prime time to you?

My post was NOT sarcastic. I am seriously suggesting that you ask for help with YOUR system before concluding that there is a general problem. Of course there are situations which will cause Slimserver to bog down. You will notice the same phenomenon if you switch to an application on the Mac that has been inacitve for a few hours while you're using other apps (this is swapping - it's normal and can be reduced by adding RAM). But if you are seeing response time of MINUTES on a regular basis then it's probably something else - it means something specific to your setup needs to be addressed - if you don't want us to fix it then I don't know what else to do. Coming here and slamming the product is not constructive. You have people willing to help here.

[dean]

On Aug 28, 2005, at 2:08 PM, oldsmobuick wrote:
> The server takes up 80-90% of my CPU, rendering my 2 GHz mac G5
> totally
> useless anytime i click on an artist, genre, etc. for MINUTES while it
> freezez the browser and tries to load LOCAL data! I've played with
> settings and versions now for about 5 months and have never been able
> to arrive at an acceptable level of performance.
Wow, that sounds completely broken.

Can you give some more specific details about the problem so we can
try to reproduce it?

> I am using production version software (6.1), not the beta stuff.

Hm, the only previous related issue I saw that you posted was in the
beta forum about the 6.1 beta...

> I will recommend that my other leading-edge tech friends stay away
> from
> squeezebox and I shall return to iTunes/Airport Express. I urge the
> moderators to leave this message up so that it can serve as a warning
> to those considering the squeezebox.

Don't worry, we don't edit out stuff. We fix it.

[cuk0724]

The server takes up 80-90% of my CPU, rendering my 2 GHz mac G5 totally useless anytime i click on an artist, genre, etc. for MINUTES while it freezez the browser and tries to load LOCAL data! I've played with settings and versions now for about 5 months and have never been able to arrive at an acceptable level of performance.

I hope you do re-consider and post some more details, so the team can see if they can re-create the fault.

I run Slimeserver on a Linkstation NAS with 64mb of RAM and a processor the size of a pea with no problems what so ever.

[oldsmobuick]

*sigh* ...

it's passive-aggressive people like you who drove me out of seattle and to NYC. every now and then i get a little reminder like yours that there is a whole country of people who will write something like "*sigh*" instead of saying what they really mean. thank god for this city, the only place in the US where people aren't passive aggressive like you!

now then, allow me to interpret that wise *sigh* of yours, "chris." hell, i feel like i've wasted so much time on fiddling with the squeezebox that another 40 or 50 hours responding to passive-aggressives on the boards is a drop in the bucket.

i imagine if you had really said what you meant it might go a little something like this:

"hey dude, why are you complaining about that. i went to the trouble od STALKING YOU becausee i REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to FLAME you in public to feel better about myself and I found that you complimented tech support for helping you out on that issue. See? Here's proof in your OWN WORDS. See how GOD DAMN AWESOME I AM?"

and yes, you're right. tech support was very helpful and the results of your virtual private investigation are that: (wait for it...) i give credit where it's due! and i feel awful for those poor guys on the support line who have to tell people how to DISASSEMBLE their BRAND NEW device and MONKEY with the circuit boards! it's not their fault, it's crappy quality control.

so anyway, i await your reply. let me guess... "whatever." or maybe "loser" or some similar constructive remark.

[oldsmobuick]

> I am using production version software (6.1), not the beta stuff.

Hm, the only previous related issue I saw that you posted was in the
beta forum about the 6.1 beta...
[color=blue]

yes, i was in the beta boards because i was trying out the beta software in the hopes that it would speed up performance. my take on product like the SB these days is that if they're marketed toward the average user then the average user should be able to figure it out. i don't have time to troubleshoot a production version server. nobody should have to, i'm sure you'd agree.