Hello Folks,


In a previous thread I was curious about DLNA and anyone's experiences
with it. DLNA is definitely a new MicroSoft Infection!


As it turns out, a very bright (savant) EE friend of mine shared his recent
experience with DLNA:

QUOTE:
I would suspect that anything designed to just "work over the web" would
be in bed with Microsoft - and have all sort of security holes in it. A
better option might be something that just works over 232. I have two
digital crossovers which work over a wire with a simple (very simple)
GUI. No connection to the internet required. On the other hand, the DJ
console I just bought *requires* an internet connection to set up the
first time. Not only that, but all security software turned OFF. So I
turned off Windows Update to plug that little hole. Wrong answer, McFly!
It blew up on me. Not
having Windows Update turned on szhexed the on-board firmware when it
tried
to download it. And the registry was corrupt, which I had to fix
manually. I *finally* got a driver and firmware package from them that
can be installed locally, offline. But what the *didn't* tell me is that
the firmware could
not be installed on a Windows 7 machine. Blew up again. Re-initialized
on my XP machine, where it works now. But I'm still trying to get the
Win 7 drivers sorted out. There are still registry errors. Now compare
this to my new measurement software I just bought - it works on ANYTHING
(even Wine) and comes with a USB hardware key. Can't run it on more than
one machine without the key. Isn't this about 10000 times easier??????

end rant.
END/QUOTE


So avoid DLNA unless you field test before purchase....

http://www.dlna.org/

James

On Thu, 2010-02-04 at 13:55 +0000, James wrote:
> Hello Folks,
>
>
> In a previous thread I was curious about DLNA and anyone's experiences
> with it. DLNA is definitely a new MicroSoft Infection!
>
>
> As it turns out, a very bright (savant) EE friend of mine shared his recent
> experience with DLNA:
>
> QUOTE:

[interesting story]

> end rant.
> END/QUOTE

I just Don't Get It(TM).

Being an embedded programmer, it is so friggin cheap and easy to chuck
on a TTL-USB chip with drivers available for just about anything. Then
you have usb-serial (or plain old serial if you want). Plonk your own
version of a tiny binary protocol on it an voila!

Why manufacturers crap around with complicated high-level non-compliant
non-standards is beyond me.

end rant

--
Iain Buchanan <iaindb at netspace dot net dot au>

It's now the GNU Emacs of all terminal emulators.
-- Linus Torvalds, regarding the fact that Linux started off as a terminal emulator

On 5 Feb 2010, at 03:47, Iain Buchanan wrote:


On Thu, 2010-02-04 at 13:55 +0000, James wrote:

Hello Folks,


In a previous thread I was curious about DLNA and anyone's
experiences

with it. DLNA is definitely a new MicroSoft Infection!


As it turns out, a very bright (savant) EE friend of mine shared
his recent

experience with DLNA:

QUOTE:


[interesting story]


end rant.
END/QUOTE


I just Don't Get It(TM).

Being an embedded programmer, it is so friggin cheap and easy to chuck
on a TTL-USB chip with drivers available for just about anything.
Then

you have usb-serial (or plain old serial if you want). Plonk your own
version of a tiny binary protocol on it an voila!


I'm extremely dubious of the alleged Microsoft-only compatibility.

James has failed so far to adequately answer the suggestion that
*surely* the amp is *controlled* by a web-browser interface. Surely
the point of the web-browser integration is so that the user can
program the front-panel keys and the list of favourite radio-stations.


Whilst I have seen embedded devices (Dell DRAC4) that utilise Windows-
only components, there was a purpose for doing so and I have seen many
more (Dell RAC in the PowerEdge 2650, home NAS devices, 2 x KVM-IP of
different manufacturers) that don't. Why should the programmer make
his own life more difficult for no good reason.


I could imagine that a tuner might enable one to stream audio to a
laptop using DLNA or a Windows plug-in, but in many cases one could
just stream internet radio directly to the laptop.


Since we don't know for sure what the purpose of the web-browser
integration is, it's impossible to even guess if it might be MS-only.
Like I say, I'm imagining it _only to be for setting up_ the tuner's
advanced functions, but the way to find out would be to talk to
someone who has one (on, say, the AV Forums messageboards) or to try it.


Pointless speculation is pointless.

Stroller.