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Logitech Buys Slim Devices
Logitech today announced the purchase of Slim Devices, longtime makers of network audio players SliMP3, Squeezebox, and the new Transporter. A couple years back Logitech bought Harmony Remote, becoming the makers of all my wireless control devices for my entertainment center (Bluetooth mouse, remote control, and PS2 controllers). Now they make my Squeezebox, too.
My experience with Logitech hasn't exactly been stellar. While my Squeezebox is probably my favorite piece of equipment in my entertainment system, I have a box of cast-away Logitech parts that don't seem to adhere to the same quality standards. Additionally, one thing I cherish about my Squeezebox is its integration with SlimServer running on a Linux machine. SlimServer has its oddities, but in general it's a solid piece of software. I'm uncertain that Logitech would be as supportive of Linux as Slim Devices currently is. Prove me wrong, Logitech, prove me wrong ... please?
logitech makes CRAPPY drivers. their software side of things is really bad.
;(
large companies almost ALWAYS ruin smaller ones when they buy them (out).
I have a slim mp3 hardware box. its reasonably well designed and mostly trouble free.
but honestly, I am not going to hope for much more now that they're no longer a small company
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"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
As a squeezebox owner, good and bad thoughts are passing through my head...
Will the quality remain top notch in future versions?
Will we see price drops?
Will logitech be able to pull off a killer device that combines the squeezebox with an equally versitile video component? (mpeg,wmv,mov,avi,etc)
the kings of bloated drivers (30MB to install my keyboard?!?) meet the kings of super-awesome software. WHO WILL WIN?!
My money is on logitech. Glad I bought a squeezebox a few months ago (they are 10lbs of awesome stuffed into a 5lb sack).
there is no need to sign your posts. this isn't usenet. your username is right there above your post. stop it.
I love my Squeezebox. I have a box full of Logitech peripherals that I no longer use. I can only hope that they let the Slim Devices folks keep doing what they do best, but with the marketing muscle and distribution that Logitech can leverage (I hate seeing Roku players on the shelves at Fry's, but no Squeezeboxen.)
One of the best things about the Squeezebox is the open source SlimServer app that powers it. Written in Perl, it runs on any operating system. How can Logitech take that away? It's even conceivable that, if Logitech destroys the Squeezebox, somebody else can create a hardware box that will run on Slimserver.
I think re-engineering Slimerserver would be difficult, expensive and stupid. Logitech will keep it. That's the core of the Linux Squeezebox compatibility right there.
When I read this piece of news, I was immediately reminded of the purchase of Empeg my SONICblue. Empeg was a kick-ass piece of equipment, and SONICblue promptly ran it to the ground. I have a bad feeling that same thing will happen here. The world is full of cases where a big company buys a smaller company with great product, only to kill the product. Besides Empeg, Sun and Cobalt comes to my mind.
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