I'm kicking around the idea of starting an open-source player project for the empeg. Basically, this would be a replacement for the 'player' executable. The goal would be to produce player software that is as good as or better than the current player. This wouldn't be a lightweight project, since the current player is already really good, and besides the actual mp3 software, it would all likely have to be done from scratch! But if we went through with it, we'd be able to customize every aspect of our empegs, or at the very least try out new ideas without waiting for an official version to be released.

Some of the ideas recently brought up on this forum, which could be done with an open-source player:

* Ability to lock the player, and unlock it with a "pin" number.
* A customizable menu system
* A plug-in architecture for adding (or removing) visuals
* A launcher to run other apps while music plays

Ideas? Comments? Flames?? As someone suggested in another thread, we could set the project up on sourceforge, and make more detailed design documents here if there is interest in having an open player. This is just pie-in-the-sky at the moment, but I think it would be an interesting project!

Oh, and sorry if this idea was already brought up before... It's been a while since I've done any empeg development, and I haven't been reading the forums as religiously as I used to!

Hm I'd consider this re-inventing the wheel, and a damn good wheel. Catching up to the monumental development that's gone into the Empeg player seems silly, because the player is going to get better as time goes on. My prediction is that any attempts towards an open player would get to a certain point, and then the Empeg software comes out with the plugin architecture, WMA support (forget open source on that one!) etc. At that point, developers would run out of ideas for USEFUL new features to implement.

See, one of the problems of collaborative open source development is that it's prety much random as to what features get implemented. All sorts of "special interest" features would be put in. The Empeg team has customers to answer to (sort of) and therefore is very judicious as to what gets implemented and when. This more structured development cycle is good for a car stereo, which you do NOT want bugs in.

I think it's an interesting idea, but I personally would shy away from running any open source player when there's a great player on it already. And I'm usually a guy who LOVES beta stuff. Just not when it comes to the music in my car.

My $0.02 (with interest)

-Tony
MkII #554

I like the idea about it, bit I think you won't get enough participants for such a huge project.
I figure that there are about 100 people around carrying an empeg that have the skills and ability to participate. few of them have time...
However, I would very much like to see the features you mentioned in the current player-software.
I think ( and hope ) that the people at empeg will give us a decent interface to the player-software.
I was thinking of depositing all thing related to empeg on there ( sourceforge ), like the current "unofficial developer site", but with the ability to add or remove things by the actual programmer.
Maybe we should look back in the BBS's log for some old stuff ( when I first got my empeg, I searched for days for rex's picker and I decided to write my own, 1 day after I finished, I found rex's picker.. hehe )


Frank van Gestel

This wouldn't be a lightweight project...

I think you have no idea! Look at this thread and then decide if you want to try this.

tanstaafl.

"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

Apart from arguments already mentioned, there's another: in order to write a good player replacement, we would have to have intimate knowlede of empeg hardware. Remeber the thread where guys@empeg told us about problems thay had and NDAs they had to sign in order to get anything resembling programmer's reference for DSP chip?

I am affraid we would never catch up with Cambridge guys with this. However, when they enable us to write pluggable components, that's another thing...

Cheers!

Dragi "Bonzi" Raos
Zagreb, Croatia
Q#5196, MkII#80000376, 18GB green