When we first starting working on the Id project, Bob said he wasn't quite sure of what it was supposed to be. At that point, I thought it was a DLNA Renderer that worked correctly. As we began to get feedback from customers, we realized that they were also using it as a DLNA Server and controlling it with a remote. That's how I use it, too.
I found that I could sync to it from MC running on Windows, using it as a Handheld. That seemed like an easy way to load it.
Then we got it working with USB drives (thanks to both Bob and Hilton). So I bought a 1TB USB 3.0 drive (now about $90), connected it to my Windows machine at home, and copied most of my music library onto it. I connected the drive to the Id, and MC imported the files.
So now it was a DLNA Renderer, a DLNA Server, and a reasonable backup drive.
Along the way, we got video running on the Id, so you can play video to it from MC on a Windows machine. I described it in our recent newsletter as a "basic HTPC".
A week ago, I said to Bob that he had come a long way with the Id, that it was now at least as stable and useable as a DLNA device like a WD HDTV, and that doing that was quite an accomplishment. "Sure", he said. I think it's amazing, to tell the truth.
The Id software and the OS are getting easier to update or to install from a USB flash drive.
One of the chief advantages of the Id is that we're building on Intel's technology. When they produce NUC's that are more powerful, or less expensive, or use less power, we'll be able to move the Id software onto them.
The JRemote software, now on Android as well as iOS, is a very good way to control them. With builds coming this week (thanks to Hilton, mwillems, and Bob) we'll be able to control them wih Remote Desktop.
Nice work, Bob. And thanks to the rest of the team and our friends for the assists.
I hope we can automate more of that, so that filling the Id with your audio and image files just happens.
I think we can make things still easier. The Id is very good now, but I think we'll learn how to make it better.
