From: M. OReilly <moreilly_at_moreilly.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Oct 2002 23:42:08 -0400

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Comments?

A

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Hmmm... Yep, glad you guys know what you're doing. :-)

Reading some of the posts on this list is like learning a language - you can
catch bits and pieces, but sometimes you don't understand more than the
basic gist of the coversation.

*However*, the idea of a universal, open-source remote is an awesome one.
(I don't think it's ever been done before...) Now that you know how you're
going to *implement* the hardware for the remote, what about the hardware
itself? I've seen speculation for several different LCD types based on
battery usage, etc. What do you experts think would be the best solution
for actual design parts?

While you figure that out, I'd like to talk design and heuristics.
Speculate that we're designing an entirely new remote, one that meets our
requirements. What are our requirements? I know this isn't usually
addressed until much later on, but I think we can spare the coders some
extra work if there is a framework to build to ahead of time.

1- Ease of use
        A- Must be easily accessible (so it must be small and unobtrusive), but
comfortable to hold (ergonomic). Functional without being confusing.
        B- Make it fit in the palm of the hand. Five major function buttons
accessible via the fingers in its resting state in the palm. Play/Pause, FF,
RW, Stop, and activate, or something to that effect. I have sketches for
look and feel if anyone wants to see them.

2- Functionality
        A- I assume the buttons will be programmable via the s/w implementation on
the host device? This way, the user can take the remote from one device to
another and the functions will be customized automatically for the device to
which the remote is attached.
        B- I guess it goes without saying then that the software should be
user-programmable per device. This is similar to what we were saying about
the Archos button programmibility. It is important, I think, that the
remote's key setup/config file NOT be the same as the Archos key
setup/config file. (This will make it more easily portable to other
devices.)

Am I going off the deep end here? Have I succombed to "scope creep"? Maybe
I shouldn't be concentrating on what other uses it might have beyond the
Archos. But I can dream, can't I? :-)

Let me know what you think...

Thx
Matt
Received on 2002-10-10