Community Comments on Google's Acquisition of SageTV

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by gplasky

GM stopped making Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles. Are you going to insist they continue to make them?

Yes. I liked Trans Am's better than Camaro's. Stupid GM...:

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Yes. I liked Trans Am's better than Camaro's. Stupid GM...:

Yeah.. and the Aztek was probably the most beautiful vehicle every built...

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Yeah.. and the Aztek was probably the most beautiful vehicle every built...

You're a negative nancy you know that?

If you were a Winnie the Poo character you'd be Eeyore.

Here I am trying to post irrelevant comments and you have to try to make them make sense.

[lucasbuck]

Thanks for the reply. I never really thought of just using Media Player. But I guess I would miss out on all the customizations, things like MyMovies, etc. There's probably not a lot for WMP is there? Plus it would be nice to have everything bundled in one place, like PlayOn. Any other opinions appreciated.

[rrhorer]

Originally Posted by darcilicious

But neither of those have anything to do with the "right to purchase" product forever.

And, neither do my comments. I am talking about product that has already been purchased because it, unlike other alternatives, was advertized as being able to provide whole house entertainment from a central location. Instead, the purchaser of this product abruptly finds that his purchase cannot deliver as stated in the product description -- in fact, it has been rendered less useful than WMC, which could have been chosen at no additional cost to Win7 users. I am not in the situation that I describe, but sympathize with those who are and do not believe that their "bitching" is undeserved or that they should be ridiculed for expressing their anger.

[rrhorer]

In fact, my only real reason for commenting at all is that I found the first post in this thread deeply offesnsive and read on until I could take it no more. I'm done now; so please continue with the sarcasm.

[speck55]

Originally Posted by rrhorer

And, neither do my comments. I am talking about product that has already been purchased because it, unlike other alternatives, was advertized as being able to provide whole house entertainment from a central location. Instead, the purchaser of this product abruptly finds that his purchase cannot deliver as stated in the product description -- in fact, it has been rendered less useful than WMC, which could have been chosen at no additional cost to Win7 users. I am not in the situation that I describe, but sympathize with those who are and do not believe that their "bitching" is undeserved or that they should be ridiculed for expressing their anger.

I promised this community I would refrain from posting further on this topic. But I am posting in the opposite direction I had been.

Nothing is going to come of my previous or your current postings. Google has done and will do what it please with regard to the product. They have done several things that they really weren't obligated to: keep the EPG up for (at least) a year, gave those "stuck" in the v7 evaluation phase a break by making their previous version keys valid for V7, they kept the plugin repositories up and running, and have committed to continue hosting these forums.

They could just have easily killed off the plugin repository, making (re)installations difficult or impossible. They could have killed off the forum, leaving those new without access to years of valuable howtos and advice, they could have told those owning V6 or previous and evaluating V7 "just reinstall the version you own and start over". They did not.

I ranted and raved way too long and way too hard before coming to these realizations. And another: I know firsthand the blood, sweat, and tears that go into doing a start-up business. Being bought by a large entity is one of the better endings for the effort put in that exists for those that put forth the effort. Especially in this economy. What if sales declined to the point where it could no longer support Jeff, et. al., as whole home entertainment isn't exactly up there with keeping the lights on, priority-wise, and some say we're far from the bottom of this recession.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by speck55

Nothing is going to come of my previous or your current postings.

This is why it is as the first post indactes: beating a dead horse, with any future sage system expansion playing the part of the horse.

After seeing the post Jeff was willing to make I see nothing more coming out of Sage. No client licenses and no extenders. It is time to move on and forget about expanding unless you are willing to go another route to get extenders or licenses.

Andy had already solved the "problem" by isolating the complaints into one thread. There was no need for Jeff to make his post.

Before the acuisition I cannot imagine Jeff making a post like that. Even if he might have wanted to. The customer base was his business and he valued all of it. He would not have posted something that is a slap in the face to some of his cusomers, risking driving them away.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Rob

This is why it is as the first post indactes: beating a dead horse, with any future sage system expansion playing the part of the horse.

After seeing the post Jeff was willing to make I see nothing more coming out of Sage. No client licenses and no extenders. It is time to move on and forget about expanding unless you are willing to go another route to get extenders or licenses.

Andy had already solved the "problem" by isolating the complaints into one thread. There was no need for Jeff to make his post.

Before the acuisition I cannot imagine Jeff making a post like that. Even if he might have wanted to. The customer base was his business and he valued all of it. He would not have posted something that is a slap in the face to some of his cusomers, risking driving them away.

If anything, I'd refer to his post as a response to a slap in the face FROM his customers. Obviously, if you are new to the topic, and hadn't seen the months of viscous accusations and irrational rants against him, it would seem harsh, but in light of his continued support of the community for the last 7+ years, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt. He's in a lose-lose situation in this regard. He was being chastised for staying silent (in conformance with his NDA), and he is now chastised for the few comments he CAN make.

[rrhorer]

spec55, Rob and Fuzzy, I agree with everything you have said and will try to maintain a more optimistic outlook. As part of this optimism, I do wish the very best for Jeff and hope that Google does not waste his vision or talent. I will continue to enjoy what that talent (along with the devs on this forum) has produced for as long as I can.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

He's in a lose-lose situation in this regard.

I definitely agree with you one this one.

And your right, I have not seen the posts that would justify Jeff's post. I've read this whole thread. Maybe they were deleted or maybe they did not get moved here. however, knowing your demeanor and involvement, I'm willing to take your word for it.

[speck55]

Originally Posted by Rob

I definitely agree with you one this one.

And your right, I have not seen the posts that would justify Jeff's post. I've read this whole thread. Maybe they were deleted or maybe they did not get moved here. however, knowing your demeanor and involvement, I'm willing to take your word for it.

Well, I can admit that I for one was waaaaaaay less civil of a human being for the last month or two than I normally am. I owned up to the behavior in a response to a thread entitled "Is this community dying already?".

If you want to see some of the posts from me that likely sent him over the edge, just do a search on posts by my username. Some may have been deleted, and if so, the mods were probably right to do so. I "bought in" about a month before the store closure, and bought 2 extenders to "evaluate" and decided to come back for 3 or 4 more. Then the proverbial poop came into contact with the spinning blades.

Personally, looking back on the whole thing, yes, we've got some peeved people, and I won't say I'm ecstatic about the whole thing still, but it is what it is. At least we have the option forthcoming of the boxee extender app, even though it's in early stages of development.

[chriskwarren]

I bought v7 not too long ago, even though v6 was good enough. Stupid decision on my part I suppose. I could have used that money for beer.

While I am disappointed and annoyed that this happened so soon after I gave Sage my money, this is capitalism and the chance to sell your business to a company like Google should not be screwed up. I'll survive. Thankfully the forums are still active.

On to my question (sorry if this has been answered...too much crap to sift through to find concise answers..I hope this complaints thread os the best place to ask/raise concerns). In layman's terms guys...

- to someone who mostly uses Sage for the Placeshifting and the programming guide...I have seen in this thread that there will be an 'easy as pie solution' to the programming guide. I am glad that it will be super simple for folks like me to setup. Is this really an easy solution or is it easy solution for the Sage enthusiast? I pretty much just set up the default Sage settings and have not had to mess with any plugins or mess with it. I have always just set it up and went on my merry way.

- will the placeshifting still continue work? This was actually the main feature of Sage I liked, and which I paid for a short while ago.

- is there the ability to submit a help request from Sage when things go wrong? I have used this in the past. The company is not out of business thankfully, just acquired by another.

Thanks!

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by chriskwarren

I bought v7 not too long ago, even though v6 was good enough. Stupid decision on my part I suppose. I could have used that money for beer.

While I am disappointed and annoyed that this happened so soon after I gave Sage my money, this is capitalism and the chance to sell your business to a company like Google should not be screwed up. I'll survive. Thankfully the forums are still active.

On to my question (sorry if this has been answered...too much crap to sift through to find concise answers..I hope this complaints thread os the best place to ask/raise concerns). In layman's terms guys...

- to someone who mostly uses Sage for the Placeshifting and the programming guide...I have seen in this thread that there will be an 'easy as pie solution' to the programming guide. I am glad that it will be super simple for folks like me to setup. Is this really an easy solution or is it easy solution for the Sage enthusiast? I pretty much just set up the default Sage settings and have not had to mess with any plugins or mess with it. I have always just set it up and went on my merry way.

- will the placeshifting still continue work? This was actually the main feature of Sage I liked, and which I paid for a short while ago.

- is there the ability to submit a help request from Sage when things go wrong? I have used this in the past. The company is not out of business thankfully, just acquired by another.

Thanks!

I have not seen sluggger's plugin, as it cannot be released until Schedules Direct allows it (which probably wont happen until google actually announces shutting down the EPG, or it actually happens), but my understanding is you simply choose your lineups on the schedules direct web site, and it can pull them in, just as it does now from sage. As for playback/placeshifting, it will be completely transparent, and won't affect placeshifter at all.

[chriskwarren]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I have not seen sluggger's plugin, as it cannot be released until Schedules Direct allows it (which probably wont happen until google actually announces shutting down the EPG, or it actually happens), but my understanding is you simply choose your lineups on the schedules direct web site, and it can pull them in, just as it does now from sage. As for playback/placeshifting, it will be completely transparent, and won't affect placeshifter at all.

Excellent news about the placeshifting. I use it to access media on my home PC at work and the cottage. Appreciated, as I was concerned that the server that links the placeshifting client at a remote location to your home PC would be shut down eventually.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by rrhorer

In fact, my only real reason for commenting at all is that I found the first post in this thread deeply offesnsive and read on until I could take it no more. I'm done now; so please continue with the sarcasm.

My post was the first in this thread. I posted that in another thread as a response to the continued whining from everyone that "feels" that their opinion should be heard. I wasn't all that happy that I looked like I started a gripe thread that was literally put together from gripes in other threads.

I was in no way trying to be offensive (I do it enough on accident). I'm just sick of reading about how everyone feels cheated. I kind of do to, but you won't hear me complaining incessantly to a forum of non-sage employees. I don't believe in complaining for the sake of complaining. If there is no benefit, I don't do it.

I also think Jeff reacted the way he did because he loves this forum and SageTV. He has no control over the current situation and the barrage of negativity and all out rudeness finally got to him. One person can only take so much. Be glad the ones he found offensive didn't get banned.

Now then. The above isn't directed toward anyone in particular (except the quoted person above that needs to realize I didn't start this thread even though it looks like I did). I hope I wasn't offensive. I just want things to go back to the nice civil friendly forum I've come to love. Even with little being posted I'm here more than anywhere else because I want things to continue.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by chriskwarren

Excellent news about the placeshifting. I use it to access media on my home PC at work and the cottage. Appreciated, as I was concerned that the server that links the placeshifting client at a remote location to your home PC would be shut down eventually.

The 'locator' service will likely be shut down at some point, but that is easily replaced with one of the many dynamic dns services out there, like dyndns.org (most of which are free). No placeshifting data goes through a sage server at all, it is streamed directly from your sage server, to your placeshifter client. The only connection back to the server is if you are using the locator ID to determine your server's IP address.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

The 'locator' service will likely be shut down at some point, but that is easily replaced with one of the many dynamic dns services out there, like dyndns.org (most of which are free). No placeshifting data goes through a sage server at all, it is streamed directly from your sage server, to your placeshifter client. The only connection back to the server is if you are using the locator ID to determine your server's IP address.

I use no-ip and it works great as my ISP doesn't have static ip's.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

I use no-ip and it works great as my ISP doesn't have static ip's.

Same for dyndns, I have it set up in my router, so it auto-updates everytime the dhcp renews from the modem. They have a decent collection of domain names to choose from as well.

[IVB]

for the record, i'm still seriously annoyed, but primarily because GooSage told pro integrators they wouldn't refund their unused software license $$ if they sold any of their existing HD300's to end users. I had 2 purchases at MSRP all lined up only to fall through due to that. But, I don't see the point in griping about it on this forum, what's done is done, I just need to determine how to move forward.