[BillC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens You are so right, there is a hole. I believe it will be filled when the players can connect via USB with the player as a host maping its sound output to an external USB audio device. Imagine walking into a room and connecting to a dock on your clock radio/bedroom stereo. Better yet, USB wireless was adopted officially as a standard today! You walk into your bedroom; your iPod recognises the bedroom stereo is available as a slave; it connects; the music is playing in your bedroom by the time you take your headphones off; your listening experience is continuous. Seriously though Bill, we aren't big enough to become the central parsonal music player. But we can be quality personal aural display electronics; sort of, Mercedes Viewsonic for your ears.

If I were in your position I wouldn't want to take this on either - but I was hoping you might be a bit more of an aggressive risk taker than me

The ability of the MicroDac to connect via USB gives me hope for the future. Any number of "generic" hand held computing devices come close to whats needed: a (relatively) large storage device, display, programability and USB host support. The only devices I'm currently aware of that meet all these requirements are unfortunately too expensive to fill the market niche. But things like the Palm LifeDrive and the Nokia Tablet are getting very close. Market conditions recently drove me from working on consumer electronics to working in the defense industry - if I was still in the consumer space I might try to convince someone to build this device.

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

I think we're just moments away.... I hope we're just moments away. The Samsung Portable Media Player is a sweet little box that runs MS Windows CE and I would think it's not a big stretch to add support for USB audio. Too many people are just too damn satisfied with what comes out the headphone jack, though. I think it's more likely to happen as the wireless thing heats up: people will want to start building wireless USB headphones or autonomous wireless speakers that can sit on a shelf or mount on the wall and pick up your iPod as you walk in the room. There's holes in the knees of my pants praying about this one.

 

[BillC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens There's holes in the knees of my pants praying about this one.

And an Amen from the choir

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

[size=xx-large]YAY![/size]

Micro Amps and DACs have started to ship today. We've got a mold that's putting out some production bezels at a rate of about 5 pairs a day. It'll take a couple of weeks just to catch up with backorders at this rate, BUT THEY ARE SHIPPING!

We'll have more molds running in the next week or so, that will speed up production, but until we catch up you can expect about a week delay.

Desktops should begin to ship by the end of next week or beginning of the week after.

 

[devwild]

YAAAAAAY!!!!

I can't wait! Hopefully having to replace my order "#1" doesn't cause too drastic of a delay.

 

[ken36]

Does this unit replace and overide the imac sound card?

 

[zatara]

The micro dac will look like an external sound card to the imac. So then in sound preferences you woould just choose it over the internel sound card.

 

[BillC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens Micro Amps and DACs have started to ship today.

Congrats, Tyll. Hope y'all keep selling them as fast as you can make them.

 

[Jim_T]

Tyll or Jamie, would you be able to give us any more details about the Micro Switch? Specifically, how many inputs it'll switch between and what the projected cost will be? And any hints as to when exactly "Summer 2005" begins at HeadRoom would be great too.

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Sorry, I can't be more detailed with the switch. Joe has layed out the board, but we're going to have to do some fidgeting with it and some small microphones to get the whole telephone/headphone thing down pat. I'm sorry, but with all the flurry of activity going on right now and getting the molds working for the new line we're doing nothing on the future products at all, and won't untill the current stuff is running smoothly.

So, summer is sometime between June and September, and I can't be more specific at the moment. Sorry. Same goes for the strap and bags by the way.

 

[Jim_T]

I understand. I'll just have to wear my shorts with the asbestos pockets until it's ready . . .

Jim

 

[OracleGuy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens [size=xx-large]YAY![/size] Micro Amps and DACs have started to ship today. We've got a mold that's putting out some production bezels at a rate of about 5 pairs a day. It'll take a couple of weeks just to catch up with backorders at this rate, BUT THEY ARE SHIPPING! We'll have more molds running in the next week or so, that will speed up production, but until we catch up you can expect about a week delay. Desktops should begin to ship by the end of next week or beginning of the week after.

Tyll, maybe this is a dumb question, but did you consider outsourcing the production of the bezels, or perhaps the entire cases? If your biggest problem is making the bezels, then perhaps you should be devoting your collective energy more towards the good stuff inside.

Just wondering ...

 

[Tyll Hertsens]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OracleGuy Tyll, maybe this is a dumb question, but did you consider outsourcing the production of the bezels, or perhaps the entire cases? Just wondering ...

It's a good question. No, we have a strong desire to get good at short run rubber manufacture. We've been making a small rubber part for the GigaBag for quite some time now, and it's really the switch to larger parts that is giving us a bit of a tussle at the moment. It's nothing that can't be overcome with a little patience and time. In fact, I think we will be shooting some desktop bezels with the new mold clamps tomorrow. We'll see how they turn out, but I suspect we'll be in production next week on Micro and Desktop products. We haven't even tried a Home bezel yet. As soon as we are in production with the Micros and Desktops we'll start working on a mold for the Home Bezel.

The reason we want to have a short run molding capability is that there are many opportunities for using this technology to great effect. For example the Micro Strap has that little kickstand thing that allows you to tilt up your player on top of the stack. That's a rubber part. We are also considering making an amp that is molded into a skin that goes over an iPod, that would take rubber molding capability. There's just all sorts of gizmos you can think of that can be molded.

If we outsourced it, it would be far more expensive and much more difficult to make changes to parts over time. It's just one of those mountains we have to climb.

 

[YngwieJMalmsteen]

...not to mention the top of the bitheads and airheads, eh Tyll? Yeah, I think the new design will be an improvement, for one thing it'll be harder to scratch your ipod. Seriously though Tyll, you gotta get those pictures and descriptions of the high-end stuff up, it's one of the major things that sold me on your company. I had read all the reviews/descriptions from the blockhead on down before I bought the TBH.
Also, as a somewhat selfish request, I think you should start upgrading codas, it would give you some sort of estimate of how many of each module you are going to make. I for one can't wait for 2134s all the way through...

 

[PITTM]

please disregard mr malmsteen's request until he gets a millet hybrid, that is the most important issue here, modules schmodules.

rj