Abandoned ? Plan Ahead

dynobot

Would it be fair to assume Rune has been abandoned by the original dev team?

If so, would it be a good idea to plan for the inevitable closing of this site?

Its been years and not a single post from any of the original dev team...or at least it seems so...

Would it be possible for a Google sites to be developed or 'something' to hold/distribute information on Runes progress?

Just asking an honest question, so please don't flame me.

MikeC

I don't think you are being unreasonable to question this. I like the idea of a headless music player very much. Just in case, I keep clone copies of my sd cards in case this website fails for some reason. After the "dirble" incident, I realized just how vulnerable this setup can be, and my backups would not be of any help.
Fortunately for me, my systems are quite simple. I keep permanent Raspberry Pi's on two music systems, and have only seasonal need for a 3rd portable Pi. I have very limited use for the AP mode (Although I find it impressive when I do use it).

What I have done is prepare a Raspbian Buster Lite sd card for each device. I use VLC and VLC remote to listen to music. Even though it is really overkill just to listen to music, this setup has 3 advantages over RuneAudio:
1. It is much easier to listen to higher definition web radio with VLC.
2. (Don't shoot me on this) It actually sorts the music in the order I intended, no mysterious MPD "album title priority" sort.
3. No two hour catalog update sessions - I have a very large recording collection.

Since I really like RuneAudio, it is still setup on two units. I'm testing VLC on the 3rd.
I think it would help RuneAudio in general if they could keep a simple working download available. Something that does not require a git pull, or a modified host file, to play local music. Then they could add on options like: Spotify, Web Radio, UI Enhancements as needed. The host file issue should be temporary, but I think they lose a lot of potential users when a git pull is required.

Mike C

eea123

Yikes. I thought v0.5 was just rolled out?

dynobot

eea123 wroteYikes. I thought v0.5 was just rolled out?

Have a look at the "Original dev team"......tell me if you see janui? The person who took it upon himself to keep Rune alive.

http://www.runeaudio.com/team/

My wild imagination likes to paint pictures of situations.
Imagine the Keebler Elves suddenly packed up and went home. A customer just so happened to enter the shop just as the last Elf was about to leave and saw what was going on, this customer liked the product so much that they decided to man the ovens and keep the cookies rolling out, in fact they improved the recipe. Although only the Elves have the keys to the shop and pay the bills, so this customer has to offer the cookies from the back door to the few remaining folk that wonder by. This is the situation with Rune, the store front is closed and has been for years. Go to the main Rune site, there has been no updates for years. Everyone who enters Rune via the front door sees an abandoned store that has not been tended for years. 99% turn around and leave. Only a few try the back, ie the forum to look for signs of life inside. This one lone topic has life. We have one baker ie a customer who is extremely talented in the kitchen and one other person who whips up toppings ie the fancy UI interface. Who knows how far ahead the Elves paid up rent, but once the funds run out the landlord will surely bulldoze this place and put it up for sale.

cmh714

Does it really matter if its the original guys or not? Seems like a silly discussion. Nothing has been abandoned, if you feel that way nothing stops you from using another solution.

jannui has kept things moving forward with help from others just fine IMHO. In fact better than fine since we get many more updates than we did in the beginning.

dynobot

Discussions aren't silly, people are silly. There are no stupid questions, only stupid people who don't value questions.

Don't be silly, this question has value.

AndyF

jannui has kept things moving forward with help from others just fine IMHO. In fact better than fine since we get many more updates than we did in the beginning.

And don't forget Rerns addons and his brilliant UIe with many features and updates.

One point to think about:
Januis and Rerns work should be placed on Download-Page. But this - I assume - needs original-dev team ...

Andy

cmh714

AndyF wrote
jannui has kept things moving forward with help from others just fine IMHO. In fact better than fine since we get many more updates than we did in the beginning.
And don't forget Rerns addons and his brilliant UIe with many features and updates.

Andy

AGREED!

dynobot

AndyF wrote
jannui has kept things moving forward with help from others just fine IMHO. In fact better than fine since we get many more updates than we did in the beginning.
And don't forget Rerns addons and his brilliant UIe with many features and updates.

One point to think about:
Januis and Rerns work should be placed on Download-Page. But this - I assume - needs original-dev team ...

Andy

Now we are getting the idea.....YES we need the original dev team. The same team which is the subject of this topic, the same team that has been absent for 'years' now, the same team which I assume is responsible for keeping the lights on.

BTW, I did mention both janui and rern as keeping the shop running...

R101

Waves recently suggested that making Rune a Rasbian-based system might have advantages, and it does seem that Rune is sometimes held back due to problems which have already been solved in Rasbian.

I would be interested to know why the developers prefer Arch?

LeighP

I can see where 'dynbot' is coming from. There has been little 'official' development by the original Rune team if anything.

We have Betas that have been worked on but by users and not the original developers.

It's sad we are in this state, I thank those who've worked on trying to improve what has been left.

Lets hope something happens in the future. At least what we have, IMHO, works well.

dynobot

My real concern is not the product. The current dev's are great and the old dev's had a great idea.

This is not about the product, this is about "ACCESS" to the product.

If/when this site closes, it will probably happen like most site closures....with a 404 web site not found. From there we, those who know of github, may be able to find janui's work and download any updates or continued work. But the project from that point will just take another step towards oblivion.

Rune, the name and logo, it seems has been copy righted. But its still open source, nothing stopping janui from opening a new web site and calling this product RuneX or Jan-audio or anything ie like MoOde did for example.

Bottom line, this site has been abandoned by its owners, the product named Rune is also owned by the same team. Instead of waiting for the inevitable to happen why not be proactive and make a move towards the living ie a fresh new web site and product 'name' vs. sitting back and ignoring some imminent death.

As far as Rasbian vs. Arch. Before you push Rasbian, ask yourself if you really really like the sound of Rune vs Volumio? Then take the time and install two Rpi's with Rasbian+MPD on one and Arch+MPD on the other....trust your ears when they tell you Arch+MPD sounds better. Why, who knows

R101

dynobot wrote As far as Rasbian vs. Arch. Before you push Rasbian, ask yourself if you really really like the sound of Rune vs Volumio? Then take the time and install two Rpi's with Rasbian+MPD on one and Arch+MPD on the other....trust your ears when they tell you Arch+MPD sounds better. Why, who knows

If you are using a hat or the DAC is too close to the Pi, it's just possible that the RF noise pattern from the Pi is polluting the audio. If you are using a properly isolated USB DAC (or I2s DAC slaving the Pi), there is no way the same data sent to the same locally-clocked DAC can produce a different sound.

If the operating system or the player makes a difference, I would be checking whether the output is always bit-perfect.

dynobot

R101 wrotethere is no way the same data sent to the same locally-clocked DAC can produce a different sound.

Bits-R-Bits

I've had this discussion about 50+ times over the past 15+ years.

Somehow reality and logic are not on the same page with this subject.

eea123

I'm still using a BlackBerry because I like it. Seriously I do, call me freaky for the tactical feedback of a keyboard. My audio system is mainly hardwired B&K components. Pretty much I'm a dinosaur, I know it

rastus

Yes, agreed. The original dev team seems to have 'dropped the ball'; no development in literally years except for a beta version, a few years old now. Big thanks to janui and rern for keeping the dream alive. RuneAudio, like other open source software, needs to be updated regularly and often, especially for security and new improvements in the original open source software it's based on. At the very least there should be a post by the dev team about why.... it's very sad.

Regards,

Rastus.

PS: Yes, I still use RuneAudio.

dynobot

Apparently, Rune DOES have another web site.

http://www.rpimusicplayer.com/