xbmc OPENS as a FAIL
#16
I will never understand why people think you should just be able to install a program and away you go.....without doing any kind of research to see what you might actually be getting in to

with all of the things XBMC can do why would you think you you can just turn it on and it will just all magically work

i program POS systems and train people of all levels of knowledge....the worst people to train are the ones who already think they know it all because they "have been working with computers for X amount of years"

that is great and all but this is software....not all software is the same because then what would be the need of more than one....not all software will take the same approach....not all developers will think the same....not all software has the same end result in mind....not all software are built using the same language

can go on for ever....if people have all this history of computers and software then they should know better

a little bit of research will go a long way around here

this isn't a VCR that just turns on....which by the way those of you old enough to have had a VCR im sure you even read the manual on that first lol

and this is not to say that some things could be improved on but again all the people coming here thinking it will just load up like as mentioned vlc or something like that and you can just start it up is mind boggling
WE ALL WE GOT
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#17
You're installing it on a desktop PC? Well there's your problem.

Somehow everyone else has figured it out and furthermore does the AppleTV or other such thing freak you out because that really doesn't come with anything other than a startup in full screen.
Code:
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON `xbmc_%`.* TO 'xbmc'@'%';
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#18
One statement, XBMC = FREE

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#19
I think if everyone actually knew the origin of XBMC and its initial platform... The original XBox. They might actually understand that the primary purpose of XBMC is to be used on a TV or large screen from a distance with a remote.

Out of the 4 systems in my household running XBMC 2 of them are still XBoxes.
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#20
I think its an interesting point. Can the first time user experience be improved? Sure, why not.

However threads with criticism usually turn into people 'defending' something out of loyalty rather than actually considering if there is any merit to the point made.
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#21
I find these kind of threads don't start as criticisms, more as the software is a failure... I hate it etc etc with a very brash thread title. Then later in the thread the thread starter defends their original tone by refining it to slightly more constructive critising become better as the thread progresses - however the initial insult of software (not criticisms) at the start sets the tone for the thread.

Also the thread author may change their first post so late joiners may think other responders are being very harsh.

Just a generalisation of these types of threads, though yes as people have admitted the user experience can be improved.

Flirc now has a forum: forum.flirc.tv
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#22
He has a point, although this thread had a bad start. And as Ned Scott pointed out, we know about those shortcomings and work on them - and input on this regard is always welcome.
But please consider that XBMC runs on multiple OSes and not all have this kind of installer. So adding the "ungeek" options to the windows installer wouldn't be of much help for the other platforms. Having to maintain different approaches for each platform is also no option. So there has to be found a way to guide people on their first steps on all platforms. But adding a "usage" button to the installer shouldn't be a big deal - kinda like it.

As for the "I don't know how to exit fullscreen". Since you're using PCs already for a long time, you should know that "ALT+RETURN" enters and exits fullscreen mode in almost any application/game Smile
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#23
I see it this way: XBMC is a program for computers, computers of course that are connected to TVs. This is a kind of specialist application where you do need to work to get it set up. From getting your actual files, to playing the files you need some knowlage regardless.

XBMC isn't just DVD playing software, it is mostly used for video and audio files which lets face it, getting these files does lye within the geek realm.

Bottom line: if you can't get on with XBMC you really have no business using a computer in the first place.

Even installing this on an apple TV device requires you to know what you're doing. (so that's the average apple user out then! sorry had to say that.)
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#24
You want to ungeek it by adding more options to confuse the non-geeks?

Personally I wish it had less install options or at the very least a "use default options" was the first screen after the install splash and if you check yes, it takes everything like locations for default and you don't have to touch anything again until you grab the remote and go.
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