I know the people involved don't do it for the money but would more financial help....well, Help to get more Devs on board or incentivised to work on the port project?? ie. say there was enough money to be shared out to the devs that they didn't have to work the overtime in their real jobs to pay for their new Audi.
I mean I've used a few useful shareware programmes in my time and have often said to myself that I must make a donation to this project or that project. I am ashamed to say that I have never donated to any project in the end. I would definately 100% guaranteed donate to XBMC INC. In fact as soon as I finish this post I am going to donate straight away
Its quite simply the best, most useful, most used piece of software I or my family have ever used free or otherwise.
How big is the userbase? Imagine if there was even only 10,000 active users(I am sure there are lots more) and we all donated the 50 dollars!!! No one is ever, "Meh, XBMC is alright I s'pose" Anyone who ever posts on any XBMC related forum is always uber enthused about the application. Does the level of donations match that apparent enthusiasm from the userbase for the project?
Do we need to organise a new donation drive?
Its just that XBMC on the actual Xbox is surely almost the best that it can be given the hardware. Surely the devs have rung every last clock cycle of performance out of it? Have developed every useful bit of functionality, script etc. ie get it to a stable 2.02 point release and then just leave the skinners and scripters to it and just update the mplayer codecs and maintain compatabilty with the websites and servers xbmc uses for its various functions.........or is just maintaining (treading water) such current compatability a full time job for the devs? I know that half or probably most the fun(if you can call it that) for the devs is that very challenge of ringing every last mhz of performance out of the hardware that I mentioned earlier but again like I said earlier....surely they have hit a very thick brick wall.
I would have thought at this stage that the devs would relish the 'new challenge' and the new possibilities afforded by newer hardware.
For instance, Gamester17s' posts about the next gen Mac mini have me salivating!! Does it not have the devs salivating? Surely the XBMC Port in combination with the upcoming mini (or any box with the specific xbmc hardware requirements) is the holy grail of hardware/OS/GUI combos. The ultimate media streamer. The ultimate combo of reasonably affordable hardware with the full gamut of connections, the power to play anything, the 'under tv' aesthetics, the small form factor, the coolest most fully functioning media OS/GUI out there. It just seems like the convergence of technology required, price,size,aesthetics,hardrive sizes/price of Nas's etc. Its all come together now or in the very near future....we just need the XBMC port to finish it all off.
Heres hopin'
Right, I'm off to make my donation
