Duet - Cost & Experiences
Adaptel
Posts: 41
I thought I'd throw this question out there again. Has anyone done anything that successfully does something with Duet? Any comments or positive things to say about it yet, or is it incredibly premature?
I'm an independant programmer & do not have a sales rep or contact. What does the Cafe Duet package go for? Does anyone out there have an extra copy they want to unload? Thanks!
I'm an independant programmer & do not have a sales rep or contact. What does the Cafe Duet package go for? Does anyone out there have an extra copy they want to unload? Thanks!
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Comments
I'm curious if the ~$900 price for Cafe Duet is strictly a one-time cost incurred by the developer, as the purchase of a software development tool? Or, are there is any additional costs for licenses to "run" the plugins on each master?
Also, I know that AMX has serialized Cafe Duet, I was asking if anyone had purchased it, decided they had no use for it, and wanted to sell their copy. As a personal developer, I am doing everything for myself, for education, and for as little money as possible. I am interested in jumping on the bandwaggon early because my applicaiton is for myself, not mission critical, & I like messing around with the "new stuff". In my opinion, the Java platform seems like a good move on AMX's part, although seems to be premature at the current time, but I am sure it will mature quite nicely. My 2cents.
This doesn't mean that I have ruled out Duet or that I'm not keeping an eye on it. In fact, I can't wait to see some modules from AMX that leverage the Duet platform. I keep hearing about a Duet module for the DMS Keypads and that alone would probably be reason enough to purchase Duet (if it is more functional and/or reliable than the netlinx module). Another app I think everyone would like to see is enhanced email and web browsing features. I personally still think it would be easier to just jump on a laptop to surf the net, but I can definately see the benefit to adding specific links to a touch panel, ie a link to the local newspaper or tv station news page, a link to cnn, a link to weather.com... To be able to do this without having to write an HTML parser in Netlinx would be a huge asset and I hope that Duet eventually brings this to the table.
One other factor is that right now I'm familiar with coding in Netlinx and I'm comfortable with it. I don't foresee any problem learning Java, but I barely have time to complete jobs now. Unless there is a huge benefit or necessity, I don't see Duet being on the top of my list anytime soon.
Jeff
Outside of the DMS development, they're in a chicken/egg situation.
Duet is probably LEAST valuable to current Netlinx programmers, who can get just about anything done faster w/ the language we already know.
Duet is most useful to managers/dealers who have to hire/develop/train/pay the rare and exotic Netlinx programmers. There are many more java-trained than Netlinx-trained developers out there. Sounds good in theory.
Unfortunately for AMX, the managers/dealers have to rely on their current Netlinx programmers to experiment and validate Duet. Surprise - very few have recommended it to their bosses as a necessary step.
This is thoroughly exacerbated by the license fee, which should be as low as possible to get Netlinx programmers to play around with it between jobs.
It's always tough to roll out a new platform quickly w/o irritating someone. I'm hopeful it will eventually emerge on it's own merits.
Let me offer another perspective from a longtime Netlinx programmer. I am intrigued by the prospect of moving to Java/Duet to the extent it helps me program faster and better. I am not looking for another 'cool' language to master so there needs to be some clear benefits to motivate me to migrate. The biggest motivators would be:
- Broader range of device modules available to me
- Manufacturers writing/distributing modules for their devices
- Broader array of language constructs/more powerful language
I think Duet/Java has the potential to deliver on all of these but it still seems early. I don't see Duet/Java, at this point in time, giving me enough of an edge to migrate. The cost of the development environment is not really an impediment for me. My issue is the lack of distinct advantages, at this stage, to really start working with Duet.
Some factors that give me pause for concern:
- Training - there are no Duet classes scheduled and only 2 have been taught so far since Duet was introduced (this seems to be a problem)
- Relaibility of 3.x Firmware - Dave (Hawthorne) and others have reported problems with some critical Netlinx features like IP connections in the 3.x firmware. I can not afford to migrate systems to 3.x unless it is as good or better than the 2.x firmware I am using. Regressions I do not need.
- Schedule - according to the original schedule from AMX, Cafe Duet 2.x for application development would have been generally released by now as well as most other initially planned and committed Duet components. The initial release of Duet firmware was delayed and this seems to have rippled through the Duet product family.
I am not planning to do anything with Duet until I can talk with AMX about it in more detail at CEDIA and see more about the direction of Netlinx/Duet and the updated schedule. I hope that Duet matures to become an invaluable part of the Netlinx offering but for now, I am in a wait and see mode.
Reese
Reason #1
AMX's main concern was not to develop Duet for certified Netlinx programmers, it was to entice some of the many Java programmers to learn Duet. There is no other way they could reach so many programmers at one time.
Reason #2
Java is the only was to go! I'm only waiting for Duet 2.0 to be released so I can program completely in Duet.
Well suprisingly enough I found a DUET module that I can use. It's for the new Classe series of Recievers we are demoing in our showroom. I'll post what I find out with regards to it's intialization implementation etc etc. I'm too am curious where this road is taking us...