Streetdeck Questions from potential buyer

Nola111 · 06-27-2007, 04:42 PM

I'm considering purchasing Streetdeck because Centrafuse is starting to p**s me off. I've been playing with the SD trial for a few days now. Before I decide for sure that I want to buy, I want to ask a few questions to the developers/users:

1) I noticed that the proper gesture to open the music search module is "F." I tried every possible way to gesture an uppercase F without lifting my finger off the screen, but no matter what I did, it either gave me an unrecognized gesture error, or recognized it as a different gesture. How is one to finger a capital F in SD? (other gestures seemed to work well).

2) So I want to make sure I'm clear on the Bluetooth situation. SD can only use one BT dongle, and that dongle still isn't shipping out yet, correct? I thought it was being released with the G4, but regardless, when will it be released? Am I also correct that the BT dongle will only work with SD, and will not function to make the PC have a BT connection outside of SD? Finally, I also understand that only one BT service will be available in SD (Phone calls). Correct? In any case, I think the proprietary nature of how SD plans to handle BT is illogical, and will likely end up being the reason that I don't buy SD, but I wanted to check just in case other decisions have been made since the last time I read about it a couple months ago.

3) Is SD working, for the most part, with Windows Vista? Any major setbacks that are still trying to be worked out?

4) Will I be limited by my GPS signal to what I can do in Streetdeck while the car is moving?

5) If I buy the Lite version to start, can I later upgrade to the full with Navigation for the difference? (I'm sure this is answered somewhere else on the forum but why not organize all my thoughts right here?

)

6) Does SD have the ability for the user to incorporate command line functions into Startup or Shutdown of the app, or at least a typical .exe or .bat file (and can this be done in the GUI, or does it have to be done behind the scenes). And I'm not talking about running External Apps in SD here.

Many thanks in advance,
Nola

drrayray · 06-27-2007, 05:08 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Nola111

I'm considering purchasing Streetdeck because Centrafuse is starting to p**s me off. I've been playing with the SD trial for a few days now. Before I decide for sure that I want to buy, I want to ask a few questions to the developers/users:

1) I noticed that the proper gesture to open the music search module is "F." I tried every possible way to gesture an uppercase F without lifting my finger off the screen, but no matter what I did, it either gave me an unrecognized gesture error, or recognized it as a different gesture. How is one to finger a capital F in SD? (other gestures seemed to work well).
Try drawing an upside down L.

2) So I want to make sure I'm clear on the Bluetooth situation. SD can only use one BT dongle, and that dongle still isn't shipping out yet, correct? I thought it was being released with the G4, but regardless, when will it be released? Am I also correct that the BT dongle will only work with SD, and will not function to make the PC have a BT connection outside of SD? Finally, I also understand that only one BT service will be available in SD (Phone calls). Correct? In any case, I think the proprietary nature of how SD plans to handle BT is illogical, and will likely end up being the reason that I don't buy SD, but I wanted to check just in case other decisions have been made since the last time I read about it a couple months ago.
I am not sure about this one completely. I know testing is going with the dongle. I dont know if its limited to SD or not. Anyone else know the answer to this?

3) Is SD working, for the most part, with Windows Vista? Any major setbacks that are still trying to be worked out?
I haven't seen or heard of any major issues with it.

4) Will I be limited by my GPS signal to what I can do in Streetdeck while the car is moving?
Yes, but you can use the testmode parameter as a work around.

5) If I buy the Lite version to start, can I later upgrade to the full with Navigation for the difference? (I'm sure this is answered somewhere else on the forum but why not organize all my thoughts right here?

)
Yes, but you need to acquire a copy of mappoint 2004 or 2006.

6) Does SD have the ability for the user to incorporate command line functions into Startup or Shutdown of the app, or at least a typical .exe or .bat file (and can this be done in the GUI, or does it have to be done behind the scenes). And I'm not talking about running External Apps in SD here.
Yes, there are threads on the forums explaining how to do it.

Many thanks in advance,
Nola

god_of_cpu · 06-27-2007, 05:17 PM

1. The standard gestures are shown in help. If they don't work for you, you can reprogram the gestures and add additional ones in input settings.

2. Bluetooth in StreetDeck is designed to allow you to use your computer as a handsfree speaker phone and command and control of the phonebook. A standard PC bluetooth dongle woudl seem to be the logical way to go, but 2 years of failed development has shown us they just don't work with the handsfree profile for most phones and thats if you can get a bluetooth dongle to connect to your phone and not crash. Our goal is to duplicate the functionality and ease of use found in other embedded in car bluetooth kits, not the functionaility you would find on your desktop computer. Bluetooth in StreetDeck is still in BETA testing we are waiting on an update from our vendor to fix an issue found during testing. We will probably release as soon as we have recieved the update and confirmed there are no outstanding issues. We may expand the functionality of the bluetooth stack, but it will never be a general purpose bluetooth, the dongle will only be usable for features in StreetDeck, but should work out of the box for those features. If you want bluetooth outside of StreetDeck, just get a generic bluetooth dongle, you can have it installed at the same time as the StreetDeck dongle.

3. I use Vista on my primary development machine, however, its not on any in car unit or lab system we test on. It should work and there are no issues that I know about remaining in Vista, but I don't know how many people use it in the real world.

4. yes

5. If you buy the light version, you just have to install map point to make navigation work. I'm not sure if we offer an upgrade option, you should contact the store directly.

6. Yes, check the FAQ sub forum, there are extensive startup and shutdown options for running external shortcuts.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nola111

I'm considering purchasing Streetdeck because Centrafuse is starting to p**s me off. I've been playing with the SD trial for a few days now. Before I decide for sure that I want to buy, I want to ask a few questions to the developers/users:

1) I noticed that the proper gesture to open the music search module is "F." I tried every possible way to gesture an uppercase F without lifting my finger off the screen, but no matter what I did, it either gave me an unrecognized gesture error, or recognized it as a different gesture. How is one to finger a capital F in SD? (other gestures seemed to work well).

2) So I want to make sure I'm clear on the Bluetooth situation. SD can only use one BT dongle, and that dongle still isn't shipping out yet, correct? I thought it was being released with the G4, but regardless, when will it be released? Am I also correct that the BT dongle will only work with SD, and will not function to make the PC have a BT connection outside of SD? Finally, I also understand that only one BT service will be available in SD (Phone calls). Correct? In any case, I think the proprietary nature of how SD plans to handle BT is illogical, and will likely end up being the reason that I don't buy SD, but I wanted to check just in case other decisions have been made since the last time I read about it a couple months ago.

3) Is SD working, for the most part, with Windows Vista? Any major setbacks that are still trying to be worked out?

4) Will I be limited by my GPS signal to what I can do in Streetdeck while the car is moving?

5) If I buy the Lite version to start, can I later upgrade to the full with Navigation for the difference? (I'm sure this is answered somewhere else on the forum but why not organize all my thoughts right here?

)

6) Does SD have the ability for the user to incorporate command line functions into Startup or Shutdown of the app, or at least a typical .exe or .bat file (and can this be done in the GUI, or does it have to be done behind the scenes). And I'm not talking about running External Apps in SD here.

Many thanks in advance,
Nola

Nola111 · 06-27-2007, 05:58 PM

Dr. Ray... many thanks.

GOC, thanks for the answers and especially the BT explanation. That certainly makes sense to me. The only other BT service I would hope for is Network Access (not DUN, but I'm sure others would like DUN). I question the suggestion though to use two BT dongles... I have tried this before with not-so-favorable results. Perhaps the SD one wouldn't conflict because it's not truly a Windows BT dongle?

Just as an FYI, I've been using Vista in the car environment for a few months now, and I absolutely love it. And as more and more software and hardware continues to get onboard and support it, the better it will continue to get.

Well to be honest, I'm more inclined to think I might like SD than I initially thought I would be after reading the replies to my answers. So that's a good thing. If I can surely run the SD BT dongle with another dongle simultaneously without any conflict, that will be the lock for me to buy.

Thanks again for the replies.

god_of_cpu · 06-27-2007, 07:11 PM

The StreetDeck dongle is seen as just a USB device by windows. No other software will recognize it as anything to do with bluetooth so there won't be any other conflicts. The only problem is if you change the USB port the streetdeck dongle is plugged into you will have to reinstall the driver for it as other bluetooth drivers may take priority over the StreetDeck driver.

thepunkerguy · 06-27-2007, 08:45 PM

I just chose SD over Centrafuse and am very happy with it. It just seems a lot more logical and easier to use than Centrafuse to me, Centrafuse is feature packed, but it seemed like a pain to use to me!
- Mike

Nola111 · 06-27-2007, 10:42 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

The StreetDeck dongle is seen as just a USB device by windows. No other software will recognize it as anything to do with bluetooth so there won't be any other conflicts. The only problem is if you change the USB port the streetdeck dongle is plugged into you will have to reinstall the driver for it as other bluetooth drivers may take priority over the StreetDeck driver.

Ok. Hope it works out.

So, is there an ETA for the dongle, based on what you know from your original post above?

RedGTiVR6 · 06-29-2007, 10:34 AM

As Chuck stated, we are waiting on an update to the stack from our vendor. We cannot estimate when they will get us the update.

Once that update is here, we will be able to continue testing.

BlueF · 06-29-2007, 11:17 AM

Good questions. Hopefully the above folks have answered satisfactorily.

If I may suggest, continue using SD under the 30-day trial period and make sure this software suits your CarPC goals. I see many people screaming bloody murder, "StreetDeck doesn't do this or that, it's unstable, features missing, etc" and I always wonder to myself why these folks are upset they paid money when they full well could have tested SD for 30-days (or indefinitely for that matter... if you aren't sure you want to fork out the dough, if you're experiencing problems... wipe your CarPC clean and start over - resetting the SD 30-day for another month).

For what it's worth, I purchased Street Deck (over waiting for Centrafuse) for the simple reason that SD works as advertised, it's completely stable (for me), has a reasonable number of features, developement (updates) continue at a reasonable pace, and (I'll admit, this is high on my list) Street Deck blows all the competition away in terms of interface and aesthetic.

RedGTiVR6 · 06-29-2007, 11:19 AM

BlueF - thank you for the kind remarks about StreetDeck. I'm sure the development team will appreciate it.

Nola111 · 06-29-2007, 01:17 PM

Well guess what, I bought SD yesterday.

I too got tired of waiting for CF to be ready for primetime. I'm not going to turn this into a CF bashing thread... it's a great app, but Flux Media needs to have more than ONE flippin' developer if they are going to have a successful commercial product.

SD is very neat. The gestures function is very cool. I hope the BT functionality happens soon and with little issue. If so, this will be the ultimate front-end.

My only hope is for more plugin development. Seems such great software would have more interest from user community coders to make some great plugs. I would be all over doing it myself, but I am clueless to that stuff

RedGTiVR6 · 06-29-2007, 01:20 PM

Nola111 -

We are currently looking at options to help encourage Plug-In development. Hopefully the solutions we are tossing around will help increase the number of skins and the number of digital mods.