Slacker Usb Station Refresher Program

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post #1 of 32Old01-26-2009, 08:35 AM - Thread Starter

•Selecting the stations you want on your Slacker G2. •Installing the Slacker USB Station Refresher. •Connecting to the Slacker service by Wi-Fi or USB to refresh the stations on your Slacker G2. You only need to activate your Slacker G2 one time. But you will select and refresh stations multiple times. Slacker Radio is a free internet radio service, light years away from the one-dimensional playlists that you're used to. Personalize hundreds of music stations, as well as news, sports and comedy options. We know you'll hear the difference. That's why we're perfect for each other. The Slacker Software Player is the easiest way to create personalized stations and discover new music. I had hoped to be able to use this program as an alternative to keeping my browser window.

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But Slacker and G2 are truly about discovery and Slacker does a excellent job of playing music that fits the station genre while providing a wide variety of artists on major labels. O23 - Service: Slacker Portable Service - Slacker - C: Program Files Slacker USB Station Refresher slacker.portable.service.exe O23 - Service: Viewpoint Manager Service - Viewpoint Corporation - C: Program Files Viewpoint Common ViewpointService.exe--End of file - 6181 bytes. Slacker USB Station Refresher is a program developed by Slacker. It adds a background controller service that is set to automatically run. Delaying the start of.


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Hi All,
After the mistake of buying a 'Slacker G1', and spending hours trying to debug it, I am ready to mothball it in favor a something that actually functions.
Is there any MP3/iPod portable type device, which can function reliably as an 'Internet Radio'? I am not looking for 'streaming', I just want a Pandora type service which can occasionally refresh my player with songs. I do not need Wi-Fi, and can just plug it into my PC for song renewal. Ideally it would have the capability to 'Learn' my musical tastes, and would allow me to create stations (even if in the form of 'Folders').
I just want something that is 'proven', the G1 was poorly engineered Beta prototype thrown at an unsuspecting public.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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I've looked around for other Slacker type devices and haven't found any. I have a G1 also and after a few bumps it's been very reliable. It's pretty cool, but the classical and movie selections are poor at best.
I also use Pandora, AOL radio, and Slacker on my iPhone, and they work extremely well...
post #3 of 32Old02-05-2009, 09:40 AM - Thread Starter
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Clark
I've looked around for other Slacker type devices and haven't found any. I have a G1 also and after a few bumps it's been very reliable. It's pretty cool, but the classical and movie selections are poor at best.
I also use Pandora, AOL radio, and Slacker on my iPhone, and they work extremely well...

I guess Slacker is the only player in the market. I am very surprised that the Pandora App for the iPhone has no ability to store 'stations' full of songs, maybe they will add the capability (seems like a no-brainer).
The new G1 FirmWare has really revived my faith, I would say 90% of my gripes are fixed now; hopefully, they don't screw it up again at the next firmware release. I just upgraded to their premium service, so I can have unlimited 'Skips'.
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I also ordered a G1 Slacker from Woot and am experiencing endless loop of connect again to refresh...I tried to connect directly with the USB at work (firewall...maybe there's the problem) and then at home with my modem to the internet for computer and still having problems. The CS is bad, leading me to think there is no support.
post #5 of 32Old02-06-2009, 05:36 AM - Thread Starter
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Quote:
Originally Posted by natchie
I also ordered a G1 Slacker from Woot and am experiencing endless loop of connect again to refresh...I tried to connect directly with the USB at work (firewall...maybe there's the problem) and then at home with my modem to the internet for computer and still having problems. The CS is bad, leading me to think there is no support.

The USB is useless for me, it only works for initial setup. It seems much more reliable via WiFi, do you have a wireless router at home? The latest firmware, released last week, fixes about 90% of the issues. That being said, the G1 is known to start getting buggy after ~1 month of use (so I am skeptical long-term).
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I've had my G1 for over a year now. At times I wanted to chuck it out the window. But lately, it seems to have settled down and works almost all the time. I guess the new firmware has helped alot. I wish they would get more content for the comedy channels. Even after refreshing I get alot of the same routines.
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I've got the G2 Player and the only problem is battery life. Now that Slacker has a dock available you can keep the unit docked and charged via USB. Never owned the G1 model so can't comment on why it would be so messed up.
I would not count on Slacker or Pandora ever being able to store songs on the iPhone or iTouch, as that would cut into Apple's cash cow aka the iTunes Music Store. Apple has tight control over these apps, streaming is fine but storage is an iPod only feature.
My equipment list is here. Playstation Network ID = jmii ...that's JM roman numeral 2
post #8 of 32Old02-09-2009, 06:01 AM - Thread Starter
Slacker Usb Station Refresher Program
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMII
I would not count on Slacker or Pandora ever being able to store songs on the iPhone or iTouch, as that would cut into Apple's cash cow aka the iTunes Music Store. Apple has tight control over these apps, streaming is fine but storage is an iPod only feature.

That being said, I would be fine paying Apple for some sort of 'subscription'. Heck, I was paying XM $12/month until Mel created that merger disaster that removed all of my favorite channels; so I would have no problem paying 'iRadio' if they could make it work reliably, they do like money right?
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Slacker made a deal with BlackBerry so that caching is exclusive to BB devices for now. Supposedly the other problem with iPod caching is that the software can only write to an application bin that is part of the automatic backup procedure when you connect your device via USB, so you'd have extra long sync times as a result.
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Reading the Slacker forums the G1 is buggy, though as been mentioned here it is better now because of the recent firmware upgrade.
I've had my G2 for about 2 months now. I have no complaints.
There are a few new features I wish the G2 had, like if it was more car friendly it would be cooler. Hopefully that will be address in future firmware updates.
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I just got my g2 in the mail. Still trying to get anything on it though. I'm wondering if there is some port or something I have to open on my router.
It's irritating me to no end though as I can't get anything on it from my wifi and I can't get anything on it even after the software install plugging it in to the usb.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marinesciguy
I just got my g2 in the mail. Still trying to get anything on it though. I'm wondering if there is some port or something I have to open on my router.
It's irritating me to no end though as I can't get anything on it from my wifi and I can't get anything on it even after the software install plugging it in to the usb.

The USB hook-up sucks, I always get an IP conflict error with the USB..But the WIFI hook-up is usually very easy.
Do you have any security set-up on your wireless router?
Go to the Slacker forums. There's lots of help over there, and they have CS help there too.
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I have been listening to Slacker comedy online and I am ready to buy a portable for my wife. I am wondering if I should spend the extra money and get the G2.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim1348
I have been listening to Slacker comedy online and I am ready to buy a portable for my wife. I am wondering if I should spend the extra money and get the G2.

G1...Pros---It's cheaper...It's bigger and easier to read the screen...the recent firmware has made it less buggy...
G1...Cons..even with the new firmware it is still buggy...No cradle(s). Still it is a 1st generation unit it won't be supported as well as the G2.
G2..Pros.. Has a home cradle, and (hopefully) a car cradle on the way.. less buggy then the G1...small size...It's 2nd generation so the support for it is much better. Since Dec. there has been 4-5 firmware upgrades vs. 1 firmware upgrade for the G1..
G2..Cons... much more expensive then the G1...the buttons are small, the button layout probably could be better..
If you're going to use it a lot then IMO I would( and did) lay out the extra money and get the G2. If you don't plan on using it a lot then get the less expensive G1.
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I got my G1 yesterday and I already love it. I think it sounds excellent. I paired it with a pair of Koss Porta Pro headphones and the sound is surprisingly good. I also bought a portable speaker system for it from Altec Lansing
(im600USB) want to use it at work, they don't allow headphones. Yes. it's a little complicated but, I'm up for the challenge. How do you get the firmware to update? I haven't been able to figure that out yet.
I chose the G! for a couple of reasons despite reading about inherent bugs. Reason 1 price. Reason 2 Screen is much bigger. I read complaints about the G1 being bulky, not true. it's actually a pretty nice size and the screen is very nice and easy to read. I bought the radio plus feature. It's a one time fee of about $50 that gives you the option of no adds and unlimited skips.
I have been enjoying my Slacker experience when online for a couple of months and decided to get the portable for work. I think I am really going to enjoy it once I figure out all it's little quirks.
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Quote:

How do you get the firmware to update? I haven't been able to figure that out yet.

Check out the Slacker forum under 'Portable Radio Players'...Then Click on 'Slacker G1 Personal Radio Player'. There's all sorts of info there about the G1 Player..
Anyway here's a cut and paste from that thread on how to do the firmware update:
New Firmware 1.6.112 Released!
New postby RomeE on Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:30 pm
Good Evening Folks,
We have just released new G1 firmware.
To get the new firmware, please charge your player to full power (required 50% or more power at the very least).
Refresh your stations as you normally would, if you have troubles refreshing more than 1 station, you can remove all but one station and refresh. Once the stations are refreshed, it should download the Software Update. Once it's finished, you will see the Refresh Complete Screen.
Hit okay to that screen, and then slide and release the power switch so it says 'Shutting down'. If you have enough power, it will shut down, then turn back on and perform the software update. If it doesn't, please charge your player more, and try it again.
Once you have updated, please perform a Factory Reset via the 'Settings' menu. This will delete all data on the player, but this is required in order to get rid of any old data that might be on the player that might interfere with the new firmware.
**NOTE** As a last resort, you can perform a reflash via the Software/USB Station Refresher and it will install the 1.6.112 firmware as well.
-This version of the firmware should resolve known issues with certain routers (WRT54G and 2WIRE, among others) that can only refresh one station at a time.
-It should also improve stability as we did find a bug that resulted in players becoming unstable.
-If you have the player asleep for more than 6 hours, the player will REBOOT the next time you power it on. This Reboot should add additional stability to the player.
Please let us know if you have any problems.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbie845
Check out the Slacker forum under 'Portable Radio Players'...Then Click on 'Slacker G1 Personal Radio Player'. There's all sorts of info there about the G1 Player..
Anyway here's a cut and paste from that thread on how to do the firmware update:
New Firmware 1.6.112 Released!
New postby RomeE on Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:30 pm
Good Evening Folks,
We have just released new G1 firmware.
To get the new firmware, please charge your player to full power (required 50% or more power at the very least).
Refresh your stations as you normally would, if you have troubles refreshing more than 1 station, you can remove all but one station and refresh. Once the stations are refreshed, it should download the Software Update. Once it's finished, you will see the Refresh Complete Screen.
Hit okay to that screen, and then slide and release the power switch so it says 'Shutting down'. If you have enough power, it will shut down, then turn back on and perform the software update. If it doesn't, please charge your player more, and try it again.
Once you have updated, please perform a Factory Reset via the 'Settings' menu. This will delete all data on the player, but this is required in order to get rid of any old data that might be on the player that might interfere with the new firmware.
**NOTE** As a last resort, you can perform a reflash via the Software/USB Station Refresher and it will install the 1.6.112 firmware as well.
-This version of the firmware should resolve known issues with certain routers (WRT54G and 2WIRE, among others) that can only refresh one station at a time.
-It should also improve stability as we did find a bug that resulted in players becoming unstable.
-If you have the player asleep for more than 6 hours, the player will REBOOT the next time you power it on. This Reboot should add additional stability to the player.
Please let us know if you have any problems.

I performed the firmware update and did a factory reset per your instructions. How do I tell what firmware version my portable has?
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On My G2 it's go to menu>settings>about...Under 'About' it tells the current firmware being used.
I'm not sure about the G1.. Check the forum, or look for 'About' in your menu.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbie845
On My G2 it's go to menu>settings>about...Under 'About' it tells the current firmware being used.
I'm not sure about the G1.. Check the forum, or look for 'About' in your menu.

Yeah thanks, I got it. it's 1.6.112 I like the Slacker G1 so much I ordered another one for a friend. This thing works great and I love it.
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Note if you're looking for a G1, this weekend (at least) you can get one for a great sale price...check either Amazon or J&R.com.
I'm seriously considering picking one up, myself...
DGK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeKaye07
Note if you're looking for a G1, this weekend (at least) you can get one for a great sale price...check either Amazon or J&R.com.
I'm seriously considering picking one up, myself...
DGK

Great tip, I had bought two of these G1's last week from J&R. When I looked up J&R yesterday they had reduced it by twenty dollars more. I called them up and they credited my card for forty dollars. I'm glad I checked their website.
The G1 is such a steal at J&R that it's almost foolish not to get one.
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This one for $79.99?
http://www.jr.com/slacker/pe/SLC_90260005/
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim1348
This one for $79.99?
http://www.jr.com/slacker/pe/SLC_90260005/

That's the one. Note that the price listed is only good until the end of Sunday -- by Monday (i.e. after midnight Sunday, I'd think) that price goes away.
DGK
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim1348
This one for $79.99?
http://www.jr.com/slacker/pe/SLC_90260005/

Hurry up and get it tonight to lock in the $79 price.

Slacker Usb Station Refresher Program Free

I love the Slacker G1 and I feel sorry for Canadians because they can't (legally) use Slacker portable in Canada. What a rip.
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Just wanted to update:
I finally have the thing working now (there is a weird instance that can happen with other people's custom stations).
I have to say, this is wonderful. I now have 37 active stations that I really appreciate. It pretty much replaced my 12 cd changer in the trunk and I can't imagine going satellite now with having this.
The only two downsides I can think of are that it takes forever to update the stations (as in leaving it plugged in and on all night and I still sometimes haven't finished updating by morning), and the player itself takes a short period of time to activate after turning it on.
Overall very pleased with my G2 now.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marinesciguy
Just wanted to update:
I finally have the thing working now (there is a weird instance that can happen with other people's custom stations).
I have to say, this is wonderful. I now have 37 active stations that I really appreciate. It pretty much replaced my 12 cd changer in the trunk and I can't imagine going satellite now with having this.
The only two downsides I can think of are that it takes forever to update the stations (as in leaving it plugged in and on all night and I still sometimes haven't finished updating by morning), and the player itself takes a short period of time to activate after turning it on.
Overall very pleased with my G2 now.

Yeah, that seems like a common complaint with many Mp3 players and personal radios, etc. They take forever to boot up. And since the G2 is booting up with anywhere from 2k to 3k songs it does take awhile.
I think that's why slacker has the 2 hour stand-by mode on the G2. It sacrifices a little battery life, but the stand-by mode keeps it from doing a long cold startup every time the user turns the unit off.
But yeah I've had mine for over 2 months now and I love it. I am especially enjoying d/l other users custom stations. Some of the custom stations are very good.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by marinesciguy
Just wanted to update:
I finally have the thing working now (there is a weird instance that can happen with other people's custom stations).
I have to say, this is wonderful. I now have 37 active stations that I really appreciate. It pretty much replaced my 12 cd changer in the trunk and I can't imagine going satellite now with having this.
The only two downsides I can think of are that it takes forever to update the stations (as in leaving it plugged in and on all night and I still sometimes haven't finished updating by morning), and the player itself takes a short period of time to activate after turning it on.
Overall very pleased with my G2 now.

For me, only the initial update took a long time. My daily refreshes don't seem to take that long now.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by john barlow
For me, only the initial update took a long time. My daily refreshes don't seem to take that long now.

The initial update it's downloading probably around 2,000 songs, maybe more. The daily updates it's only refreshing the stations and songs you listened to that day.
My 1st update took about 6-7 hours. Now the daily refreshes only take 30 minutes, tops.
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The Slacker G1 is stil selling at J&R for $99. Still a real bargain when you consider the value of what you get with it.
I was able to cancel my Plus service and upgrade to Premium. I called slacker at the phone number that showed on my online banking page where they deducted the plus subscription amount.
They refunded my $48. Then I was able to go to the premiun link and sign up for Premium service. I really like the fact that I can save a song and then make a custom playlist of both my music from my computer and from the songs I have saved with my Slacker Premium account. This thing is The Bomb!
I'd have to say honestly IMO, this is the best value out there for music enjoyment right now.
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Hi
Slacker is not available at my country....
Have found tv243.com a great alternative
'Music discovery website to listen to music and watch videos in shuffle mode. Search music videos, find similar artists, bands and internet radio channels.'
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Slacker Usb Station Refresher



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The Pros

Available on a wide variety of platforms; Unique integration of ABC News briefs; Inexpensive; Customizable stations via song requests

Limited social interaction ; No backward skipping/replays; No on-demand listening

Verdict

Slacker Radio Stations Online

This Pandora-like radio subscription service provides great audio quality, 10 million songs, and is accessible on almost every major mobile and computing platform.

Review

Slacker has found its way onto more platforms than the newer services here: In addition to all three major computer OSes and the company's own Slacker G2 device, Slacker is available on Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Logitech Squeezebox, Network Blu-ray players, RCA Infinite Radio, Sony Bravia TVs, Sony Walkman, webOS, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone 7 (caching will be available with next version).

Slacker Radio Plus is the least expensive of the services in this roundup, topping out at just $4.99 per month (or $3.99 per month when you purchase an annual subscription). The service acts more like a traditional radio station than the rest of the services here in that you can't access its 10 million songs on demand. However, you can create custom stations and make song or artist requests, which get heavier play in the rotation.

A separate $9.99 monthly Slacker Premium service, which was in beta as of press time, will provide users with the ability to search, play, and replay specific songs and albums.

We like the integration of ABC News briefs at the top of each hour, which you can disable if you choose. The Plus service also gives you unlimited song skipping (forward only, unfortunately), no ads, unlimited song requests, and station caching for offline listening.

Music discovery relies almost entirely on the abilities of the 100-plus DJs from across the country who create the service's roughly 130 pre-programmed stations and update them constantly. You can interact with DJs and other users in the forums, where you can also post your own custom stations. Outside of that, social interaction is limited to the service's integration with Twitter (you can let folks know what you're listening to at any given time).

Slacker's audio quality is very good, with streams and cached stations using the AACpro V2 format. To our ears, it sounded comparable to a 160Kbps MP3 file but in a much more compact file size. The service's reliability didn't disappoint us, regardless of the device used.

Slacker Usb Station Refresher Program

The Slacker desktop interface is a bit slow, but the mobile apps work quickly and smoothly. The first time you cache a station on your phone, make sure you're on a strong Wi-Fi connection, as it takes a while to download all that content. Refreshing a station takes significantly less time since many songs stay in the rotation. Editorial content comes from All Music Guide (now called Rovi) and is extremely well integrated in the mobile app, offering easy access to lyrics (for some songs), bios, and reviews.

Overall, Slacker Radio Plus is excellent for the price, and the Premium service with on-demand listening looks like it will be a formidable Rhapsody competitor.

Specifications

Software Type Cell Phone App
Software Type Multimedia Software
Platforms webOS
Platforms iOS
Platforms Windows Phone 7
Platforms BlackBerry
Platforms Android
Required Processor
Software Required OS:
Required RAM
Disk Space
Company Website www.slacker.com