wish list for future versions

1. I tend to agree with everyone else on this. If I want something at full in a snap I just program my LEVEL button at full.

2. I wish the board was web-enabled. You could email yourself the show file if you wanted to, download updates or even check your stock portfolio. If you don't like haveing your EOS online, then don't connect the ethernet cable and do the updating the old fashion way with a USB KEY. It could also be made so you have to enable the web abilities softly in the board. That way you can control when you are connected and when you are not connected. - Make it MACRO if you want!

3. YES to back lit keys. This is the one thing I really miss on the EOS from our Strand 520. The GO button needs to be lit. Between looking past the bright screens to see the stage then onto the desk into the black hole where the GO button has been placed leaves me wondering if the testers where doing a lot of live dance show "mixing" behind glass at the back of the house. While we are on the GO button why is there no little sheild around it? I loved the GO button on the 520 because you could actually rest your finger on/over the sheild, then quickly hit GO when called for. Much better for those tight cues. I also HATE how close the STOP/BACK button is to the GO Button. I wish the STOP/BACK button was about an inch higher on the console. Sometimes (due to the lack of a sheild) when I hit the GO button I accidently hit the edge of the STOP/BACK button as well thus causing chaos - I know that makes me a bit of a butterfingers but you have all done it at somepoint!

I Love the way groups work off the EOS compared to other consoles in the past where you would asign a group at a Level. Good thinking EOS programers on getting rid of the level.

I hope that in future software releases that ETC drops the "sausage" at the bottom of the cue playback screen. That long sausage tells me nothing! I would much rather see a seperate count remaining for INTENSITY, BEAM, FOCUS and COLOUR (Color for all the americans) in that space with no food products represented.

And finally the last thing.... I would like ETC to drop the number on the label for all the soft keys. I don't care if it is group 20 or whatever, I only want to see the text label I have programed for that soft key and not a number and my label. If I wanted to know what the "Centre Special" group number is, I can easily go into the group screen or the focus palette screen or whatever may apply. Please ETC give us more room for the Label.

When we first recieved the EOS I was none to sure about it (trapped by guilt of the loss of our Strand 520 after all those years), but now after using it for a few months for a variety of show types (programed shows and on the fly shows) the EOS can't be beat for speed, control and adaptability. Anyone in the market for a console needs to try the EOS to experiance it's full capabilities and be sure you also try it with a hand full of moving fixtures so you can really get a sense of how quick and easy it is to program.

-Clayton

clayton.rodney:

2. I wish the board was web-enabled. You could email yourself the show file if you wanted to, download updates or even check your stock portfolio. If you don't like haveing your EOS online, then don't connect the ethernet cable and do the updating the old fashion way with a USB KEY. It could also be made so you have to enable the web abilities softly in the board. That way you can control when you are connected and when you are not connected. - Make it MACRO if you want!

There are ways of doing this, but it will happen over the dead bodies of technical services....

Being serious for a change, there are several extremely good reasons why this should not be done:

1. The current "Mean-time-between-attacks" on the Internet is under 20 minutes. Every machine directly connected to the internet gets a direct attack from crackers/hackers/botnets etc at least this often. Even if every attack is immediately blackholed, this uses computing resources and results in the system slowing down.
   
2. Some form of hardware firewall would be required to protect against these attacks. (You'd need a NAT firewall of some kind anyway.)
3. The moment a console can directly receive Email is the moment that console will get computer viruses. There are security holes in every known email client, and this isn't going to change anytime soon. The last thing anybody wants is a console with whatever the latest email-borne virus is.
   
4. EOS has no firewall (it eats resources)
5. EOS has no virus scanner (it eats resources and could never be up-to-date)

This is why we don't connect it to the internet - the only good computer security is physical security.

Software-based security will always have the possibility of holes. However, if file transfer is only done via USB key (either to a network file server or the console itself), then it's much easier to protect against unwanted executables.

I don't understand this trend of "Everything web-based". Web-based is not an end in itself - it's a powerful tool that should only ever be used where it provides direct benefits that outweigh the risks.

I don't see a single significant benefit to an internet connection for a lighting console - the only things that could be gained by it are the following:

1. Direct download of software updates.
• You'll need to download the Client software onto your laptop anyway, so why tie up the lighting console for however long it takes to download?
• No manufacturer should directly push an update - update your software when it's convenient for you, not whenever somebody else feels like it. We'll always recommend that you use the latest version, but there is no reason to change in the middle of a run unless it fixes something that's been annoying you!
  
2. Email and web browsing.
• Where would this stop? Would you want Flash, Adobe Acrobat and any other plugins?
• Are ETC supposed to support all these plugins? We use customised XP Embedded which has had almost everything we don't need removed, so there's no guarantee that any other software would run properly, if at all.
  
• Can you imagine a bigger distraction for the board operator?
3. Remote Access.
• This opens up an even bigger can of worms... Please don't go there!
  

Ok I agree the security and resource risks are a good enough reason not to have internet access but there are two network opitons I want.

 1.  The ability over the network to check and change the dimmers.  Currently I had to scrounge up an old pc it would be much more efficiant to have them on one machine. 

 2.  I would also like to be able to address my nodes from the console. 

Hear, Hear for addressing nodes from the console. I hear that may be on it's way, and you shouldn't have to hook up to the 'web' to do that.

 We have enough trouble getting students to pay attention to cueing and the show let alone have them surfing the web or checking email while running a show. Keep the console off the web.

1. This shouldn't be too hard to implement, but it obviously needs to be quite well hidden/password protected to ensure it's only done by the right people! No doubt Anne will be along shortly to give the final word on it.
   
2. You'll be glad to know that this is already on the wish list - although we don't yet have an ETA.
   

1. This shouldn't be too hard to implement, but it obviously needs to be quite well hidden/password protected to ensure it's only done by the right people! No doubt Anne will be along shortly to give the final word on it.
   
2. You'll be glad to know that this is already on the wish list - although we don't yet have an ETA.
   

After working with the ION I have some requests:

On a hardware note, for me, the enter button is kinda small and in an odd spot. I know that it would be a real pain to move it or make it bigger; so my suggestion is to put a raised bump on it so that fingers can know that they are on enter. Also I do not know why we have gotten away form placing a bump on the 5 key, but can we get that back . . .

On a software note. I think that tabs would be great for the ION, if that is possible. And I would like to be able to Press and hole one of the six palette buttons and then use next/last to page through my palette pages. Wanting to do that just seams so natural to me.