New Owner - Big Problems

[Crumbz]

I really need help with my iLiad. I have been trying to connect it wirelessly but am unable to do so. I do have a DHCP server set up on my router. It is a pity the wireless profile can't accept static ip addresses for the device.

I also cannot connect to it in Wired mode.

Therefore I can't get any of the software updates available unless I can connect it. Currently stuck with version 2.12 that came with the iLiad.

I can't even read pdf books on the iLiad because it won't recognize any of my USB sticks.

So currently I'm stuck with an expensive ereader that can only read the reference guides and user manuals it came preloaded with.

Can someone PLEASE help me get my iLiad working like how other people have theirs working too?

[MarkRPenn]

I can't help with the USB stick, or even the network connections (except to say that for me wifi is hopelessly unreliable, and that if you have an N router you have little chance of connecting), but I can tell you that version 2.12 of the software is the latest, and will be the last, as Irex have announced they will no longer develop for the Iliad.

There is a community project to develop the software, but while I greatly admire the enthusiasts who are involved, it's not the same as official development by the manufacturer.

If you were duped into buying the Iliad by the promises of ongoing development that Irex continue to make, despite their announcement, you may want to consider your options while you still can.

Mark

[ericshliao]

As to network connection, it seems iLiad only accept DHCP assigned ip address. If you really want to fix a ip address for your iLiad, register it in your router (assigna ip address for specific MAC) and enable DHCP in your router. It will make your iLiad always get an unchanged ip address.

As to USB stick, I never used one on iLiad. So I don't know how to solve your problem. I think there might be two possibilities:
1. Your usb stick is not compatible with iLiad. Find a compatible one.
2. Partition format not recognized by iLiad. Try FAT32.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by MarkRPenn

I can't help with the USB stick, or even the network connections (except to say that for me wifi is hopelessly unreliable, and that if you have an N router you have little chance of connecting), but I can tell you that version 2.12 of the software is the latest, and will be the last, as Irex have announced they will no longer develop for the Iliad.

Not exactly. They did say there may be more updates (I'm assuming bug fixes, etc), but that no new features will be developed.

There is a community project to develop the software, but while I greatly admire the enthusiasts who are involved, it's not the same as official development by the manufacturer.

It'll probably be better. iRex has a really small development team, which has always been the main issue behind the customer complaints. Opening up all of the code to the public will likely result in a volunteer community being able to put more man hours into the software than iRex can afford to.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Crumbz

I can't even read pdf books on the iLiad because it won't recognize any of my USB sticks.

So currently I'm stuck with an expensive ereader that can only read the reference guides and user manuals it came preloaded with.

Are you unable to transfer files to it via USB from your PC? That's the normal way of getting content onto the iLiad.

[MarkRPenn]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

Not exactly. They did say there may be more updates (I'm assuming bug fixes, etc), but that no new features will be developed.

I wouldn't really regard bug fixes as development, just support, but anyway the point is that they promised new features, which caused me to buy thier product, then decided not to add any. That's illegal here.

Originally Posted by Shaggy

It'll probably be better. iRex has a really small development team, which has always been the main issue behind the customer complaints. Opening up all of the code to the public will likely result in a volunteer community being able to put more man hours into the software than iRex can afford to.

You could be right, but whether someone judges it to be better or not depends on their outlook. I didn't buy this thing as an enthusiast, expecting to be part of a "community". I don't have to belong to a community to get my 'fridge working as advertised! I bought it as a consumer, expecting to get updates as promised from the manufacturer without having to understand anything beyond "follow this wizard to set up your network, then press this button".

I'm trying to be very careful here, as I really, genuinely, do admire the volunteer developers, and I'm sure they'll do a great job within the limits of the resources they have, so I don't want to appear to be knocking them at all. The thing is though that I didn't buy a computer, requiring a level of skill on my part - I bought a consumer device that, apparently, I could just press a button on in order to receive new features, and Irex are not delivering that.

And I'm afraid I have no sympathy for Irex when it comes to arguments like "we only have a small team", or "we rely on third parties to help us", or "the hardware won't support it". My small cooling company couldn't air condition a sky-scraper, so we don't promise to. If we did promise to, and took peoples money on the back of those promises, we'd expect to be held to it, no matter how genuinely mistaken we were in thinking we could do it.

Mark

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Crumbz

Therefore I can't get any of the software updates available unless I can connect it. Currently stuck with version 2.12 that came with the iLiad.

As others have mentioned 2.12 is the latest version, but if you can't connect to IDS you can't get the developers package, which is needed to load 3rd party apps, see The absolute n00b guide to installing applications. So it is very important to get IDS working, even if it is almost never used.

I have never heard of USB sticks not working, do they have some non-standard format? If a Windows PC can read them I think the iLiad should be able to read them too.

If you have a PC (Windows, OS/X, Linux) you should be able to see the "internal memory" when the iLiad is connected via USB. This isn't large enough for many PDFs, but it will hold a few. I suggest getting a CF card, which can also be exported via USB (only one filesystem at a time is exported from the iLiad, I always export my CF card). A typical CF card will hold plenty of PDFs.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by MarkRPenn

I wouldn't really regard bug fixes as development, just support, but anyway the point is that they promised new features, which caused me to buy thier product, then decided not to add any.

What features did they promise that you bought the device for? Hopefully it's something that the community has high on their priority list to develop.

[herbalist]

perhaps your router uses mac address filtering? As for the USB stick, you have to go into the device manager -> iliad settings -> archive locations and configure where you want your files.

[Crumbz]

Thank u for all the replies... I really mean it. Since my post I have made quite a bit of progress so far. I am able to connect the iLiad to the PC via the usb cable without any errors. It was important to have the iLiad turned ON before connecting it via USB to the PC. The PC won't recognise it if it was connected first and then switched ON. I can now copy and read pdf files onto the iLiad.

The other IMPORTANT thing was I managed to have it connected wirelessly to the router. It is really important to have the Network Authentication in the router wireless settings as "OPEN" and NOT "SHARED". Many thanks to this post I stumbled across. The iLiad was able to download content from the iDS server.

Developers forum recommended I need to get a compatible Compact Flash card so I'm off to get that now.

It is my goal ONE DAY to push the 'News' button on the Iliad and be able to read RSS feeds from news websites on the iLiad. Since I am a NEW (NEWBIE) user this may take some time but I am a little confident I will get there. Thanks so much again for the tips!