Hi guys,
This is going to be a long post, so grab a coup of tea, sit back and relax.
Lately we've been discussing the SSL computer problem revealing the problems the we SSL owners are/will be facing in the near future with computer replacements becoming scarce and so expensive. Obviously our consoles are not getting younger needing regular overall maintenance that we've become so acquainted with. So far this maintenance as been possible due to the existence of service manuals, a good design that assured it could be maintainable in the future, and our more knowledgeable members that are willing to put themselves out there, sharing information and actively helping other members to troubleshoot and fix problems. Despite this fact, good will can go so far and come at the cost of personal time expended studying the service manuals, troubleshooting and sometimes reverse engineering the design and behavior intended by SSL. The apex of this effort comes in the form of the SSL computer which is very hard or close to impossible to maintain, needing a more urgent attention and also the biggest effort. The are a bunch of motivations to find a modern alternative replacement, among them, the ability to continue to enjoy a console with computer support, lower power consumption, maintainability, small form factor, modern software and updated workflow, and so on...
We all have knowledge of projects such as the Dramastic Audio and Pelle G's which have been taking enormous effort to reverse engineer and design a modern system to completely replace the SSL computer. This has been done at such a high cost that in 2-3 years that we know about these projects none of them as seen the light of day in the form of a commercial viable option. Also we could testify that this task almost took Pelle G to bankruptcy (his own words), having spent so much time and money investing in this endeavor. Of Dramastic Audio we can only guess what's really going on...
After careful thought about this problem it's my personal conviction that any SSL computer project will have to come from the community itself. No proprietary alternative will offer the future assurance, level of continuity and innovation that we are looking for, leaving us in the hands of a small company that might change its mind anytime and drop their solution support or even go bankrupt. Also a solution that comes from a 1-man job can go hairy since this person may stop being able to support his creation and his clients due to personal problems. This is a fact and a risk specially if one has to pay many thousands for such a system only to see it obsolete just around the corner.
I believe that we have a rich community with capable electronic and software engineers that together and motivated could take this task in and design a long term replacement for the SSL Computer assuring a viable solution for this problem. Such solution would be maintained by the community guaranteeing the continuous development of its electronics design and software, constantly evolving to meet users needs. This could be approached like any other OpenSource project out there, embracing an open approach and development best practices, adopting models such as eXtreme Programming or Agille for instance. The open approach would also guarantee that the solution would always belong to the SSLMixed community and its users, allowing anyone to actively participate with ideas, designs, code contributions and patches.
This being said, there's only one major deal-breaker that I think it's in the way of such a project, which is the huge blackbox that the SSL Computer is. Reverse engineering is possible, as we've testified before, but this comes at a great cost and, although I think that this would be easier with more heads involved, it's not a simple task at all. The optimal solution would be to have access to the development documentation that SSL should have on its archives and explains top to bottom how the system works. This documentation would enable us to develop alternatives at a much less cost, not requiring a reverse-engineering phase.
This looooooong post leads me to my main topic which is writing a letter to SSL. This letter would be written by the community asking SSL to donate all the necessary documentation (to be determined) to enable us to fully grasp the console plus computer design and behavior, allowing the community to fully maintain and design the necessary alternatives to keep the SSL legacy alive in the future, as also maintain a clean and solid image that would respect and promote the brand. I believe SSL wouldn't have nothing to lose with this move since any of the related documentation would not endanger any of the company's secrets (any of this technology is currently supported or present on current products). On the other side, donating this documentation (even if under an N.D.A. to the community) would assure SSL that there's a community committed and willing to provide support and keep a great technology alive. This would only benefit SSL and we would have nothing to loose by doing it.
If we decide to write such letter, although this would always be written by the community and "signed" by all users, I think it should be handed over to SSL by a known-friendly face to them. Someone that could have a meeting and explain our motives and give it the necessary credibility. Obvious names for this task, if they are ok with this, could be Jim and Mattia, for their past and current relationship with SSL. Regarding the letter itself I don't mind to draft a sketch and post it for discussion.
I hope this makes any sense to you guys. Please discuss and share your thoughts.
Cheers,
Artur
