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Post subject: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Mon May 08, 2017 3:25 am
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Hi,

I'm the owner of a Fender G-DEC3 amp, which very rarely gets used to its full potential - mostly because of my lack of skill, but partly because the Fuse software isn't really that useful in its current state.

The development of Fuse software seems effectively dead and the current version will become unusable as Silverlight (also discontinued) stops working on new operating system releases.

Without continued software support for these amps, their owners (Fender's customers...) will effectively lose functionality as time goes on. Amps bought in the 60s may still be going strong, but modern amps like these have a built in obsolescence without the ability to keep the software updated. I'd be very wary of either buying or recommending any hardware whose manufacturers leave the purchasers out to dry without continued support of some kind (how many years until the Mustang amps are similarly obsolete?).

Would Fender be open to the idea of releasing the source code of the Fuse app to the community so that we can organise and support it ourselves, or failing that to release documentation for the USB protocols and commands so that alternative control software can be created? It seems like releasing this would require minimal effort on Fender's part and give the potential for these amps to be maintained over the coming years.

Looking forward to your thoughts on this, any Fender representatives who can provide your thoughts :)

Cheers,
Paul.


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Post subject: Re: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Mon May 08, 2017 2:02 pm
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Ha, interesting notion there. I'll certainly pass this along.

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Post subject: Re: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 12:34 am
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This is the only door for Fender.
They maybe can do better if they give those codes to a solid Sound App company like iRig or Amplitude makers. Then i'll pay $25-$35 for a Phones/Tabs App-Fuse solid version.


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Post subject: Re: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 5:33 am
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Kriss_1978 wrote:
This is the only door for Fender.
They maybe can do better if they give those codes to a solid Sound App company like iRig or Amplitude makers. Then i'll pay $25-$35 for a Phones/Tabs App-Fuse solid version.


I'm not sure this would be anything more than a reprieve - at some point whichever company took it on would also find it unprofitable to maintain. Open source means that anyone can pick it up and modify it, fix it, port it to new platforms, add wireless connectivity etc. Forever...

Personally, I'd be curious to see if a hardware dongle which provided a wifi interface to the amp's functions would be feasible. With that in place, companion apps for iPads, phones, laptops, anything would be relatively simple and provide a better experience. Gaffer tape an iPod touch to your guitar and away you go... :)

(edit) - admittedly this is me trying to scratch my own itch of course.


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Post subject: Re: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 6:23 am
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Yes! We were hoping that would be the case all along. I would be happy to sign a disclaimer if necessary.

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Post subject: Re: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 5:06 am
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strings10927 wrote:
I would be happy to sign a disclaimer if necessary.

Then it wouldn't be open.

My guess is that they won't do it, and that someone in Engineering will nix it quickly due to the ADU[*] effect.
If it makes it to the higher ups on the money side of things, someone may say that the company can't give away their IP, or that it might help competitors, or that it could mean more people holding on to their Mustangs instead of buying GTs. These days, goodwill means nothing unless someone can show a nice graph of how it will boost the profit line within the next fiscal year or two.
And even then, legal might stop it, given that there could potentially be a non-zero risk of disclosing something that later could be used in a patent lawsuit against Fender, where Fender, without knowing it, were either inadvertently infringing or close enough that a lawsuit could be filed.

[*]: Airing Dirty Underwear. If disclosing something, you better make sure it's clean, with high enough quality not to get you laughed at.


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Post subject: Re: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 12:36 pm
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arth1 wrote:
My guess is that they won't do it


You may well be correct, and all the points that you make are very valid. Still, if we don't ask them to at least consider it then it's even less likely they'll do it.

Personally, I'd settle for just the documentation and we could look at starting from scratch - that removes the dirty underwear factor (if you'll pardon the metaphor abuse...)


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Post subject: Re: Open source the Fuse software or documentation?
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 12:18 pm
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Quote:
Personally, I'd settle for just the documentation and we could look at starting from scratch - that removes the dirty underwear factor (if you'll pardon the metaphor abuse...)


After purchasing a new Mustang GT to use as a practice amp and discovering the current state of the Android app and that the Mustang GT no longer had a desktop application like its predecessor, I had this very same idea. I actually emailed the contact listed on the Android app with this suggestion and became a beta tester for future releases.
I can understand if Fender doesn't want to open source the code for their current software, but I see little to no harm in providing a simple documentation for interested developers to create software to supplement the existing tools.
As an Android user, it would definitely help me feel less disappointed about my purchase.

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