Let me first say I've followed this forum for quite a while, including making a couple of posts, so I knew what sort of ribbing I was in for when I posted this thread. I have a thick skin so no harm done -- but thank you to those that asked for some mercy for me :).

Rather than flood this thread with a bunch of individual responses from me, let me see if I can answer many of the posts at once...

First, we are not looking for any money. What we are offering is to provide a selection of CIs a beta version of Simpfony, free of charge. We are interested in your feedback on the entire product, both from an installation/setup perspective as well as from a user perspective. We recognize that your requirements and challenges are unique and we are very interested in how we might improve or change Simpfony to meet some of those requirements. We're even willing to provide DACs (either integrated with amplifiers or standalone) on a loan basis for those that might need them.

I will try to provide a bit more technical detail, but Julie hit the nail on the head in that I'm limited to what I can say in a public forum as Simpfony is still a pre-release product. Obviously after an initial retail release I'd be able to discuss in much more detail on a public forum. For now, I'll do the best I can, but additional detail would require an executed non-disclosure agreement (those pesky lawyers)...

Simpfony is not limited to only a local library of audio files, nor is it some sort of "shell" that simply calls other programs. It is a complete, full featured distributed audio solution. All functionality is native to the product. As far as audio sources go we have quite a few, with more on the way. That of course includes many of the most popular online music services -- sorry I can't spell them out specifically here (but I'm sure you guys could infer a reasonable list based on your experience). What I /can/ share is that, in addition to those online services, we also currently have plugins for:
- Local libraries (such as iTunes or Windows Media Player)
- Line inputs (digital and analog, depending on the input devices)
- RAOP (Apple AirTunes), multiple endpoints without any additional hardware, complete with full metadata and artwork support
- Internet radio

The initial release backend operates as a Windows service. For those of you that are weary of Windows, the product is probably not for you at this point. That feedback in itself is valuable however, as we continue to evaluate internally the potential roadmap for other server platforms.

Controllers (client software) are presently completed for Windows and iOS platforms (including full support for both iPhone/iPod and iPad devices). Controllers for Android devices and Mac OSX are in progress. We also have plugins for TCP/IP and serial based interfacing to external systems.

Obviously I am unable discuss pricing, licensing schemes, margins, or any of that sort of information here.

I hope that gives everyone a little more information about Simpfony. I'd be happy to try and answer any additional questions you guys might have, if I am able to.

Thanks.