Roon users' basic computer literacy

One of the arguments for getting a Nucleus as a Roon server instead of using a generic computer is that the Nucleus is an appliance and thus it doesn’t require any knowledge of applications or operating systems. Given the fact that computers usually come with the OS pre-installed, the only additional computer skill required to set up a Roon server on a non-Nucleus machine is the ability to download and install the Roon Core application. I believe this is something anyone should be able to do in this day and age, but to avoid any controversy, I have created this poll.

Note that by computer I mean a personal computer, in either a desktop or laptop form factor, running either Linux, MacOS or Windows operating system. Thus, phones, tablets, Chromebooks etc. are not included.

  • I can download and install an app on a computer.
  • My teen does it for me so I don’t need to.
  • What’s a download?

0 voters

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Rather than have it in the no man’s land of uncategorised you might want to put it in Roon Software or Audio Gear Talk.

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As the Nucleus is a Roon appliance, I’ve moved the poll into the #audio-gear-talk category…

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Thanks. I knew I could count of moderators for proper categorization :slight_smile:

Just “download and install” does not always result in a “working” app in all cases. It is sometimes more than just “download and install” that is needed, you also may need to know how to set-up the app (firewall if it is an issue, account set-up, network variation accommodations, etc.). I think it depends on where the lines between basic, intermediate, and advanced computer literacy are drawn.

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Just my thoughts but I would have thought a comparison between a Nucleus and installing ROCK on a Nuc would have been a better poll and fair test of actual PC abilities of a user?

But yes I myself see no gain in a Nucleus vs loading Roon on any old PC you have lying around that meets Roon minimum specs.

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I suspect Roon conceived the Nucleus as an implement for installers to use, the guys you call to install a kick-ass sound system in your latest executive mansion. They put a Nucleus and lifetime license as part of the bill, and the owner never even knows it exists. Not really for hobbyists.

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With the exception of firewall, you need to do all these things for Nucleus. I don’t know Linux or MacOS, but on Windows, when a new app tries to access the network for the first time, you get a prompt, and you can choose to allow it permanently with one click.

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That’s a fair point, but to me, a NUC w/ ROCK is just a much cheaper Nucleus. I see no other benefits. My point was that you don’t really need either.

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The audience for this is pre-filtered to people hanging out on support web sites. So together with the questions being silly…

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If this poll comes through as silly, it must be because of the idea that you actually need to spend between $1,000 and $2,000 more just to avoid installing an app. I don’t think that’s why people buy a Nucleus, so the appliance aspect of it is an overblown argument.

If you think the choices are silly, I hope people understand what they actually mean: (1) I can, (2) I can get help, even if I can’t, and (3) I can’t.

Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about the audience.

Agreed…my first go round was with an old ex work Dell laptop running Win10 professional.
Think it was an i5?
Anyways Roon running and streaming Tidal in under ten minutes if I remember correctly.
Took a long time to analyze my HDD of music but that was to be expected with just 4gb of RAM.

Really… anyone should be able to get Roon running on a PC easily.

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Overblown in what way? I started off by installing Roon on a Windows PC, but soon moved to a ROCK/NUC precisely because it is a Roon appliance, nothing more or less. And if I had more cash to spare, I would have bought a Nucleus…

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@Geoff_Coupe
I did this path as well, I went to NUC/ROCK due to not wanting to have to start my PC to play music.
I shut my PCs down when not in use for various reasons. It also gives me the options of taking the Roon “core” with me when I go traveling without having the have my entire library on a laptop that is also normally shut down when not in use.

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Help!
What do I have to do to enter my vote?
:stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Strictly speaking, an appliance is a device built to perform a specific task. If you take a generic computer running a generic OS, put Roon core on it, remove all user interface peripherals and keep it on at all times, it becomes a bona fide appliance, regardless of what you call it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s locked down or not, or whether it’s stripped down to the absolute bare minimum or not, since those things simply don’t come into play in any meaningful way. It’s just how you use it. That’s why the appliance aspect of the Nucleus is overblown.

Wellll, one of the the big differences between a “generic computer running a generic OS, put Roon core on it, remove all user interface peripherals and keep it on at all times” and Nucleus or NUC/Rock is that the Generic computer will need the OS, Roon, and any peripherals manually updated and patched and protected from viruses (unless you also install an updater and set the OS to auto update). Where as the Nucleus/NUC\Rock update from a single source and can easily be set to update automatically.

So in essence the Nucleus NUC\Rock is a turn it on set it up and forget it type of thing where the Computer needs more maintaining and monitoring.

I’ve covered that before in various posts. You can configure automatic updates, and if Linux and MacOS are like Windows, they come with a built-in antivirus.

But you keep saying configure this, change that. The whole point of the nucleus is that you literally just switch it on and never have to go outside of the roon app after that.
You don’t have to go into the guys if the OS to change it from a multipurpose instrument.into an appliance, it is one.

I think I’ve made it plenty clear that you can’t completely get over “configure this, change that” with Nucleus, and that the only difference between an out-of-the-box Nucleus and a computer with a pre-installed OS is downloading and installing Roon. If you think that’s not the case, please give concrete examples.