HomePod Brings Music from iTunes to the Living Room

sammy.lost-angel.com writes "News.com has a story about HomePod, a device by Gloolabs that streams music wirelessly from your Mac to your living room. It's based on a Java application. The device is not very pretty, but it is priced right at $199." Not for nothing, but you can buy a used clamshell iBook for just a little bit more, and use that (along with something like iCommune, or just loading the MP3s to your library ia file sharing) ... but these guys are right, this market is going to take off, sooner or later.

Comments

but...

[djupedal]

While the SliMP3 is great, it's not wireless and costs more....but it is platform agnostic.

I want wireless and Mac, so the HomePod wins this one :)

Now, when can I buy one off the shelf from Fry's.

BTW, if you want to simply send audio and video, pls check this site I did a while back - iTunes, wireless and Home Theater...and yes, this segment is hothothot.

iWant my iStereo

[applematters]

I wrote an article about an iStereo on AppleMatters: http://applematters.pmachinehosting.com/comments.p hp?id=P14_0_1_0 This device looks interesting and all the comments about the design of the thing are right on---its pretty ugly. That said the company has to be credited for at least bringing this to market. Apple should be doing this now.

Skip the computer--iPod to Stereo

[OECD]

Griffin Technologies has this add on for your iPod. It broadcasts your music in FM, allowing you to tune it in on your stereo. It looks great AND it's only $35. (OK, it's not available just yet, but they're taking pre-orders.)

Bonus: you don't have to run into the computer room to change the song!

Marketing mp3 in the post-Napster era

[Zhe Mappel]

The product design looks like someone married the famous tastefulness of Radio Shack with the dynamic energy of the Transformers. This thing can beam your mp3s, would look at home on any Sylvania pressboard console, and it can fight Voltron.

But what's interesting to me is this statement from the article:

'"It's a very clear problem," said David Arfin, CEO of Gloolabs. "There are 60 million people who have music (stored) on hard disks. Most of those people have stereos."'

Yes, and 59.9 million of them got the files on Napster. So we see this interesting development: the music wanted to be free, according to the digidealists. Their 15 minutes is over, so they've been replaced by gizmo capitalists who say the music wants to be bounced by radio wave across our houses.

Is there any analogy in our history to this kind of mass thievery eventually providing a cozy aftermarket to capitalism? (No points for mentioning the IRS.)

I agree

[payote]

I've been doing exactly what the HomePod does with my Slimp3 player for some time now - and thanks to an open-source approach to their server software, iTunes support was incorporated into the software by some underappreciated and dedicated Mac enthusiasts/programmers. Kudos to them for providing a simple, elegant solution that predates this one by almost a year and a half. I have mine plugged into the WAN port on my Basestation, pulling MP3's (all legally ripped of course) from my G4 in another room, wirelessly. Tres slick.