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SliMP3 Successor; Radio Station in a Box
XDG writes "Slim Devices just updated their website and announced The Squeezebox, the Wi-Fi successor to the SliMP3 player. The new hardware adds digital output, support for uncompressed WAVs, and, of course built-in 802.11. And, best of all, it's still a simple front end hardware device running on upgradeable, customizable, 100%-open-source server software. Anyone that owns or ever drooled over a SliMP3 has something new for their holiday wish lists!" We also have a submission about a "digital radio station in a box" from World Vibrations.
One thing I'm not too clear on; does it stream from shared folders, or does it have an internal HD? Or perhaps both?
While the successor's new features are certainly cool (I specially like the digital audio out) I prefered the original SliMP3's look. It just looked more exclusive, didn't have that cheap plastic look.
Included FREE in every box, on RIAA subpenoa!
It's patent-encumbered and lossy, yet has somehow permeated popular culture. This is yet another device that has MP3, but not FLAC or ogg. I'd buy something that announced as a feature the absence of MP3 support! Sure it's only a few cents to the price, but it's great not to have that baggage around. Somewhat like a language that doesn't support decimal. Think of what the historians will say about "MP3"--just an example of something imperfect can effect popular culture, but then die down as a useless artifact of the past.
-Libertarian secular transhumanist
Geez, why did I know I would see this here? I just got my SLIMP3 two weeks ago. I can't speak for the Squeezebox, but if it's anything like the SliMP3, go for it. I love the thing.
:( Oh well.
I like most everything about the device. It's easy to setup and control, sounds and looks great, and is actively supported by its developers and fans. There is an extensive FAQ and a popular support mailing list.
There are, however, a few things I would like to have seen, that the Squeezebox fixes. First, the SliMP3 is wired only. You can hook it up to a wireless bridge to make it "virtually wireless" but that's not an out-of-the-box solution. With many competitors releasing wireless solutions, SlimDevices caught on and developed their own. The SlimP3 also does not have an optical audio output. An optical connection would make the sound quality even better, however, most users would not notice a difference.
The display is a little small, and hard to read from across the room. However, most competing products display via a TV, meaning you'd have to be near a TV to select the music you want. The SLIMP3 doesn't require a TV and looks at home in your home theater system.
I thought it was definitely worth the $239 price, but now I wished I'd waited two weeks and got the Squeezebox for $299
So could one end up in jail for 3 years for "broadcasting" copyrighted material on a "public network" if a means comes along to sniff the 802.11 data back into a copyrighted file?
Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.
$299 for this OR...
$199 - Tivo
$50 - USB Wireless Adaptor
$50 - Home Media Option
$0 - JavaHMO (Streaming music)
Problem solved, same price and I get to skip commercials!
If we're talking $300 range, just get a TiVo with Home Media Option. More bang for your buck, and it works great for streaming radio or mp3 playback... plus... IT'S A TIVO!
They are also donating 10% of net profits from squeezebox to the EFF.
Read that page - they even make a little jab at the DRM music stores. Pretty bold...
Apparently, it can run web servers too, although obviously not very well ...
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
I hope they decide to carry this product so I can put it on my wishlist.
Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
I do have a question though: They say "WorldVibrations says the WVRS can operate fully automated and unattended, precisely scheduling programs, music, and announcements 24 hours a day, seven days a week.". So do they consider dead air from reboots and BSOD to be part of the programming?
I've sure been tempted to look into it, but don't know where to begin. Are these boxes appropriate for setting up an Internet radio station. Could such a station be run through my cable modem without the good people at Roadrunner getting angry? And what costs beyond hardware would I face?
Finally, do my costs go up if suddenly I find I suddenly have attracted thousands of listeners?
Sounds like there are some Who fans over at Slim Devices.
"I turn away with fright and horror from the lamentable evil of functions which do not have derivatives."
How much does a TiVo service subscription cost? Is the Home Media Option available without the subscription? And doesn't the TiVo price reflect a rebate from a 12-month subscription commitment?
Will I retire or break 10K?
Damn! Why did I spend $10 on an RCA cable to plug my Pee-Cee into my Stereo, when I could have spent $299! dave
Momma's got a squeezebox, Daddy never sleeps at night?
Wonder if they'll use it in the ad campaigns..
.sig: Now legally binding!
I'm an IleSansFil volunteer and was just wondering if there are any other uses for this "cheap" box.
Imagine a colossal all-conquering monopoly[1] of those!
[1]Allegedly.
The all powerful /. effect has struck again.
Clicking on any of the dowload links for the Open Source servers now displays....
"Downloads have been temporarily removed due to slashdot."
"Please come back in a few hours."
Ouch.
Downloads have been temporarily removed due to slashdotting Please come back in a few hours. Please click here to return to Slim Devices' home page.
I can by a Linksys WMA11B.
Amazon has it for $135 with rebates.
It does Music AND pictures.
Or I could buy SLIMP3 for $299 and get only music. Hmmmm....hard choice
Note: I am a current slimp3 owner. I love it. It is a great product. I wouldnt' buy it today however.
cd3o has had a similar product with wifi capabilities on the market for a little while now. Also features a neat text-to-speech option so you can have it speak the artist, title, etc. to you.
--------------------- Eddie Liu.
Rio Receivers. New ones are $75.00 and they have built-in 10W/channel amplifiers, HomePNA and Ethernet. I have four of them all being served by a FreeBSD box running Jreceiver. If want wireless I can add a bridge.
I am looking for something besides IceCast/Shoutcast..
http://threetechguys.info Come, discuss Technology. Got a technology question? Come ask!
Thank you for bringing that to our attention.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
There's a related product that's at the top of mini-itx.com right now called the MediaREADY 4000 (yeah, awful name) from a company I have not previously heard of, called Video Without Boundaries. To start with, Yes: It's Vaporware, as of right now, but according to their release it's already past its scheduled release date, so perhaps we're actually about to see them at Fry's etc.
... *seven* of these puppybabysuckermamas and a very nice sushi lunch.
...
The hardware specs are similar, though this one is based on an EPIA, and is not housed in a beautiful Hush fanless case. For the price difference, though, I suspect a lot of people can live a notch or two lower on the aesthetics scale.
The only price figure I can find is an MSRP of $350, which means you could have one World Vibrations XP box (as featured in Slashdot article) or, lessee now, drop the 3, carry the 1, do the little dance
I don't see a link to back-side pictures of the World Vibrations unit (this sentence may sound dirty so far, if you are severely repressed), but the VWB one is loaded with RCA and other jacks / ports o'plenty.
It's also based on Linux, which is nice for those people who care (like me).
Now, because this product (despite the listed date) does not appear to be truly available yet, it's insane to do much serious comparison, but it seems that many of the same tasks could be done on this much cheaper box, even if it's actually intended to be a home DVR-type rig. If the task were *video* production, a much tougher row to hoe, but for audio
If this product is anything like my addled brain is optimistically seeing it as (a very nice do-all media box) I plan to buy one on first sight. Unfortunately, my brain did also once believe comic-book ads, so it may not be a good specimen.
I wish they'd picked a less buzzwordy name though. "MediaREADY 4000"? That's something Mr. Burns would pick.
simon
And that's a good thing. They also display movies and photos/slideshows. Not having this ability puts the SB at a distinct disadvantage, and relegates it to the narrow niche of audio player. What's called a display is just a readout. I mean for C'sakes, even my phone can do movies and snapshots.
...what the value of this is, at $299, when i can get a decent set of wireless speakers for under $100, and run those off my pc? Can anyone help me here? It's probably pretty obvious, and I'm just blind to the advantages...
"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." - Thomas Jefferson
Also, they have arranged to donate 10% of profits from the sale of these to the EFF
Can't such devices be battery-powered and recharged at night, like the iPod player?
Will I retire or break 10K?
No. I view MP3 is an evil format. The squeezebox appears to support MP3 natively on the hardware (apparently to cut down on bandwidth needs and relieve the computer of decoding tasks). But there's nothing special about MP3 that Ogg and FLAC couldn't do.
-Libertarian secular transhumanist
Mod parent down. This wanker is just a troll. Check out his journal and mod the bastard down. You'll find that most if not all of his comments are actually lifted from others. on a relevant note: Optical output on a unit that outputs from lossy mp3s is most likely not going to gain you much.
The reason I went with the Turtle Beach Audiotron instead of this device is because it does not need any kind of back-end server running in order to access music files. This is an issue for me, as all my media is stored on a home NAS (Linksys Gigadrive).
The cool part about the Audiotron is that you simply point it at any SMB shares (thru its built-in web interface) and it'll scan for music on those shares. Works great - with no need for a separate PC working as a middle-man to point to the files.
What you want is irrelevant; what you've chosen is at hand! - Spock, ST VI
I liked the display on the SliMP3, however it did not have an Optical output, and it could only play MP3's.
The Audiotron, on the other hand, could play uncompressed WAV's, WMA, and streaming radio. It has optical output, a decent set of controls, and would look good against my other black components.
In the end, I chose the Audiotron. It was a bit pricier, but that extra price was justified by the extra features.
Karma: Can only be portioned out by the Cosmos.
Hmmm. The sheer lack of details on their website makes it hard to tell just what they're offering. Certainly what passes for technical advice in terms of actually broadcasting a radio signal suggests that they don't know one heck of a lot.
Basically your $2,495 World Vibrations Radio Station is a box that plays audio. Nothing more. As far as I can tell there's nothing here that you couldn't do just as well with an off the shelf PC. In any event you still need the mixer, speakers, mics, playback equipment, processing, and transmitter that aren't included with the WVRS.
There's one heck of a lot more to a radio station than playing MP3s off of a computer!
Three Squirrels
Where'd you get that story? I've gotta go jerk off now. Thanks.
Looks like they're finally catching up to where cd3o has already been for the past year - a wireless media receiver that can play uncompressed streams. I like the fact the Squeezebox can apparently transcode to uncompressed PCM from other formats (like .ogg) on the fly - cd3o doesn't support that feature yet - but it also costs $100 more than the cd3o.
.WAV files or other uncompressed files. The cd3o supports MusicMatch's .WAV tagging abilities, allowing you to seamlessly integrate both compressed and uncompressed files into your library. And the cd3o also sports a better remote and their "voice guide", which eliminates the need for any kind of physical display. The Squeezebox has a nice little display, but the keyword here is little. There's no way you'd be able to read that from across a large room without a telescope, and managing playlists on it would be impossible.
Worse, it apparently doesn't support any kind of tagging for
As it stands, I'd still give the edge to cd3o, provided they get their act together concerning the ability to transcode other formats to uncompressed PCM for streaming to the receiver. But it is nice to see their design approach being validated by their competitors.
This looks like a great product, and the perfect way to integrate your MP3 collection into your stereo system, but I have to ask what kind of markup they're getting at $300. Does it really cost a lot to produce these, or for that matter R&D it from the SliMP3? Or, is this just the price that people are willing to pay so that's where you price it? I'm not deniying them the right to make a profit, I think it's great if they can, I'm just wondering what something like this costs to produce.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
Why bother spending the money on this box when you could take an old laptop, a WiFi network card, some audio and video cables and a cordless keyboard and mouse and get even more functionaltiy by hooking the laptop into your entertainment center? Laptops are pretty easy to hide (place it in a cabnet or something) and if your worried about WiFi reception get a USB WiFi card and place the antenna on top of everything so it's the only visible part of the setup. I've had this type of setup for almost three years and it works like a charm. In fact, I'd say it's better because I can manage playlists, browse the web and check email right from my living room. I guess it would be the way to go if you didn't have an extra laptop or old PC lying around.
I said this was for my garage.
I have computers in my house, as well as a TV.
I know that your argument doesn't hold up, so make sure to resort to insults. It works every time, and it makes you more right.
Don't actually read and understand what I'm saying, just make stupid jabs. It makes you look smarter.
I'll try again one last time; I'm an optimist sometimes.
In my opinion I would rather not have to turn on the TV to listen to music, so I think the Slimp3 is a more elegant solution. You are free to think and do what yo like, and I won't think you're any less of a human if you want to turn on the TV to listen to music.
are they a mute?
The SLIMP3 was first. The cd3o beat Slim Devices to market with wireless and digital out, but that is it .
The Voice Guide of the cd3o sounds interesting, but there is nothing stopping a similar feature being added to the SLIMP3/Squeezebox. As for the WAV tagging, as soon as a CPAN module supports it, so will the SLIMP3/Squeezebox.
That is the power of open source. Missing features can be added by whoever wants to take the time to implement them.
If you like the cd3o's remote better, guess what, you could probably modify the SLIMP3/Squeezebox code to be able to use it.
As to the $100 price difference, I'd wager that being venture-backed rather than being self-started can account for that. We'll see how long each company lasts.
"From my cold, dead hands you damn, dirty apes!" - CH
cd30 windows only (unless someone has written a server) and it has not display.
The difference between Canada and the USA is that in Canada healthcare is a right and gun ownership is a privilege.
Yeah but cd3o's software only runs on winxp or 2000.
(The cd3o Music Server software is currently supported on Windows XP and 2000 only. We do not currently have plans for other platforms.)
Doesn't look like its controllable from a web browser on a different computer, its either on the pc hosting the software or via the remote.
cd3o is $199 now with special pricing, looks like it was 240 or 250 without it. The controllable via web interface and being able to toss the software out on a linux box with a big HD to store all my mp3's frees up my windows box. The slimp3 devices are also all open. If you want to change something or add something its very easy to do.
I bought one of the very first pre-release SliMP3's when they were first announced, just because it seemed totally cool, and I wanted to support the OpenSource movement with something that I could use too...
I got it, had a little trouble with it, and dropped Sean a note. The same day he was sending me out a new one - which I haven't had any problems with at all.
The server software just keeps getting better and better, and they've even updated the firmware on the player once or twice. All updates are a snap.
I can play music with my remote, or I can log in my web server and tell it what to play...
In short, the thing totally rocks. It's one of those few devices that you buy, which you actually like and keep using because it doesn't give you any shit to deal with.
Now with the Squeezebox, I'm droolin' like a fool again with all the ideas that I have for using it... Of course, as an unemployed geek I can't just buy it like I want, but I'll definately get one ASAP...
Kudos to all the guys at Slim Devices - Keep up the good work!
For the record your Try again. comment was pretty disrespectful so you have no grounds for whining about "namecalling." lol
I won't think you're any less of a human if you want to turn on the TV to listen to music.
You might not, but I will. If you need to turn on your TV just to play music then you should shoot yourself this instant.
Harry
With the display in double-size mode, I can read it from the far side of my living room, about 25 feet away. Without a telescope. Far enough for ya?
Cheers,
Satisfied customer
i got a better use for $299 (or $239)... just run gnump3d and stream on demand to winamp or xmms on any pc in the dump. use your wired or wireless network. done deal.
REPORT ALL OBSCENE MESSAGES TO YOUR POTSMASTER
I have a similar setup. I have an old computer serving up web pages, acting as a file server, and playing music through RoomJuice and MPG321. I just ran some speaker wire and a cut up RCA cord to my reciever. Works like a charm. And it was totally free.
rejected (19) accepted (0)
Is there a psychological term related to getting your stories rejected on slashdot?
>The SLIMP3 was first. The cd3o beat Slim Devices to
>market with wireless and digital out, but that is it.
Actually, they beat them to market with several features:
* Wireless
* Uncompressed streams (the SLIMP3 was MP3-only)
* Voice guide
* Support for tagged uncompressed files
* Support for Windows Media Audio
>If you like the cd3o's remote better, guess what,
>you could probably modify the SLIMP3/Squeezebox
>code to be able to use it.
Guess what - if I'm paying $300 for a device that does the same thing as a $200 gadget, I'd expect it to be superior in every way (including the remote).
>That is the power of open source. Missing features
>can be added by whoever wants to take the time to
>implement them.
cd3o has also released documentation regarding the control protocol for their media receiver, although obviously since they support WMA they can't release all of their source. But I'm not buying any gadget based on the promise of what it *might* be able to do tomorrow (assuming the company survives until tomorrow).
I believe someone has written a Linux server for the cd3o. Check out their support message board.
Fuck you and your sister is pretty disrespectful :) 'Try again' only upsets the weak winded.
Have another corn dog, it just may calm your nerves.
Also, the cd3o is designed to function without a display. I have one - love it - and wouldn't trade it for any of the display-based units out there today.
>Yeah but cd3o's software only runs on winxp or 2000.
Not quite. Someone has written a Linux server for the cd3o. They've also added on Ogg Vorbis support.
It isn't controllable from a web browser on another computer, but I believe you could access the Windows PC remotely and control the server that way. There might be other methods outlined in the Support forum. It's not of any interest to me - I only own one computer. I was going to build a separate media PC for streaming audio, but the cd3o eliminated that need. I just added a couple of 160GB drives to my Windows PC, and kept the PC (and its noisy fans) in my bedroom, far from the living room stereo.
>cd3o is $199 now with special pricing, looks like it was
>240 or 250 without it.
They've been selling it at the price for months now. It might as well be the list price.
I'm not sure how you're "freeing up" your Windows box by tossing a huge drive in your Linux box. I'd rather have the giant drive in a Windows system - they're more likely to need that kind of storage, and Windows seems to still have better media management tools than Linux.
The cd3o media receiver itself runs Linux, BTW.
My only problem with the SliMP3 is the name. Slimp just sounds like a verb to me, as in:
"Zeke an' I found the poor bastard down by Root Holler Road. He was slimpin' pretty bad an' all so we put him out of his misery."
Squeezebox is much better.
Actually, the SlimServer does support ID3 tags in WAV files and has for a while.
And the cd30 only supports windows because they use the crappy windows speech synthesis to create almost recognizable facimiles of the information in your ID3 tags.
>Actually, the SlimServer does support ID3 tags in WAV
.wav tags. Which .wav tag format does it support? There isn't any standard (Micro$loth apparently didn't think to include any metadata like that in the original .wav specification).
>files and has for a while.
Interesting. I went to their website today and couldn't find any information regarding support for
The parent post was copied directly from a DesignTechnica review of the SliMP3 (scroll down the page until you hit the "Likes and Dislikes" section). Do not believe the parent poster - his advice is a lie and he does not actually own a SliMP3. He frequently cut-and-pastes reviews and comments by others in order to build up his karma. If you don't believe me, visit his journal and see for yourself. You can take the DesignTechnica review as legitimate advice on the SliMP3, but ignore this joker.
Thanks! You made my day!
Please repost the one with the sousaphone?
that you have disfunctional TVs in you bedroom?
That's very perceptive of you Mr Stapleton and rather unexpected in a G Major
The support from the company alone is enough to tempt ya... Back in the day, they even sold a partial, unit at a discount, so that I could build this custom case Try and get that kind of support from another vendor...
"I'm not sure how you're "freeing up" your Windows box by tossing a huge drive in your Linux box. I'd rather have the giant drive in a Windows system - they're more likely to need that kind of storage, and Windows seems to still have better media management tools than Linux."
Right now I have a 30GB HD in my windows machine to store my mp3's and a separate 80GB for everything else, but I use my windows machine for playing games, doing work, and other stuff. I'd rather not have a process running on there that would be for streaming mp3's to some device in my home while I'm playing games and using it for other things. I have a linux server running on an old mac clone that I will be replacing with a new machine soon that will hold my web server, telnet, ftp, and hopefully all my mp3's. This would free up my windows box from having to handle that as well.
Squeezebox- $299.00
Toshiba 40gb laptop hd - $160.00
Portable Firewire 400 case (no power supply) & DIY assembly - $60.00
Total: $520.00 (not including tax, shipping, etc.) -=-=-
Minimum $20.00 more than an iPod and you don't have a portable music player.
Anyone comparing a discman to an iPod is missing the point completely.
An iPod is not just a portable music player. An iPod is not just a portable HD...an iPod is not just....those of us who own one (or more) have discovered what many others seem to miss.
Not my problem if you don't have the budget for one of the most successful products in recent history.
That makes sense.
:)
My original point was that the $300.00 for a SqzBox is too much for what you get, as clearly demonstrated by any metric (not that a portable anything was a direct and/or better purchase). Focusing on 'portable' misses the point
And... if what you really want is networked music, or your digital tunes on your home theater/stereo, there are better choices...for less money, w/same or fewer features, and some for more, with significant additional features. Budget-up or budget-down is a choice left to the individual.
A Keyspan remote works with iTunes just fine, by the way. The iPod has a wired remote.
There are many, many ways to pipe your music off your computer. If you have $300 to spend, you can do better than a SqzBox. Spend $200 less and get the same, or spend the same and get more or spend more and get lots more.