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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.
Tell you what - you implement a "Day Without Oxygen" protest and I'll think about going without MP3s for a day as well. K? Let me know. thnx!
People buy stuff that works. The SliMP3 works, and I can't think of why the Squeezebox won't. Ogg is like Betamax -- while theoretically better, isn't Better Enough to make 99.9% of the world care about it. I'd be as thrilled as anyone if it took off some day, but in the meantime, while you're fuming about formats, I'm enjoying my MP3s streamed to my SliMP3 player (and casting envious looks at that Squeezebox).
Since the manufacturer seems to be really open to involvement with the users - open source streaming, etc., perhaps you can contact them and trade up? Proof of purchase shows it's only two weeks old, and most places have a 30 day money-back guarantee. Maybe they'll let you send it and a $60 check and get a Squeezebox in the mail?
:) Companies that go the extra mile really deserve my $299
I'd say it's definately worth asking about, and if they do it, let us know
It's patent-encumbered and lossy, yet has somehow permeated popular culture
;)
True, but its freely available and the difference in sound quality between a 256k encoded mp3 and the source cd is negligible at best.
Most of the public are not audiophiles. The music lovers listen to the music. Audiophiles listen to the equipment.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
I know you've qualified your statement by saying that you own a Slimp3 but for the benefit of other readers its worth pointing out that the Linksys ain't that good by comparison (apart from on price).
The Linksys has no inbuilt display - you have to plug it into your TV to see whats going on. I.E. when you want to search through hundreds of albums to find something.
The Linksys is currently certified to work in conjunction with XP.
The Linksys works with shares folders. Thats it. Slim lets you browse using the remote or you can combine it with additional server software (look up moodlogic) to create dynamic playlists based on your current listening tastes!
Linksys is proprietory (and tied in to M$) whereas Slim have opened their source code.
G4 Hackintosh
Get a grip and try and learn to discuss without being insulting.
Yes, I have heard of 'home theater'. However, I don't want a TV in my garage; all I want is music.
I work on bikes, cars, wood and metal in my garage. Electronics don't last long because of the dusty and sometimes dirty environment. If I have your 'home theater' in my garage, I need a PC a TV, a keyboard, a mouse, an amp and speakers. I need a low, flat place to put them (at least the keyboard and mouse). I need to replace them every few years also, as they have moving parts that don't like dust.
If I have a Slimp3/Squeezebox, I only need an amp and speakers. I can wrap the remote in saran wrap so it stays clean. There's no moving parts.
Perhaps a 'home theater' corks for you. If it does, more power to you. Being an insulting troll doesn't make you right; it just makes you an insulting troll.
Here's a tip: the solution that works for you is not always the solution that works for everybody else.
>Why bother spending the money on this box when you
.mp3, you're going to need a lot of storage space to hold a decent-sized CD collection. Uncompressed, my collection currently consumes 200+ gigabytes. Yeah, I could have saved scads of space by storing them compressed, but:
.
>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?
I thought about taking this route myself a few months ago, before finally breaking down and purchasing a cd3o player. There are plenty of reasons why laptops and small PCs don't make a lot of sense as media players:
1) Interface. This is really a two-parter:
a) How are you going to get commands to the device, and
b) How is the device going to acknowledge the results of those commands
Getting commands to the device is fairly simple with a keyboard, but how are you going to see what the results of those keyboard commands are from across the room? You could plug the PC into a large display, but most of those make a nasty whining noise, and anyhow, who wants to have to leave the tee vee on just to listen to music? Laptops with displays large enough to be visible from across the room are still on the spendy side for the most part, and their look hardly blends into most living rooms. For that matter, most wireless keyboards would also stick out like a sore thumb.
There are dedicated wireless media remotes designed for PC's, but they tend to be somewhat expensive, and limited in what software they'll work with off the shelf. They're fine if you want to use Media Player as your jukebox software (gag), not so fine if you want to use other programs. Yeah, you can customize them in most cases, but that's a lot of effort to go thru for something so basic. And, there goes about $50.
2) Storage. Unless you have a laptop or small form factor PC with a gigantic hard drive inside of it, or can live with the idea of ripping your ENTIRE LIBRARY to lossy-compressed
a) Editing all the metadata that goes along with a huge library is a significant undertaking - one I never want to repeat, thank you very much and
b) I would have opted for the least compression possible, which is fine for home use, but would suck for portable use, meaning I'd have to recompress files for portable devices, and suffer additional quality loss as a result. Ick.
So I'm either going to need to hook a giant external hard drive up to the laptop (here's hoping that old laptop has USB2 or Firewire connections), or I'm going to need to network it into my main PC and use it as an audio server. So what exactly am I gaining by using the laptop over a cd3o, Audiotron or Slim Devices gadget, other than (possibly!) saving a couple of bucks? And will I really even save any money? Read on . .
3) Audio Quality. In a word, the D/A converters and amps in most laptops SUCK. They typically transmit more than a bit of electronic noise from inside the laptop as well. Not an option for quality audio. And I've had laptops that sent a nasty popping sound to the speakers when the power cycled. Don't want that frying my stereo. You could always add on a halfway decent external sound option from Creative, but there goes another USB connection and at least another $50.
4) Mechanical Noise. Laptops are quieter than most desktops, but they still aren't silent. When I'm listening to music, I do not want to hear hard drives clicking and whining or the whirr of a fan. These dedicated media receivers are all perfectly silent - a huge advantage.
5) OS License. This isn't such a problem if you happen to have a laptop sitting around, but if you're trying to assemble a small form factor PC from scratch and want to use Windows, kiss another $100 goodbye. Yeah, you can use Linux, but there's less support for formats like Windows