MP3 Jukebox That Rox

One of the really cool things I saw at Comdex was a very cool MP3 Jukebox that Y2Brand was showing. The system allows for sharing throughout a network, but the other cool feature is that if you assign your box an IP, it shares with all other boxes that have IPs - kinda of a hardware Napster type thing. Expected ship date is 1/15/00 - click below to get some more details. Press Release from Y2MP#

Y2Brand announces they are accepting pre orders for Y2MP3, The Worlds first MP3 Community JukeBoX Server.

• The Y2MP3 JukeBoX MP3 server is a turnkey solution for groups that want to share their favorite music. Y2MP3 JukeBoX allows listeners to add their favorite music via a web page interface served from the Y2MP3 system. The web interface extends the system to allow songs to be added to a que, display latest additions to the database, or see the top 10 requested songs. Everything is administrated from a browser over the LAN.
  
  
• Sharing is a key feature of Y2MP3. For systems that have their own IP address, users will be able to turn on JukeBoX Sharing. Jukeboxes that have sharing enabled will be able to download music from all other Y2MP3 systems online, much like Napster or Mp3 Fury.
  
  
• Users with administration privileges can add and remove songs from the database, stop the current songs playback, and change volume via web page. Y2MP3 stores an amazing 100 CDs worth of music (average based on mp3s encoded 128 kbps, 44 kHz), all in a system that weighs only four pounds. An optional 10 GB second hard drive adds an additional 166 hours of playback for a nonstop weeks worth of music.
  
  
• Setting up Y2MP3 is a snap, simply plug audio out from Y2MP3 into a stereo or PA system, and plug a network cable into your LAN.
  
  
• For areas larger than an office, an optional low power FM transmitter turns Y2MP3 into a radio station! This "Internet radio station" turns the current model inside out, instead of just playing commercial radio stations on the Internet, now the Internet and the Y2MP3 server becomes an automated radio station with studio, record player, and interactive talk show host applications built in and automated. Users on the Internet can gather the content from people around the world, and then post it to the local radio server which then rebroadcasts that server content via radio to those people that are not connected to the Internet but do have radios.
  
  
• The Y2MP3 JukeBoX system is designed to be small and portable yet provide superior quality. It is also designed to be very easy to install and operate. With options the Y2MP3 JukeBoX gets mobile - take it with you on the road.
  
  
  
  Y2MP3 is Powered by Linux, Apache, & MySQL
  

Hardware: Base MP3 JukeboX (AMD K-6 266 MHz CPU, 32 MB RAM, 4.3 GB Hard Disk, Full Duplex Audio, Internal Speakers) AC Power Supply (battery option for UPS) PCMCIA Network Adapter

Options Include: NiMH Battery - Car adapter Removable 2nd 2.5" IDE hard drive up to 10GB (Provides an extra 166 hours of playback) FM transmitter Keyboard / mouse / video display Carrying case

Expected shipping date is 1-15-00

Comments

Damn that thing is simple..

[Ice_Hole]

I am running a similar set up. I have a computer that sits here and does exactly what that computer does. It really doesn't take that much to do what that computer does. Anyone that pays any more than $200 or $300 (USD) for that thing is crazy. It does have a nice feature being like Napster and being able to "share" files with other boxes. But then, I am doing that now too. Just run Napster in that directory, or run an FTP server into your mp3 directory. It's a nice set up. I like it a lot. It saves my main computer system a lot of disk space.. Then that web interface is kind of neat, but personally it would annoy me more than it would be a help to me. You could easily write a program similar to what they are describing that can keep a playlist, search songs, tell top 10 songs, updates playlaylist so a song that somone wants to hear is played before a song taht no one wants to hear.

But for thoes people who don't want to find the time to set up a file server, FTP.. etc. I guess it would be a good thing. And probably not somthing most of the Slashdot crowd would jump all over. But it is kind of neat, if I had one I would play with it a bit, have a good time.. And it's somewhat portable.

Re:Speaking of Napster

[Jonas �berg]

And two minutes later, someone told me of Gnap, a GNOME client for Napster which apparently the Napster people doesn't really like. I mirrored it here for those interested. Looks pretty okay.

Low-power FM is legal.

[Wakko Warner]

Under part 15 of the FCC's rules, unlicensed broadcast on the FM bands is permitted for very low-power devices. These devices are limited to a range of 35 to 100 feet - perfect for a small office or your house. For more info, go here.

- A.P.
--

"One World, one Web, one Program" - Microsoft promotional ad

I can think of two

[Ater]

Right now there are two major mp3 cd players which are "in the making." However, there are doubts about when their actual release date is, and if they will be actually materialize.

As someone else stated, Pine appears to be the most notable project as of now, though it has been delayed for quite a long time, and promises a release around February with a price of $200-300. However, I'm not sure whether it will actually ship by then.

Another option is Mambo X, which claims it will be released around December with a price of $179. It sounds great, but again I remain skeptical, as the site seems more intent on hip advertising than on actually going into detail about the specs of the player.

But basically, though mp3 cd players are the best option for portable mp3 listening, and are supposedly not too hard to make (decoder chip + lcd display?), you wont be seeing much around because of RIAA pressure (theyve sorta settled the other mp3 players, like the rio and the lyra, with their threats because now almost all mp3 players are being made SDMI compliant *shudder*.) Also, Sony, a big cd player manufacturer, won't go near it because they have a record company branch and because they are too busy pushing their minidisc crap. But hopefully this trend won't last, and we'll be able to see the big shot companies come out with quality mp3 cd players that don't just look like vaporware in the making.