Ok, so if you're reading, then my subject line worked eh?!
Anyway, I was reading some magazine and happened upon a Gateway Country ad which touted their new Gateway Connected Music Player. Basically, this device sits with your stereo equipment (it's shaped, sized and designed like other stereo equipment), you hook it up to a network (either ethernet or HPNA), it scans for Windows networking machines, and looks for shared drives containing MP3s. it creates an index, and from that you can play your MP3s anywhere in the house!! Each device costs $299, and you can put one in your bedroom, family room, den, etc. It's even got TOSLINK optical digital out (and RCA). And it can aggregate your music collection too, so if little Johnny's machine and your machine are both on the network, it'll go find MP3s from both boxes, index both and make a super-list.
Apple's seriously got to work with the original developer on this, Turtle-Beach. They make the AudioTron, which is the same thing as Gateway's box with a different logo. If Apple can work with Turtle Beach and both make it wireless and work with Apple networking protocols, this could be a huge boon!!
Imagine: Apple could sell the Cube as a central house server; with no noise, nice looks, etc, it could sit in the corner, serving MP3s across the whole house. Apple has a unique advantage here in that PCs all have fans, several Mac models do not. The network MP3 player requires a computer to be on all the time. Which would you rather have on all the time, a noisy PC or a cute, quiet little Cube?!
Message to Apple: Get crackin on this! An Apple specific version, or at least an Apple compatible version would be another selling point for the Digital Hub concept. Apple should setup a partnership, assuming Turtle Beach isn't now exclusive to Gateway (hope not!).
Rio is also making a similar model, I haven't fully investigated it yet though. You can for yourself at:
http://www.riohome.com . This time around, Dell partnered with Rio so Rio is building a custom version for Dell. This solution however requires a PCI card and some software be installed in the PC, so people have been saying it requires a little more smarts on the PC side.
There's another model, from Lansonic,
http://www.lansonic.com, that costs $699, but you can pay more and get built-in hard drives for it.
BTW, I'm gonna set up this system in my house within the next few weeks. I'm getting a Quantum Snap Server which can serve both Windows and Mac networks at the same time. So I'll mount the Snap drive to my Mac, use iTunes to rip my 300+ CD collection to MP3, add in my current 6.5GB MP3 collection, and setup these network MP3 players around the house. I'll be able to access my music collection via the Mac in iTunes (my favorite MP3 player, in both the PC and Mac worlds), and listen to music around the whole house now! And since my network is based on 10/100BaseT switches, I don't have to worry about saturating the network either. (The Audiotron uses 10BaseT BTW)
oh yeah:
http://www.audiotron.net
And if anyone knows where to submit ideas to Apple, please reply back with a URL, I'd like to let Apple know that consumers know about this and we want it!
no muss, no fuss.
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