Squeezebox Duet

There are a few electronic things, that when unveiled, you say to yourself "that would be perfect for the batcave is a must have."

Sonos could never bring their excessively expensive richboy toy down to my level so I bought the Squeezebox Duet instead. Since I've foregone the requisite HDTV and don't have cable, I am now using Hulu and Netflix instant downloads for my entertainment and had hoped for Squeezebox to fill in the gaps.

I couldn't be more happy. It's a love affair now.

Things I love about it:

I've got 15 podcasts in it, ready to play whenever I feel like it: KEXP song of the day, NPR's numerous excellent podcasts, The Instance (for the WoW nerd in me), Writer's Almanac, Writers on Writing (for my wife really), several fly fishing podcasts, and several How Stuff Works podcasts including "What you missed in history class"

Pandora, built in. I have extremely random music moods and pandora suits me - from Dwight Yoakam radio to Thievery Corporation, it's all there and easy to use.

ALL my music, now available at a whim. 30GBs and growing...

Highly recommend this to anyone, and plus it comes with fun mp3s to harass your dog with, like a rooster crowing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCrXflpPIhE

My entertainment center is a slippery slope

Ok, so my entertainment center is a slippery slope.

I want an Xbox 360.

I have a CRT, an old Sony 945 receiver, and a large armoire to hide it all away in.

What stands between me and HD goodness is about...hmm...$4000. Ugh. And yet there are plenty of bigger issues to be paying for in a home.

So I figure I'll start with a HDMI 1.3-compatible receiver (buy ahead in tech) since a new TV does no good with nothing to plug into, and then save save save for a HDTV by end of year when the Wal-Mart HDTV fiasco will hopefully start again.

A little more on the Apple TV...maybe some rationale

So David Pogue at the NYT enlightens me on the value of the RedFruit TV.

He makes the point that the x360 isn't quite user friendly in using a game controller for manipulation of photos and movies (including not having a variable time slide show). Hmm, maybe MS will take that slide show issue down on their to-do list and add that functionality. Adding a cute remote would be a great idea too. Apple does do a good job of trimming out the fat in design, something I greatly admire. There is no power-on on an ipod, par example.

And David also makes a good point about the EVA8000 from Netgear, that it is for a more tech-savvy user, and that the support sucks.

God sakes, why can't a set-top do it all with easy plug-and-play setup, without stupid error messages like "MTU failure" or "Network error, etc?

I should have suspected that is exactly where the Apple TV would find traction...in the same market that loves ipods. The market is the "rest of us" (hey! not me! I'm a networking fool!) who want simplicity.

Of course you give up flexibility with Apple, and that is what is always their downfall. I love OS X, but I love me some PC gaming...and those two are cats and dogs. They might live together, but just don't expect them to get along well.

Apple TV Has Landed
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/technology/22pogue.htm?pagewanted=1&_r=1

• key points:
  "Apple, on the other hand, is going for everybody else, random people included (at least those with HDTV sets). And that, perhaps, is Apple TV’s real significance. To paraphrase the old Macintosh advertisement, it’s a computer-to-TV bridge for the rest of us."
  
  "In the end, these early attempts to bridge the gulf between computer and TV perfectly reinforce the conventional wisdom about Apple: Apple TV offers a gracious, delightful experience — but requires fidelity to Apple’s walled garden."

Apple TV...why would I buy what I'm paying for...

Ok, so if I want to use Apple TV I need to buy the shows.

Most (hell, all) of us do already have a monthly ongoing subscription to better-than-antenna service, be it DirecTV, cable or whatevah. So to watch the shows via Apple TV, we'll need to buy them and hey, they come without commercials.

My issue: I have a subscription service. I have X number of dollars to buy a DVR (Tivo, Apple TV, or other) or rent one through someone like TWC for $5/mo. Why would I buy an Apple TV and then buy programs if I have a subscription service and can get a DVR to work with it for a minimal amount , with all those included bells and whistles?

Ok, if I don't have cable or satellite, then I see the value. I also see the value in connecting Apple TV easily to any set. But is that a real reason to stray away from the market leader's world of options---Tivo??

Find more here:
The death of the 30-second TV commercial
March 14 2007
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/13/news/companies/tv_commercials/index.htm?postversion=2007031408

• key points:
  "Experts aren't convinced that Apple TV will be as big of a hit with consumers as the iPod was right off the bat -- after all, people have to pay for a TV show they could see for free on network TV."
  

Digital convergence....meet me at the ent center

Another good piece about Battleground: EntCent

Interactive connection finally coming together

January 18, 2007
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/12/MNGDLNHJVF1.DTL

• key point
  "The technology and consumer electronics industries have long teased consumers with the notion that their computers would serve up all the media content they want and their televisions would offer the interaction and choices of the online world. But it all felt like so much vaporware -- prosperity that remained tantalizingly around the corner."

There is gathering momentum toward a real all-in-one product to serve up all our media needs, but thus far we've not seen anything beyond the same problems of "does everything, but nothing well" or "does a few things but needs another box for the rest" in an easy to use package. Something that plugs in, finds your wireless network (or sets itself up on your wired one) and starts getting to know you by asking questions about what shows you like to watch, music you like, and so on - WITHOUT sending this info to marketers (I'm looking at you Tivo).

No Gnews like old gnus

Or so to mis-phrase Gary Gnus of the Great Space Coaster, I would like to look back before moving forward with blog. This way I can set the stage for the focus and interest of the blog going forward...

Xbox Woos New Fans
January 12, 2007

Microsoft said half of 360 owners are new to the company, but they could just be Sony defectors.

http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=20816&hed=Xbox+Woos+New+Fans§or=Industries&subsector=EntertainmentAndMedia

• key point:
  "While it may be seeing success wooing experienced gamers, Microsoft’s push to market the 360 as a multimedia machine with a wider appeal are clear. The Xbox's pending IPTV service could even put it in competition with archrival Apple again, albeit in a decidedly different arena."

Coming soon to an entertainment center near us is a machine of undecided "progressive" colors and design (white and smooth, or black and sharp?) It will handle the mp3s, high-def video, and online access that most don't know they yet need, but will definitely USE once it lands in their hands via a well-designed remote ala Tivo's.