Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers

One of the more interesting CES press releases that flew under the radar was Auzentech’s announcement of the HDMI X-Tension. Sound cards have always been the weak link in an HTPC set-up, especially with the lack of HDMI 1.3 and Dolby True HD/DTS HD support. The HDMI X-Tension will be the first [...]

Sideshow, basically a way for a a device to communicate with a Vista computer, is one of the least used features of Microsoft’s Vista. A remote control is a perfect example of how Sideshow could be leveraged, with such a device being able to pick a song to play or a TV show [...]

I am in the market for a new car. While test driving several models, one thing has become clear to me: car makers have not figured out how to get digital music into their automobiles. It seems like it should not be that difficult of a thing, especially with steady-state drives becoming cheaper.
Right [...]

Spiralfrog, the ad-based music download service, has finally opened its doors for business. The music industry has been trying different ways to increase revenues, especially online.
Spiralfrog boasts over 800,000 tracks and 3,500 music videos available at launch. Although 800,000 sounds impressive, it has a long way to go to catch up to [...]

You have got to hand it to Sonos. They are constantly offering new ways to enjoy the Sonos Digital Music System. Not only can you listen to Rhapsody and Pandora, but you can also now listen to Sirius radio streamed over the internet to your living.
From the Sonos website:
With the wireless Sonos [...]

Following on the heels of EMI, Universal Music Group has decided to test the DRM-free marketplace. Starting August 21, Universal will offer its most popular music DRM-free as MP3 files. Songs will sell for 99¢ each. This DRM-free music will be available at Amazon, RealNetworks, and retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
One notable [...]

Anywhere.fm is a free web service, based on Adobe’s Flash, that let’s you stream songs from their site to any computer though an iTunes-like interface. I have been playing around with it today and think it is a somewhat interesting. One of the more promising features is that Anywhere.fm seamlessly integrates with iTunes. [...]

Simplify Media software lets you placeshift you iTunes music library anywhere you have an internet connection. Essentially you browse and play remote music using the iTunes software interface. Music is streamed directly between computers over the Internet within small groups that you control.

I wonder about how legal this software is but Simplify Media [...]

The upcoming Slacker Portable Player is a marriage between an iPod device and a music service like Pandora. I was at the beach this past week and came across an article in Business 2.0 about Slacker. It is definitely an interesting idea and an innovative way to compete against the iPod/iTunes juggernaut.
Basically [...]

Eos is the world’s first digital wireless, multi-room audio system for iPod. The Eos system broadcasts CD quality sound throughout the home, to up to 4 individual wireless stereo receivers. From the Eos website:
The unique design of the 2.1 wireless satellite stereo speaker allows for mounting directly on a wall power outlet independently, without [...]