iPod Shuffle + Airport Express = cached jukebox

[ibjoshua]

We have the hardware all we need is for Apple to write the software.

You plug a Shuffle into the USB port on the Airport Express and your Mac keeps shunting down files as needed. Any real time change made in iTunes would be seamlessly streamed to the Express to avoid any lag but playlist changes would involve moving compressed files.

Why?

Well, you'd effectively have a cache which would continue playing seamlessly if you had a network outage or if your Mac crashed (yeah right), shut down or went to sleep. This would allow you to regain some of that bandwidth that the lossless streaming must use up and also free up your mac a little too.

What do you kids think?

i_b_joshua

 

[crazzyeddie]

Is your music really that important that you need a cache to back it up for the 3 minutes that it takes to reboot? Why not just hook your iPod (any type) directly to your stereo so you can play it without any wasted bandwidth or CPU power.

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

Why not just hook your iPod (any type) directly to your stereo so you can play it without any wasted bandwidth or CPU power.

Because that's not as cool. Duh.

I'd actually really like to be able to plug a USB hard drive into the Airport Express and have it accessible over the network. If there's one thing I'd change about the Express, that's it.

 

[jimsowden]

When i saw it, I thought the shuffle would be a controller for the express, letting you advance songs and such. I don't think it does that, though.

 

[ibjoshua]

Is your music really that important that you need a cache to back it up for the 3 minutes that it takes to reboot? Why not just hook your iPod (any type) directly to your stereo so you can play it without any wasted bandwidth or CPU power.

Because the shuffle doesn't have an interface and this configuration would give you the convenience of AirTunes but without the overheads.

It would of course also serve as a dock (which has questionable value).

I'm not suggesting any hardware just some programming.

i_b_joshua

 

[vollspacken]

I think it would be cool if you could plug an USB-dongle into the Express and remote control Airtunes with a remote... (yes, my tiBook does not have bluetooth)

vSpacken

 

[PlaceofDis]

I think it would be cool if you could plug an USB-dongle into the Express and remote control Airtunes with a remote... (yes, my tiBook does not have bluetooth)

vSpacken

the closest you can come to controlling your tunes while away from your computer is this:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/airclick/

you dont have to be in the same room so it seems like a viable option if you ask me, and would work well so long as you are in range of your 'book/mac

hey at least its a start in the right direction

 

[wPod]

the closest you can come to controlling your tunes while away from your computer is this:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/airclick/

you dont have to be in the same room so it seems like a viable option if you ask me, and would work well so long as you are in range of your 'book/mac

hey at least its a start in the right direction

that would be cool if you could plug it into the express!

there is the keyspan express remote ( http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/urm17a/ ) that plugs into the airport express. but its IR so you need direct line of site to get it to work well (i have this same remote except the non express version, i wonder if there is any software to get it to work with the express. . . hmmmm)

 

[PlaceofDis]

that would be cool if you could plug it into the express!

there is the keyspan express remote ( http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/urm17a/ ) that plugs into the airport express. but its IR so you need direct line of site to get it to work well (i have this same remote except the non express version, i wonder if there is any software to get it to work with the express. . . hmmmm)

well the good thing about the griffin remote is that you dont need to have direct line of sight, so long as you are within 60 ft range of your computer it would be a viable control for the airport streaming tunes, its not the best alternative, but it would work for basic functionality