Roku SoundBridge Network Music Players Give You Freedom

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Matt Watters

If you are tired of hearing your favorite music through tiny laptop speakers or less than optimal computer speakers, you need to check out the Roku SoundBridge network music players. These digital devices do what the name says. Instead of storing music in memory, it plays music over your home network. By connecting wirelessly to your home router you can stream music from your home computer or from the Internet.

There are several different SoundBridge players available. Their displays and functions may differ, but they all stream music from an outside source. The players are compatible with a variety of web music sources, including Walmart music, Napster and Rhapsody. Of course, they can handle MP3 files from a variety of sources. Roku players are small, measuring about 10 inches by two inches, but they feel substantial, weighing in at around four pounds.

Roku music players completely eliminate the need to burn your MP3s onto a CD or save them to a thumb drive. With the integrated Wi-Fi connection, your Roku SoundBridge plays crystal clear music through speakers of your choice. Hook it up to your home audio system or your surround sound system for stunning playback quality. If you have a Wi-Fi signal, you can use your player. Controls are intuitive and easy to read. Navigation through your music files is simple to accomplish. Title and artist are displayed on the screen, and you can search your music by keyword. When you get ready to find some new music, you can just hook up to a good Internet radio station.

Enjoy the freedom that comes with a Roku Soundbridge player. You can listen to your favorite tunes without having to stick by your computer. Since you choose the system where you play it back, you’ll always be assured of the best fidelity sound. And with Wi-Fi, you never have to worry about complicated hookups.

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Logitech Squeezebox Does It All

Posted on September 27, 2010 by Matt Watters

Internet radios are great, but they can’t pick up local stations. Traditional radios are nice and portable, but you can’t connect to the Internet. The Logitech Squeezebox has put these two devices together for the best of both worlds. The Squeezebox is available in a variety of models, but they all share some basic functions.

Logitech Squeezebox radios are easy to “squeeze” into almost any space, measuring about five by 13 inches. They all come with a display that’s easy to read with numbers that brighten by day and automatically dim at night. If you’re using your Squeezebox as an alarm clock, you can count on a few minutes of extra sleep by hitting the snooze button.

By adding Wi-Fi capabilities to a traditional radio, Logitech has created a device that allows you to listen to practically any kind of radio station. And not only do you have hundreds of stations to choose from, you can also play music files as well, including formats like WAV, WMA and AAC (iTunes). Whether you want to listen to radio, Internet radio or stored music files, you can do it all with the Squeezebox.

To access the Internet with your Squeezebox, you must connect it to a computer that has web access. You will be rewarded with distortion free, high-quality sound. Don’t worry about hassles with setup; the whole system is truly plug and play. You have total control over your listening experience. Not only can you listen anywhere in the house, you can also program the radio to seek out and play all of your favorite songs and stations.

All of these features so far may sound like enough, but there are a few more things you should know. You can plug in your iPod and use it to play your stored music. The display window can be customized with your own photos or wallpaper. Finally, you can even connect it to your Facebook account and share your music selections with friends. So for ultimate flexibility in your music choices, take a look at the Logitech Squeezebox.

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Network Attached Storage Makes Sharing Fun and Easy

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Matt Watters

If you need to share files between computers at home, your best solution is network attached storage. NAS devices are essentially external hard drives that are hooked directly into your network allowing all users to share files, movies, pictures and other media. Since the storage had its own address on the network, you don’t have to worry about which computer is turned on. Plus, the network drive doesn’t drag down any of the computers by taking up resources.  You can access the storage to stream music and moves as well as backing up important files.

You probably already know that media files, especially movies, can take up huge amounts of space. Your computer may have a pretty big drive, but when you start putting movies and music on it, even large drives can fill up quickly. However, you can purchase one and even two terabyte drives for a reasonable price and add one to your network as network attached storage. Drives this big will store a lot of media files. The best thing is that you will only need one copy of each on the network drive. There’s no need to take up space on individual computers with copies of the same music or film.

Setup is usually quite easy if your router is already configured (most newer ones are). Just plug the drive’s USB cable into the USB plug on the router. Go into your router’s settings to share the drive with everyone on the network (assuming you intend to share). Then each computer will need to add a shortcut to the drive. This is called mapping the drive. This only has to be done once and then everyone can access the files that are stored on the drive.

If you have sensitive files you don’t want to share with everyone, then you can either add password protection, or you can create a new partition on the network attached storage and set the appropriate level of access for that partition.

Check your current router to see if it allows direct connection of a drive. If not, then it might be time to upgrade your router. Then go get the biggest drive you can afford and start sharing away!

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GPS-enabled Smartphones

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Matt Watters

GPS technology has spent the last couple of decades steadily making itself part of our everyday lives. The global positioning system started out as a military and law enforcement tool. It was soon adopted by hikers and other outdoorsman. It can now be found in practically every vehicle on the road, calming giving turn-by-turn directions and offering advice for restaurants and roadside attractions. Today, it is included in every smartphone and helps direct you to the nearest store or the cheapest gas.

The main shift in thinking for GPS today is the move from finding yourself to finding others. Some of the hottest cell phone apps are related to keeping track of where the kids are or checking the location of your significant other. Of course, this all sounds a little sinister and based on mistrust. There is the possibility it can be used that way, but there are excellent safety benefits, especially if you want to give your children a little supervised freedom.

The very latest services that use your smartphone GPS can enhance your life and protect your finances. Several fitness apps use your cellphone’s embedded GPS to measure your performance and track your distance when bicycling, jogging or walking. One new service tracks your movements and compares your current location to credit card charges, identifying possible fraud if it catches your credit card being used somewhere you are not. GPS-enabled phones can also “phone home” with a location if they are ever lost or stolen.

Most of these excellent GPS apps are free. Of course, you have to have a GPS-enabled phone. If you aren’t due for an upgrade or you want to avoid getting into a long term contract, you can always shop for a GPS smartphone online. Many eBay sellers offer a complete selection of phones that can do the job. You’ll get a great phone at a fair price without having to sign on for another two years with your current carrier. Once you equip your family with these phones, you can start to enjoy the safety and security of knowing where your loved ones are.

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Which iPad is the Right One for You?

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Matt Watters

The Apple iPad continues to turn heads and capture hearts with its simple, intuitive interface and undeniable good looks. The iPad really brings together the best of several devices, including the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the computer. If you’re trying to decide which of the six available iPad models is the right one for you, then here’s what you should know. The six different models primarily differ in the areas of wireless connectivity and storage capacity. Understanding how you intend to use your iPad will help you decide which combination to purchase.

All six iPad models can connect to the Internet wirelessly using Wi-Fi. That means that you will be able to use your iPad to connect to your existing wireless network at home, at work, or at the countless number of Wi-Fi hotspots that continue to crop up around town. If you are the sort of person who generally stays in the same basic area, then you may never need more than a Wi-Fi connection.

However, if you do a lot of travel and frequently find yourself far from home, you should take a look at the three iPad models equipped with 3G capability. Don’t get the idea you can drive the back roads of Montana while video chatting with your friend in Japan. Most 3G signals drop out pretty quickly as you move away from centers of population. However, if you need to connect to the Internet while on the go, adding the 3G wireless is a good idea. Just keep in mind you’ll need to pay for a separate data plan to use this feature.

The different iPad models also come with different amounts of storage capacity. Think of it like hard disk space, although the iPads have solid state drives (i.e. no spinning disks to fail while you carry your device with you).Your choices are 16, 32 or 64 megabytes. As things stand right now, there’s no upgrade or expanding with an SD memory card, so our advice is to get as much as you can afford.

All the iPad models roll in at well under $1,000; you can get even better deals by shopping online auction sites like eBay.

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