Originally Posted by a@a.com
Jeff and I ask you once more:

Originally Posted by a@a.com
Jeff: have you investigated iTunes? Apple does makes a 12" laptop. It can even do smart home control and dims and turns its screen off. you can find the power button blind too. they even have an ultra-svelte one that has ambient key lighting and costs less than this sooooloooos system and looks fantastic (edit: AND does a hell of a lot more.)

I do completely understand if one is a technophobe and has zero desire to learn this stuff, which i might add is super-easy once you get the hang of it, then by all means buy this solution. on the other hand there are hikers here that are more helpful than dealers and they answer questions pretty much 24/7 so you can always trouble-shoot or be walked though creating a wifi server solution of your very own -- they are rather easy to implement especially if you go w/ Apple.

I saw your post before and started answering it, but got caught up in household errands. Here's what I was going to say:

LOL. I'm not laughing at you, but really more at myself. If you knew the kind of tech and Apple geek that I am, you'd be chuckling too. Truth be told I'm a bleeding edge tech guy who has been using computers for 25 years. I do my own computer support and have setup my own network. I don't code, do serious hardware repair (like soldering), or pull wire in-wall, but I can do pretty much everything else. I'm the guy that calls the manufacturer tech support to get answers to the questions that dealers, and even sometimes manufacturer reps, never have. The rest of my family though, is very non tech savvy.

I actually do have both Macs and PCs, although my shift has been way more towards the Mac side in the last 5 years (started down that path after I bought the first gen iPod). I use iTunes daily and have iPods as well as a 3G iPhone. The remote app for the iPhone is great and really does make AirTunes way more useful. I use AirTunes with the multiple Airport Express units I have around the house (I installed them primarily to extend WiFi coverage throughout and remote printing support). While I have used other music apps before, iTunes is really all I use now.

Of course, I know Apple's laptop selections all too well. The 12" form factor is something that one that Apple hasn't offered since the 12" PowerBook that some users wish would return. There have been rumors (or perhaps just wishful desires) of an Apple tablet since the Newton was discontinued. Some people feel that Apple will enter the netbook market at some point, especially given that segment's huge surge in sales this year that would be hard for Apple to ignore. There's a company called Axiotron who takes Macbooks and mods them into tablets (http://www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook). They actually just announced an updated version of it that uses the new 13" Macbook as a base.

All that being said, I still like Sooloos. Why? Because I'm a weirdo who likes using new audio distribution solutions. I have used an Escient FireBall, Squeezebox, Roku Soundbridge, Airport Express, Sonos, Xbox 360, PS3, etc. I've kept up with a variety of products like Sooloos, Qsonix, ReQuest, Olive's OPUS, B&O's upcoming BeoSound 5, etc. That being said, there is one thing that would make Sooloos different from other solutions I have had - my wife would actually use it. All the others she has tried and found a little too complicated. I know, that sounds ridiculous given the design of the Apple solution. But hey, she finally caved and got on the iPhone bandwagon a few weeks back, so there is hope (though she isn't an app user just yet). When she was with me a couple of months ago at my dealer's showroom, she was playing with the Sooloos and was impressed by how easy it was.

Now, I won't buy it based on her alone. If I buy it, it will likely be because I want it. One thing I've seen with my usage is that I don't really explore my collection with any of these and I think that the Focus tools on the Sooloos will encourage that. Also, I like dedicated solutions since every time I touch the computer, I inevitably wind up getting sidetracked web surfing.

I also like what Qsonix offers with their "Tapestry" feature. They use AMG's for metadata too and license Tapestry from AMG. It's a feature that lets you build playlists by selecting one song and a playlist gets built with similar songs (like Apple's Genius but with better results, IMO). Sooloos doesn't use Tapestry, but I've suggested to them that they should look into it. No one does a good of job at this as Pandora does and I use that quite a bit with the Sonos.

Jeff

Various