Apple Rolls Out AirPort Express, AirTunes

das writes "Apple has introduced AirPort Express (specs), a palm-sized, portable 802.11g base station with 10/100 ethernet, USB printer sharing, and analog and optical audio output, for connection to a stereo system or powered speakers for streaming your music collection via 'AirTunes.' It supports multiple profiles for easy use at multiple locations It can plug directly into the wall as a "power brick", or use a longer power cord, similar to the newer PowerBook AC adapters. AirTunes requires iTunes 4.6, expected to be available soon."

Cool!

[GillBates0]

Just hope my neighbors get 'Airtunes' within a reasonable timeframe...they took forEVER to get a wireless router. Some people are so lazy...

sigh

[TedCheshireAcad]

I don't need it, I can't afford it...but it's just so cool. Sigh. Apple really got their foot in the door when I got this PowerBook.

Where is my credit card?

Re:Cool!

[morcheeba]

I hope they like your taste in music... ... at 3 AM

Re:Nifty for the price - but not a Squeezebox

[computerme]

Itunes Remote $59:

http://www.keyspan.com/products/homepage-Remotes.s pml


>the UI is frankly much better than iTunes anyway (especially if >you have a LOT of music

Cough. To each his own I guess....

awesomely bitchin!

[maxbang]

This'll be badass with my shreddin air guitar!!

Call Me Amish, But...

[bfg9000]

... there comes a point where all this convenience is deadly to fat guys like me. I'll just stick with putting a CD in my stereo, thanks. North America has so much convenience we're all dropping dead. I even have a remote control to turn on my Exercycle from the couch, so my wife thinks I'm excercising when I'm actually watching Smallville reruns.

Re:Good niche

[That's Unpossible!]

dude, you're getting a squeezebox

Re:woohoo!

[First Person]

Now my question is is why do people slam Apple for creating products that only work with their products? No one slams Microsoft for creating software that only works with their products. Why is this?

Because Apple hasn't been declared an illegal monopoly which has abused its market position on several occasions in both the US and Europe.

Re:One Big LAME

[Infonaut]

Is the word "lame" now a noun? I need to get out more so I can hear how all the hip young kids are speaking these days. All this newfangled speech is just hard for my old ears to adjust to.

Or maybe it's short for "Lying Apple Makes Excuses".

Re:Nifty for the price - but not a Squeezebox

[grub]

"Hookers are Free!"

Those are called "Sluts" :)

Earbuds

[alficles]

Those tiny white earbuds become tiny white pains in the ass if used for any period of time,

Perhaps you are wearing them incorrectly... they go in your ears. :D

Re:Cool!

[Sunnan]

Last summer, whenever my flatmate would play obnoxious music at 3 AM I'd just ssh into her box over 802.11b and tell her XMMS to skip to the next song, and ocassionally lower the volume.

Because of the Broadcom/Linux issue I guess it's back to ethernet this summer.

Maybe we should just set up mpd.

Re:Apple listens to customers...

[inertia187]

Those tiny white earbuds become tiny white pains in the ass if used for any period of time, and I like to hear the phone ring while I'm working.

You're supposed to stick them in your ear.

Re:Note to Apple

[fr0dicus]

Mail them and ask them to write it into the DVD player app. They listen, it's kind of scary.

Re:That's where he started making sense, actually.

[javax]

yeah, mpg123 and winamp really do have a better gui then iTunes...

or are you saying that there are no good music player UIs out there at all?

Argh! Steve you magnificent bastard...

[Anonymous Meoward]

And I was getting so psyched last night because I got my Via EPIA board loaded up with Fedora and XMMS, and could finally stream my favorite streaming audio site [kexp.org], albeit with Ethernet cable (Wi-Fi was on my project plan), and pipe it through my office stereo.

And this little beauty will plug right into the wall socket by my stereo for a lot less money, less hassle, etc.

Anybody wanna buy an EPIA, slightly used?
(DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN......)

Re:Nifty for the price - but not a Squeezebox

[Fubar]

> It's most likely the only AP that was designed for portability (correct me if I'm wrong)

Heck, this is Slashdot - people correct you when you're right.

Re:Audio Specs

[Elwood P Dowd]

Keep in mind that right now, they are not advertising this as a plain audio-out device. You won't necessarily be able to play your DVD to your AirTunes device. This is an output for iTunes only. So surround-sound is overkill even for audiophiles. Overkill for everyone except Flaming Lips fans.

Love letter to Apple

[NormanEinstein]

Dear Apple,

Please stop making so many little, cool geek products. I'm running out of money.

Love, Norm

AirTunes? Two words: AM Transmitter

[$calar]

OK, why spend money on this when you can build an analog oscillator hooked to your computer and using frequency modulation to broadcast your computer's sound over AM radio waves??? I have done this so that way I can listen to my good music outside with a cheap radio. I don't know what AirTunes costs, but my method is very cheap. In fact, it's so awesome you can set it up to broadcast over any frequency! I bet the FCC wouldn't be happy about this, but my signal isn't very strong.

optical out really makes sense here....not.

[SuperBanana]

One thing missing from this device is a real optical out. I'm sorry but going analog mini jack -> digi optical doesn't make any sense.

Yeah, and AAC/MP3 -> digi optical does...? You're not going to be playing audio CDs in your powerbook if you care about this sort of thing, because after all, you've got a $1k CD player, right?

Yeesh, you audio weirdoes...

Re:Apple listens to customers...

[ThatsNotFunny]

You're supposed to stick them in your ear. Ahh... I thought the clerk said your rear!

Re:Apple listens to customers...

[CommanderData]

So THATs what those things are for! I wondered why the sound was so weak and muffled...

Re:plug-ins (including Ogg) and "proper" connector

[piecewise]

Just for the record, you could also plug headphones into the mini-jack, though I find it somewhat unlikely that people would be interested in plugging there head directly into a power outlet, which is the impression you would get with this device.....

Funny. After reading some of this discussion (your comment excluded), I honestly couldn't think of a better idea right now.

Re:sigh

[bludstone]

Spend fool! Spend!

For every silly apple doo-hickey you "cool shiny things" obsessed geeks buy, my apple stock goes up a quarter of a point! :)

bought at 19, its now at 29. I LOVE YOU GUYS :O

Coming Products...

[jollygreengiantlikes]

Perhaps we'll see the combination of AirTunes software with Garage Band? The new AirGuitar software should really liven the party up.

Re:Nifty for the price - but not a Squeezebox

[Moofie]

I can get a device that connects my stereo to an 802.11 network for $25? Where? I'll buy ten.

Re:Cool!

[bitrot42]

>Last summer, whenever my flatmate would play obnoxious music at 3 AM I'd just ssh into her box

Great idea! That way you can both forget about the crappy music...

Re:Nifty for the price - but not a Squeezebox

[Brad Siemssen]

Personally, I like the AirTunes idea, though the lack of a display or remote is big.

AirTunes has an amazingly powerful remote. It's called a Powerbook (must be purchased separately...). ;->

Re:This rocks! They will sell millions.

[Anonymous Coward]

May i remind everyone of the "ipod-mini effect". Since all /.ers think that this will sell extremely well, i think Apple have made a serious mistake in releaing the AirPort Express

Damned if you do, damned if you don't

[Infonaut]

I guess if you're REALLY on a budget then this is interesting

That's the first time I've heard Apple get dissed for selling something too inexpensively. You just can't please people. ;-)

Re:sigh

[silicon not in the v]

It's just like crack, except the first hit is really expensive!

Re:Nifty for the price - but not a Squeezebox

[petecarlson]

I'm tired of different PLUG per device. I have a large 12VDC power supply powering a couple switches, a soekris and a couple other things. I now seek out 12VDC things.

Many things that use less than 12V DC run just fine at 12V DC I mod quite a bit of bunk to POE and always overestimate voltage drop. My rule of thumb is 5 - 9V devices go to the 12V power supply.

In other news today...

[Anonymous Coward]

In other news today, Apple's .mac servers were given an unexpected stress test today as the Salling Clicker site, hosted on Apple's .mac servers, received a surge of hits from links from slashdot.org.

The story on slashdot.org had discussions regarding Apple's new AirPort Express that allows users to play iTunes libraries via AirPort wireless networking to their home stereos. Readers questioned just how people would control the music, not wanting to walk from their couches to their PCs to change the song playing. Many suggested Salling Clicker, a product that allows Bluetooth enabled phones and PalmOS devices to act as remote controls for PCs running MacOS X.

Steve Jobs was overheard laughing, "Slashdot Effect?! What Slashdot Effect??!! HA!"

Analysts were telling investors to buy Apple stock, as slashdot readers are expected to be in awe of this resistance to the infamous Slashdot Effect. Apple's .mac sites are said to be hosted on Apple's own xServe hardware running MacOS X Server. Sales of Apple's server OS and hardware are expected to rise over the next few days.

Bill Gates was seen crying in a corner late today. He was babbling incoherently about innovation and how no one could ever need their music piped over WiFi networking to their home stereo. He later showed off his birthmark "666" and suggested that people would prefer Microsoft's innovative solution that would only allow users to listen to music over their stereo system if they paid additional money to the record labels. "I'm sure users will understand paying $1.00US a minute to listen to their music wirelessly"

In related news, RIAA members have begun campaigning for Bill Gates to become the next president of the United States.

Re:Not secure???

[SmittyTheBold]

Not to mention, what's the gimmick of this device? Play music over your wireless LAN and through your home stereo.

If they're close enough to sniff my WLAN, then they're going to be hearing my music anyway. Trust me. =)