One of the coolest music servers currently on the market is the Hush AVX Music Server. Not only is it gorgeous from the outside, the AVX uses heat-sink technology eliminating audible and sonic interference usually attributed to system cooling fans. Ultra-hip, tech-savvy consumers will love the fact that the AVX uses a wireless 802.11b PDA as a remote—not included (Hush recommends the DELL Axim X5 or HP 5550). The PocketPC 2003, DigiFi Interface Software, which is provided on an SD card, allows users to select music by artist, album, genre last played, most played, or alphabetically. In addition, users can also create and save play lists, create genres, assign albums to genres, and monitor ripping and encoding. MORE »

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is pushing for an integration of a compulsory license into current file swapping schemes to legalize swapping and compensate the artists according to the popularity of their music.

EFF attorney Fred von Lohmann, speaking as part of a panel on peer-to-peer music sharing, proposed that music fans pay a small monthly fee — perhaps $5 — to share files with impunity, using whatever software they like. The money could be collected by a central organization and then distributed among those who own the rights to the songs, based on popularity. MORE »

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Excellent article over at PC Magazine about the TiVo experience (what’s to love & what’s not to love), and a new company called Weakness.com that sells pre-hacked and modified TiVo units to suit any consumers’ needs. MORE »

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ExtremeTech has posted their review of the Roku HD1000. Overall it seems that they are pleased with the device. However, its video features are currently minimal, and it doesn’t yet support WMA (or WMV). Given that, ExtremeTech still recommends this product, but with several caveats: MORE »

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Ever wish you could store full, uncompressed copies of all your Music CDs, Movie DVDs, Home Videos, and Digital Photo in one place? Now you can. Molino Networks, a California based company, has just launched their iteration of a true digital media server named the Molino Media Mogul. An A/V receiver sized device that can store and playback up to 50 DVDs, 500 CDs, 10,000s of digital photos or hundreds of hours of home movies, which are available for instantaneous playback through a connected TV, A/V receiver, or home-theater system via an easy-to-use graphical menu system. MORE »

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The MSI MEGA 180 is now available for sale in the U.S.! Great news for AMD fans who have been waiting for an alternative to Shuttle’s barebones XPC line. The MEGA 180 combines information and entertainment together into one device offering Hi-Fi stereo, DVD/VCD, MP3, HD quality TV and high-performing computing–optical and storage drives not included. MORE »

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Not to be left out of the Mini Barebones Entertainment PC market, Abit has launched the DigiDice. A Intel 865G P4 (800Mhz FSB) platform Mini PC system with full Hyper-Threading and Dual Channel DDR 400 Memory support. Moreover, DigiDice has BIOS over-clocking abilities and optional RAID function in a small case which provides a 6-in-1 card reader, two external 5.25” device bays, two internal 3.5” device bays for ultimate flexibility, and really cool-looking and informative LCD screen for system monitoring and A/V track information. MORE »

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At the 2004 Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, “Intel showed off two concept PC designs for new types of entertainment-oriented PCs. The first, dubbed Kessler, is a slim entertainment PC that runs Microsoft’s Windows XP Media Center Edition and connects to a TV. The device will be capable of sharing content wirelessly and, like today’s Media Center-based PCs, can be operated with a remote control instead of a keyboard. MORE »

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2Wire will soon be introducing their MediaPortal platform set-top box that will integrate satellite TV, DSL broadband, and digital entertainment services such as media on demand, Personal Video Recorder (PVR), music and photo management, and unified messaging. MORE »

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Intel is planning to unveil a new hybrid laptop desktop prototype dubbed the “Florence” at the Intel Developers Forum next week in San Francisco. The device will boast a 17-inch wide-screen LCD, a screen bezel that incorporates a digital camera, microphone, and speakers, built-in TV tuner, Wireless Networking, a handle to easily carry the device from room-to-room, a built-in rechargeable battery, and an adjustable keyboard and screen display all in an 8-pound package. MORE »

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