[the] Code Girl (aka UnrulyGrrl)

I just got a SqueezeBox v3 recently and I can’t say enough good things about it. I got a wired/wireless version and it works great with either. In fact it could easily get a wireless signal when my Roku SoundBridge M500 couldn’t. The display is large and crisp and beautiful, and it has both optical and coax digital outputs as well as RCA/composite and a headphone jack. The remote is small and simple — AND you could use any JVC DVD remote as well.

One downside: price tag of ~$300. After dealing with the Roku SoundBridge, I can easily say it’s well worth the money.

I used “Sound Juicer” on my Linux laptop to rip my CDs to FLAC so I’d have no loss of quality. Bought a 200GB external hard drive to hold all the music.

Heck, the Internet Radio almost makes it worth the price, since there are thousands of stations to choose from. It even accepts logins for some common sites like Live365 so you can take advantage of VIP/Members-only type access to commercial free high-bitrate streams.

Whether you have a SqueezeBox or not, I definitely recommend SlimServer to serve up your music. It is really easily to install, has lots of plugins, and it just works.
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As you may have noticed by my recent Del.icio.us links, I have taken a sudden interest in the Infiniti G35. That’s because I bought one around xmas time. [If anyone cares, I got the 6 speed manual with Aero package and Sport package, in ‘liquid platinum’ exterior and ‘graphite’ leather interior, with brushed aluminum trim]

I was under the mistaken impression, as it seems most people are, that if the stereo is Bose, it must be better. Couldn’t be more wrong. So I’ve been reading all I can find about ripping out this shitty Bose system and replacing everything. I miss my Alpine CDA9855, 2 amps, 12″ sub, etc that I had in my previous car. THAT system had clarity and power. I do enjoy my new steering wheel controls, however.

Between the bastards at Bose and the bastards at Infiniti (the navigation and A/C systems are tied in to the stock head unit), it will be a headache to replace anything….and it will likely require that I replace _everything_.

I’m thinking of putting some sort of linux based computer in their as well, for audio and whatever else. My car came with (it was already in the only car that had the color combo I wanted) the navigation system, so I figure I can tap into the input for the display and maybe use the nav joystick as an input device.

I got a nice bonus for last year and decided I needed a
new laptop. Wish I had remembered that the amount
was *pre*tax. I spent it all on a refurb Dell Latitude
D600 1.6Ghz CeleronM, 32mb ATI Radeon 9000,
integrated 10/100/1000 ethernet, 802.11g, 14″ SXGA
(max res 1400×1050 — XGA does only 1024×768), two
USB 2.0 slots, svideo out, combo CDRW/DVD-ROM
and winmodem.

I think I’vefound linux drivers for nearly everything.
The integrated wireless (Intel 2200bg) doesnt work
well at 54Mbs under Linux. Got tired of fussing with it,
so I bought a DLink DWLG650 and its been rock solid.
The display is very, very nice. Glad I went with the
separate video with its own ram; most laptops
nowadays use ’shared’ memory and steal ram for its
own use.