B. Mann Consulting

mark_tar_mark posted a long comment about how he uses the Pluto Home along with the Squeezebox:

I just setup a Pluto Home system (smarthome + media server). It’s really cool and works great with SqueezeBoxes. Just plug the squeeze box into an Ethernet jack. When it sees the squeezebox request an IP address it automatically installs the slimserver and sets everything up on its own. There’s no software to install at all. And if you have a Bluetooth mobile phone, that turns into the remote control—complete with cover art, access to playlists, etc. Plus, it knows how to control all the other stuff too—so when I start playing music on my squeeze box it automatically turns on the stereo and sets it to the right input.
mark_tar_mark: Cool new application for SqueezeBox—a Sonos killer

I wrote about Pluto in early 2004, around the time I first posted about the Squeezebox.

Finally, mark asks "So, is anybody out there working on a C++ squeezebox2 player? This is the only small piece that’s missing. With that piece this would be a total sonos killer." Sonos is a whole home digital music player. It's quite slick and has a dedicated wireless controller, but is expensive and only does music.

I last wrote about Axentra when they had changed their name from OEOne back in October 2003. Marc Benglia, the CEO of Axentra, came by and left a comment on that post, so I went and checked out their new products.

Marc had specifically pointed out their Net-Box Home Series, which are two server appliances targetted at home network use. The entry level model is $499US -- much too expensive in my opinion, but I still understand the lure of having a full-featured server on your own network.

I'm in the process of getting rid of my local Linux server. Obviously I'm not the target market for these products, nor is anyone that can build their own server. But I think that Axentra is going to have trouble explaining the benefits -- and making it easy enough -- for the average end user.

The new TiVo technology, which will become a standard feature in its video recorders, will allow users to download movies and music from the Internet to the hard drive on their video recorder. Although the current TiVo service allows users to watch broadcast, cable or satellite programs at any time, the new technology will make it possible for them to mix content from the Internet with those programs.
The New York Times: New Service by TiVo Will Build Bridges From Internet to the TV

Also mentions TiVo's purchase of Strangeberry, which is likely where these features are coming from. I talked about Strangeberry back in January.

This changes things.

With AirPort Express, Apple continues to advance wireless, delivering the first device to pack wireless networking, audio, printing and bridging capabilities into a single affordable, portable unit.
Apple: AirPort Express

$129US. Wireless support in the iPod can't be far behind. Apple is busy raising the bar in wireless, music, and home connectivity all in one go.

Dana Blankenhorn points to a Parks Associates research report.

…most consumers think consumer electronics when considering a Media Server. And most of those who think of a consumer electronics company think of Sony.

…

There is a second, hidden message in this report, namely that a Sony buy-out of Apple does indeed make some sense. Apple has been better than anyone, even Microsoft, in marrying PC and CE technologies. Marrying them to Sony's content guarantees their future.

Playing the "so-and-so company should buy Apple" game is always fun. Right now, even Microsoft is using G5s to do development for it's next generation PPC-based Xbox. Apple's recent moves around building iPods for HP and integrating iChat with AOL shows a serious bent towards services. Services is where the future is, as media servers, home servers, or whatever you want to call them are going to run to commodity, just like broadband routers have today. They'll run an embedded form of Linux or BSD, and the pressure points will be around standards: how to interface with other CE devices in the home, how to interface with web services, etc.

Om Malik comments on the TiVo Strangeberry acquisition:

So what are they really building? My best guess is that Strangeberry crew, all former Sun folks, developed a piece of software that actually makes finding devices on the home networks as easy as turning on the power switch. And it is using some variant of Apple’s Rendezvous technology. I remember these guys had released some variation of Rendezvous for Java in the early days of their operation. Rendezvous is a technology which can and does work with all sort of networks - Wi-Fi, Ethernet or powerline networks.

Om Malik: TiVo, the digital hub, powered by Strangeberry?

Update: Om follows up on last week's post. In this corner, TiVo -- in the other corner, Microsoft.

Well, I've talked about the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) stuff before, and if you have a look at their download page, it does use Java. This is all, of course, in opposition to the Microsoft-backed Universal Plug and Play Forum…

Pluto sells a Linux-based system that enables whole-home automation, with everything from telecommunications to security features.

It's annoying that most of the information about the system is "hidden" in the Flash version of the site.

There are also little details on the specs of this system. I really wish that there was more standards work in this home gateway/server/automation area. Well, I guess it actually needs more publicity -- OSGi still looks to be moving along, and is even being used as an automotive platform as well.

But read on for a brief run-down on the Pluto system.

A HowTo guide on connecting a webcam to do video monitoring and motion detecting using your E-smith server.

Well, it happened. My thrown-together home server had a hardware failure last night. I have no idea what time it was, but I woke up to a high-pitched squealing noise.

The first result of this is that all of my "other" *.bmannconsulting.com sites are currently offline. Plus the new domains as well.

eHomeUpgrade gets a question about non-do-it-yourself media servers. They only point to two, the Telly MC1000 and the ONEbox.

What's interesting is the differences and similarities between these two products. The Telly is based on Linux, and the ONEbox runs Windows XP Media Center Windows XP Home plus the ONEbox Media Center. Both are $899US and are shipping today.

So which one to get?