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I’ve been on a bit of a gadget dry spell as of late, and as a direct result, feel worthless. To build up my self-worth, I picked up a few new toys that should keep me busy for a while. I picked up a Slingbox and a Squeezebox 3. Full reviews coming after I’ve had enough time to play with them. What are these boxes, and how do they sling and squeeze?

Slingbox
First, let me start with the Slingbox. This Toblerone shaped box “slings” live television to your computer. Let’s say you have a basic or premium cable package like I do, but aren’t home very much. You connect the Slingbox to your cable connection and the internet and magically you can watch TV anywhere on your laptop (like in a laboratory, perhaps). The real killer app is if you have a TiVo or other DVR. Slingbox recognizes that, and allows you full DVR functionality through the Slingbox (Ability to watch recorded shows, pause live TV through the frickin internet!! ZOMG!). Surprisingly, video quality is amazing, however it is dependent on your upload speed. The downside to the Slingbox is if you are living with someone (Reason #47 not to have a roomie or spouse). You’ll be playing TV wars, because both of you have the ability to change the channel. Whatever one person is watching, the other person has to be watching. To solve that problem, I would plug the Slingbox to a free cable outlet in a spare room. It would be cool if you gave a Slingbox to a friend (in New England, perhaps) that enjoyed the same sports teams as you did. Then, you could watch out-of-market games with said person while in California. Anyone?

SqueezeBox 3
Next, I picked up a Squeezebox. Not as cool as the Slingbox, but effective at what it does. It allows you to play music from your computer onto another audio system (in the living room, bedroom, or kitchen perhaps). Sure, an Airport Express can do the same thing, but the Squeezebox comes with a remote and user interface. Plus, you can use your cell phone/PDA/PSP to remotely control your Squeezebox from anywhere. SICK! The key is SlimServer, which is actually free to download at slimdevices.com. In addition, with SlimServer, you can stream music from your computer to your laptop while you’re away. SlimServer integrates nicely with iTunes, which is a must for me, displays album art and increases iTunes play count and allows you to rate songs (with help of a plug-in). It’s open-source, so lots of people are developing supa cool plug-ins. SlimServer can be downloaded here.

Now if there were only a way to sling my bed for a quick nap.