Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

I found this over at Denguru.com:

Unfortunately, according to market research firm Parks Associates, most of us still choose to haul out our collection of CDs when we want to get our groove on in the comfort of our own living rooms. They found that 40 percent of households play music files on their computers and 33 percent of households that are connected to the Internet listen to Internet radio. Out of all of these people, only a slim 10 percent are playing all of this music through their main stereo systems.

I find this really interesting, and I have always suspected this. Everyone I know has an iPod, but very few of my friends listento their digital music in the living room. IPod docks are available but are awkward in terms of picking songs or making playlists on the fly. No consumer product has provided a great living room experience to date. The right combination of flexibility, price, and interactivity has not been found. I have built my own digital jukebox but it is not perfect and is definitely not consumer friendly. The Sonos Audio System seems like a good alternative but is very expensive. In my opinion, the marketplace is ripe for a product to come in and dominate. It just needs to be simple and effective.