nice links austinbirdman. Looks like things are definitely starting to happen. Also, thanks for the info nowave. I like that the iPod runs from RAM. RAM is cheap - you could get a CD worth of RAM for not much money. Ultra quiet.
I still think a hybrid of the two devices (built-in hard drive and network server) would be fantastic. I personally would prefer to keep my music on the computers, for a few reasons. First, different people in the family have their own "personal" computers with their own music collections. It would be nice to keep the music organized that way. Also, it would be nice to be able to listen to music through the computer speakers *gasp!* if the computer was not located in the listening room. The second (and more important) reason I would like to keep the music on the computers is that all of the manipulation of music (ripping / burning / modifying) I do is done through software on the computer. It would be nice to not have to hook up a USB cable to the audio device. Would also be nice to be able to back up the HD...
I think all that needs to happen is for a HD to be put into the turtle beach product, or a network interface to be put into the HD / DVD products. I'd be all over that.
On a side note, you can also get an
external sound card with remote for your computer, but then your computer has to be in your listening room
