Some years ago I discovered a Squeezebox music player and used it to stream free Internet radio stations to my home music system. The device was originally made by a company called Slim Devices. They were later purchased by Logitech. The Squeezebox has been greatly improved and now several models are available. Currently services like Pandora Radio, Rhapsody, Last.fm, Sirius Radio, and many others are available in the Squeeze Network. Controlling the Squeezebox was sometimes cumbersome since it only came with a small remote control and you had to be in close to the device to follow the onscreen menus. Later, Logitech introduced the Squeezebox Duet that came with a color handheld remote. This seemed in direct competition with the Sonos music player. In any case, with the advent of the iPhone and app store, a clever team of developers from Penguin Loves Music came up with a clever application called iPeng.
The iPeng name is a bit quirky, but the application works beautifully. It basically controls the Squeezebox through a nicely crafted graphical user interface. It is also very easy to use and configure. For $9.99 at the Apple app store, it is a great buy. The developers are also very helpful in case of problems and are quick to address any bugs. The device has to be connected to your wireless network from for it all to work. The Squeezebox screens provide graphical feedback, album covers, and other relevant information about the music that is playing. The best thing about the Squeezebox, iPeng, and services like Pandora is that you will discover new music every day. It also breaks the monotony with fresh music often playing. I have done away with most of my MP3’s and mostly listen to streaming tunes.