Rock Your Own Kasbah With Rogue Amoeba's New, Improved "Airfoil" System
July 14, 2011
Rogue Amoeba, the popular Mac developer, has recently updated its well-received Airfoil Speakers Touch for iPhone to 2.0. The app, which allows users to stream music from their Macs or PCs to "anywhere around the house," offers a bevy of new features in the build bump. These include a newly-designed interface, a remote control to play, pause, and skip supported tracks, and automatic cover-art and titile importation.
However, to make everything work, you're going to need the appropriate software running on a network-connected computer. Fortunately, Rogue Amoeba has just updated their requisite Airfoil host, too. Version 4.5, says the dev, includes two huge additions:
As a bonus, the new Airfoil also lets your iPhone control more sources than ever before, like Radium, Rdio, and Spotify (which now matters immensely for us US folk).
Airfoil Speakers Touch is free on iTunes, and Airfoil proper is free to try (though a full license will cost you $25).
I only have one room and a single set of speakers, so the set-up's not so important for me. But the word on the street has it that the Airfoil solution's about the best thing going for song-loving homeowners.
First and foremost, Airfoil Speakers for Mac [the desktop version of Airfoil Speakers Touch] can now receive audio from your iOS device! Launch Airfoil Speakers, and it will appear in the list of AirPlay devices on iOS. When you play audio in an app on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, you can select Airfoil Speakers from the AirPlay list, and you’ll hear the audio right on your Mac. ...Airfoil Speakers can now also receive audio directly from iTunes. You’ve always been able to do this by setting iTunes as your source in Airfoil, but now you can play audio directly from iTunes on Mac OS X or Windows, right out to any Mac running Airfoil Speakers.
As a bonus, the new Airfoil also lets your iPhone control more sources than ever before, like Radium, Rdio, and Spotify (which now matters immensely for us US folk).
Airfoil Speakers Touch is free on iTunes, and Airfoil proper is free to try (though a full license will cost you $25).
I only have one room and a single set of speakers, so the set-up's not so important for me. But the word on the street has it that the Airfoil solution's about the best thing going for song-loving homeowners.
