WiFi music server and gapless playback function will be available at a later date TBA via firmware upgrading.

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Some, like Slim Devices' SqueezeBox, focus only on music and even come with server software that can serve the same music to multiple devices simultaneously.

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On the internet, anyone with the nous to set up a server to stream music and who can sign the contracts with the record companies can launch one or many such stations.

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The STRIVA-enabled headphone receives these special address instructions from the MyKOSS server and links the headphone directly to music streams using available wireless access points.

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Add a few more components and a little more software, and it could become a home server that holds games, movies and music, and distributes them over a home network.

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Lenovo's IdeaCentre D400 home server securely houses large amounts of data for professional and personal use, including videos, music and photos.

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The Mac mini also fell short of being a media server that can be a video recorder as well as a store for all the digital music, movies and images people accumulate, said Mr Fogg.

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This is also where you'll go to set alarms and play music through any of the impressive variety of services that Chumby supports, including Pandora, SHOUTcast, Squeezebox Server (if you have one on your network), and a handful of podcast services and miscellaneous providers plus iPod, mass storage, and the aforementioned FM radio support.

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Users could share files (in this case, music) directly with each other as peers, not relying on a middleman in the form of a centralized server.

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