Thanks for the CD

Sorry for the delay. No, it wasn't my iWatch that broke down and made me forget about the blog I had to write. It was just a way too busy schedule that made me skip a week. I really wish we could fit 48 hours in a day so I could get some more work done, but I guess that will never change.

I am one of the unlucky people that didn't go to the Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival and was confronted with it every single minute of the last week. You cannot open a newspaper, turn on the radio or check Facebook without being reminded that you are going to miss out on something big.

I was invited as a guest to one of the concerts that was held prior to the festival. The concert wasn't really that great but I received a gift from the sponsor that really shocked me: they handed me a real CD! I have to admit that it is still laying around in its plastic wrap. I guess downloading the same songs is easier and faster than getting the plastic off and ripping the contents into my iTunes library.

Since everyone seems to be into music this week I will talk about my favorite way to listen to my music nowadays. I don't like jogging and I hardly use public transport so my iPods I use for other purposes.

On the road I just plug in my iPhone or iPod directly into my car stereo or use my FM transmitter to listen to my music on the car stereo. But as soon I enter the office or my home there is only one thing I use... Airplay!

For me, Airplay is one of the best inventions when it comes to portable music and video. Airplay is a way to send music over wireless Internet directly to your stereo, speakers or your television. As soon as you have Airplay enabled devices in your network you can stream music, video and photos to them from iTunes or any iDevice.

Apple offers 2 Airplay devices right now: the Apple TV and the Airport Express. The Apple TV simply connects with your (HD) television through an HDMI cable and allows you to stream audio and video from your desktop or iDevice to your television. When you have an Airport Express (router) in you network and connect it to your stereo or some speakers you can do the same thing with audio.

What does that mean? Let me try to explain it with some examples: If I play a song on my iPod touch or iPhone, normally it will use the built-in speakers or a headset. If you are connected to a wifi network that has one or more Airplay enabled devices in it, you will see an option next to the play button that will allow you to stream the music and/or video to one of those devices. Instead of hearing the music via the built-in speaker or your headset you will hear the sound coming out of your stereo or television.

You can switch devices instantly. So if you enter another room (With another Airplay device) you just take your music with you. Or if you are watching a movie or streaming television in the living room Apple TV and want to finish it in the bedroom, just choose another Apple TV and your video will follow you.

Next to the Apple TV and Airport Express you can do the same trick(s) from any iTunes (both Mac and Windows). iTunes even gives you an option to choose multiple devices so you can have music throughout the whole house or watch movies and photo's on multiple TV's.

So, for all your North Sea Jazz Festival visitors that want to keep on rocking even after the festival, consider Airplay. And if I was a little bit too technical this time, just contact me and I will answer any questions you might have.

Warm regards,
Mayckel