Is this the future of the next CD player

"NOTHING beats the graphic interface of a mouse and monitor for navigating your vast library of music."

I totally disagree. Having tried both I find the functionality of the Squeezebox and its interface works far faster and more effectively than a mouse and screen, with any software including foobar, itunes, slimserver, etc. I find the only point of using the large screen is if you like gazing at album art, and I don't.

this may be the future but it is nothing new. SIMA came out with a similar unit a few years ago, albeit with a few less features.
i don't think msnbc or any other popular news site will accurately show us the future for technology products. check out tech oriented sites for that info...

The future of audio will come out of technical discussions?

Most of the revolutions in audio have been driven by one thing only, convenience.

The 78 was less convenient than the LP, which was less convenient than the musictape, less than the CD. Sound quality claims were usually just smoke-screen marketing claims to make people feel better about choosing the lazy option.

That is where computer-based music servers come in. But what has to be solved is acceptable means of music download and standards that make it all seemless for the lazy option to be marketable.

The Olive looks great.

Has anyone heard the new "Opus" model advertised on their website? This is the "audiophile" version at $3000, quite a jump from the about-$1000 pricing of previous models.

Also, does anyone know what the USB ports are used for? External DAC? External hard drives to expand storage? External HDs to backup the internals?

Thanks,

Eric

"Also, does anyone know what the USB ports are used for? External DAC? External hard drives to expand storage? External HDs to backup the internals?"

USB are for External HD or memory stick. You'd run an external DAC off it's digital outputs.