Slim Devices Squeezebox December 9th, 2003 | by Jeff Fila

Look and Feel

The Squeezebox differs from its SLIMP3 predecessor in both looks and function. The Squeezebox looks more like a small appliance than the curved-plexi conversation piece that is the SLIMP3. It also features a different finish. Both the Squeezebox unit and the remote are finished with a black soft touch coating. It almost feels like a Papermate rubberized pen. We had wondered if the finish would be easily scratched off, but didn't want to try on our review unit. However, the folks at Slim Devices assure us that it is a durable finish.

It uses the same Noritake 2x40 vacuum florescent display as the SLIMP3. In our SLIMP3 review we commented that the display was nice and bright, but at a distance can be hard to read. This is still the case, however, it is just as big and bright, or more, as most displays on home theater components.

While the unit will not fit in with other home theater components in a rack or cabinet, it looks at home on top of the TV or entertainment center. With its time and date display, it makes sense to have the unit out in the open where it can be seen. 

Installation and Setup

In our SLIMP3 review, we commented on how easy it was to set up both the hardware and the software. The same is true with the Squeezebox. Setup was again a breeze. The SlimServer software installs in just a few seconds and is very easy to configure. If you already have a library of music, you just point the server to the directory your music is stored in and it will automatically scan it's content.

Setting up the hardware to work with a network was simple also. You have the ability to search for a DHCP server and obtain an assigned IP address or you can input the information in manually using the remote control. When using a wireless network, you can again search for available networks or type in the name of the network. This is beneficial if you have turned off broadcasting of your SSID — which you should for security reasons. If you have a firewall, you'll need to forward port 9000 to the SlimServer for it to work properly. The SlimServer features a web front-end so all configuration is done via a web browser, from any computer on your network. The server front-end can be made public or accessible only with a password.

We installed the SlimServer on an Apple PowerBook running OS X, a Pentium III server running a version of Redhat Linux 9.0 and an AMD Athlon XP 1600+ running Microsoft Windows XP. Each installation was quick and easy. The server software can run on a dedicated server or in the background of a workstation. It doesn't take up many resources so running it while running other programs is not a problem. Slim Devices lists the minimum specs for a server as a 300MHz Pentium II with 128MB of memory.

Since the interface is web-based, you can control your player from the remote control or from any web browser on your network. The software allows you to search for music by artist, title, album or genre. You can shuffle and repeat songs and albums and create and manage playlists on the fly with the remote or through a browser.

The server software is available as a free download from the Slim Devices website and even users that don't own a Slim Devices product can use it as a media server on their network.

One concern we had with the wireless aspect of the Squeezebox was the security features. The Squeezebox is compatible with 802.11 b and g networks and supports WEP encryption. For all practical reasons, a home wireless network is secure if you:

-           Turn off broadcasting your SSID (network ID)

-           Change the default username and password for your network admin interface

-           Change the default name of your network

-           Enable some kind of encryption (WEP or WPA)

WEP encryption is the old standard and is now easily cracked. That doesn't mean that your home network is going to be compromised — your network footprint probably doesn't extend much beyond your driveway anyway — but it is possible. Most newer home or small business wireless routers and access points support the newer WPA encryption scheme. There is currently no known way of cracking the WPA encryption scheme and because of this, most manufacturers will suggest that you enable WPA encryption.

This may not be a big deal if you already have WEP encryption or (gasp) no security on your network at all, but if you run a wireless network with WPA, the Squeezebox will not be able to connect to it. The problem we have with it is, if a consumer has recently bought a new wireless SOHO router and set it up securely as suggested by the manufacturer, they may already have a WPA encrypted network. If they wanted to use a Squeezebox, they would have to go to the less-secure WEP protocol or turn off encryption on their network. Either way, it requires a change to network settings. That was the case with our setup — our network was secured with WPA and we had to change all of our settings to test the Squeezebox wirelessly. We hope that Slim Devices is able to update to WPA with a firmware upgrade or in a new hardware upgrade for the Squeezebox.