Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

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ISSUE383|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2020 129

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systemrun smoothly.Hit Ctrl-O,Enter and
Ctrl-Xtosavethose changesand exit.Ifyour
speakers use the mDNS system(also called
Bonjour or Zeroconf), then you can use its
‘.local’ address rather than its IP address.
This gives your control panel abit more
resilience,should your speaker be given a
newIP address. Forexample,weusedthe
Volumio software to turn aPiintoawireless

Apple AirPlayspeaker (seevolumio.org).

The name you give your speaker will also

be its mDNS name,sohttp://kitchen.local

or http://office.local.

Once you’ve updated the autostart file,

entersudo reboot.All going well, the web

interface of your speaker should appear

in fullscreen mode,and with no ugly

mouse pointer.

⬆The Chromium web browser can launch in kiosk mode,which makes foravery neat control panel

Option3:ReusingoldWindowshardware

Repurposing some old Windows hardware

–whether adesktop or alaptop–is

relatively easy.Justget atouchscreen

and install some software.There’s no

coding required, as there are plenty of

bespoke jukebox applications scattered

across the internet. However,only two

are free,and we’renot entirely convinced

by one of those.While MediaMonkey

(seewww.mediamonkey.com)might be

perfectly fine forgeneral music playback

(although we find it rather cluttered), its

Party Mode lacks pizzazz and atruly

finger-friendly interface.

Which leaves us with the very simple

Jukebox Arcade (seewww.extrastrength.

com), which is available through the

Windows Store.The options are few,

and the visual treatment could do with

modernisation, but the controls are suitably

chunkyand the layout is very clear.The

Auto-DJ featureisquitehandy foraone-tap

party mix, and tapping the diagonal-arrows

button sends the app intofullscreen mode.

If you want something with amore

modern aesthetic, Microsoft’s Groove

Music isn’t toobad in fullscreen mode.

However,it’s tooeasy to turn off fullscreen mode,whichspoils its

effectiveness as areliable jukebox alternative.

Given how impressive atouchscreen jukebox can be,it’s not too

surprising to findamini-industry based around jukebox software.

Among the more popular are Albumplayer (seewww.albumplayer.

com,€36.50/yr), ZenPoint DigitalCenter (seewww.zenpoint.org,$39)

and TouchJams (seewww.touchjams.com,£40). These applications

not only look impressive,but theyincorporateall kinds of extras,

from crossfades and music chart integrations to lyrics and karaoke

support. All three of these players have free trial versions.

⬆There are plenty of jukebox applications to choose from, but most aren’t free –Albumplayer (pictured)

costs over £30 ayear