INSTALL SQUEEZECENTER
The secret sauce in our streaming
scheme is SqueezeCenter, the open-
source soft ware that powers the
Squeezebox. Formerly known as SlimServer,
SqueezeCenter extends beyond the basic
chores you’d expect from streaming-box soft -
ware. For starters, it works with more than just
the Squeezebox—you can stream your music
to any PC with a copy of WinAmp, iTunes, or
Windows Media Player installed. The applica-
tion serves as
an impressive
web-based mu-
sic jukebox that
you can use to
navigate your
library and
play virtually
any DRM-free
music format
ever created.
The fi rst
order of busi-
ness is to select
the rig to install
SqueezeCenter
on. Remember
that it will need
to run 24/7, so
you probably
don’t want to
use your
monster gaming rig for a server—unless you
enjoy paying $300 a month for electricity.
We recommend an older laptop or another
rig that sips power.
Once that’s decided, download and
install SqueezeCenter. The installer will
prompt you for the location of your music
fi les and playlists, and then it will scan your
library for supported music fi les, includ-
ing MP3, FLAC, M4A, OGG, and WMA fi les.
The scanning process can take a long time,
especially if you have a massive collection,
so now would be a great time to step away
from the PC and go for a walk.
CONFIGURE SQUEEZECENTER
Before you can stream, you need
to configure SqueezeCenter to ac-
cept connections from other PCs.
The software allows password-free access
to the web interface by default, but only
from the computer it’s installed on. We
have to change that.
Open your web browser and connect
to http://127.0.0.1:9000. Then click the
Settings button in the lower-right corner
of the interface and select the Advanced
tab. Pull down the menu and select the Se-
curity tab. You’ll want to enable password
protection and set up a username and
password for access.
Next, you need to configure the al-
lowed IP addresses. It’s a good idea to give
the PCs on your home network access to
the SqueezeCenter interface so you can
change playlists remotely. To deter-
mine the IP addresses that get access to
SqueezeCenter, you need to find out what
IP range your home network uses. The
easiest way to find your IP on XP or Vista
is to open a command line (Start > Run >
cmd.exe) and type ipconfig. You should
see a list of your active network connec-
tions, but most home users will see one IP
address. To enable access to other comput-
ers, you need to tell SqueezeCenter which
IP addresses are safe by using a wildcard.
Take your IP address and replace the
numbers following the final period with
an * and put that number into Squeeze-
Center’s Allowed IP Addresses field. Then
click Apply.1
2
QUICK TIP
SqueezeCenter
will look for
album art in both album art in both
folder.jpg fi les folder.jpg fi les
and inside the ID3 and inside the ID3
tags themselves. tags themselves.
You can easily
update your
music’s album
art using iTunes’s
Get Album Art
feature or the
excellent Album
Art Downloader
utility (http://
sourceforge.net/
projects/
album-art).