Since I discovered how I could use cloud services such as file sharing as well as calendar and address book synchronization with ownCloud and a Raspberry Pi from my own home without having my data stored I keep having revolutionary experiences with this low cost, low power hardware that runs Linux. My latest own-use discovery is SqueezePlug.
I've been looking for a web radio solution for quite a while now. While I have an off the shelf web radio with a display in the kitchen I wanted to have a somewhat more embedded and hackable version for the living room that connects to my Hi-Fi set and can be controlled from my PC and mobile phone. There are quite a number of proprietary solutions out there but they come at a relatively high price and remote controlling the devices always seems to go via a cloud service outside my home. Particularly the later part is not my cup of tea.
Then I stumbled over SqueezePlug which is Logitech's Media Server (LMS) and a Streaming Client both running on a Raspberry Pi. With a nice looking and easy to use web interface, I can now remotely control my stereo set over Wi-Fi without the need of an external web service. For additional sofa comfort, there's 'Squeezer', an Android App to switch channels and to control the volume. The source can be found here and is available in the Google Play store here.
At a power cost of around 6 euros a year for the Raspi (!) I can even keep it running 24/7 to compensate for the somewhat long delay before the LMS is available after power-on. So for 40 Euros for the Pi, 10 euros for a nice casing and 10 euros for a USB sound adapter I have a full fledged and remote controllable web radio in the living room. Perfect!
P.S.: You might wonder why an external sound adapter was necessary!? For some strange reason the Raspi's analog line out that works o.k. with other software produced some strange crackling sounds when using with the SqueezePlug software. No problem over HDMI or over an external USB sound card. I tried two different ones and both were recognized by the Raspian Linux OS without the need for installing anything.