Why CD players will never be dead

Another vote for Steve. Who want's to be bothered with searching through stacks and stacks of Cd's. I have around 2800 Cd's ripped. My music server is not much bigger than a deck of cards and I can control my Squeezeboxes with my iphone. Spinning discs is so 2004.

When cd-quality music is widely available for affordable streaming from the Cloud, then the cd will likely be all but dead. Until then, I suspect the format will hold on longer than some expect. It's also worth considering that cd's can be purchased for 8 dollars while the digital download of the same material can be 50 percent more expensive. The end is certainly near for the shiny disc but reports of its demise may be a tad exaggerated.

The comments like the above make me realize even more how i am still in a backwater.
I do not have any stuff to do all the cool server things with.
Right now i am pretty satisfied with my rig.
Perhaps next year i will start looking into doing a music server.

Elizabeth,

IMHO, most server systems are still a bit wonky...sort of where home wifi was 5 years ago...a tad complex if one isn't computer savy. That is rapidly changing and I suspect most companies will have easy-to-install and reliable systems within 24 months. Anyone who says setting up state-of-the art computer audio is currently as easy as pressing play on a cd player is probably trying to sell something. One day it will be that easy, but not right now.

Steve
I am thinking of going down the path you've outlined. I have heard that Amarra is good for playback but what should I use for ripping to the hard drive on my mac? Is Itunes good enough or do I need a designated ripping program. Also should I rip in AIFF or WAV???

Ray