Aux In For All
Doc Searls mentions "powered speakers in hotel rooms. Just plug in your .mp3 player," as suggested by Buzz Bruggeman.
Nice, but... how quickly would those be stolen?
How 'bout front-mounted Auxiliary audio inputs on the hotel TV? Just a couple of RCA ins, combined with a very common adapter cable (they could supply mini-stereo to dual-RCA on request, I suppose), and you're good to go. How 'bout demanding that as standard car stereo equipment, while we're at it?
And how about adding inputs right next to the headphone outs on the PC speakers sitting on my desktop?
Big RCA jacks too ugly? Then just go with the same mini plug as the outs we're all using, and we can use little symmetrical cables which would lend themselves quite nicely to retractable formats.
The number of adapters I could get rid of...
Comments
I had that very conversation with the manager of a great hotel in Seattle. His take was that if they could inventory the mini-bar and bill you on your credit card, the hotel staff could certainly inspect your room and make sure you hadn't taken the speakers or say a lamp.
I have no clue as to what the right solution is, but I do know that being forced to listen to an awful clocker radio or turn on the TV when I travel with both an iPod and my ThinkPad loaded with music is stupid.
My guess is that it would work at motel 6, but any urban hotel with rates say North of $100 a night should have this kind of delivery system.
You are also dead on correct about cars. I have never understood why their isn't an audio in plug. Baffling, but they again I have ranted in the past that clock radios should have buttons for stations , just like a car radio so that you could set them and just hit the button when you wanted to change stations.
Maybe the same logic prevails, i.e. don't make it work well enough or be good enough to steal!
Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Buzz Bruggeman | December 22, 2004 4:29 PM
Point taken. Real speakers would be preferable to a single 2" TV cone, anyway.
Posted by: Paul Roub | December 23, 2004 7:31 AM