AirLive

AirLive shows the WMU-6500FS, which is a network appliance that can download Bittorrent files for you without the PC running. The system supports 802.11g wireless, with an 802.11n version in the works. Another connection method is USB and 10/100 Ethernet. Not only Bit Torrent is supported, you can also use the system as iTunes file server or as a plain Windows network share. The internal HDD is IDE right now, but a SATA version might be available soon if there is demand from the market for it. In my opinion such external enclosures are a great way to cannibalize your old IDE harddrives when you go for a bigger, faster SATA drive in your main rig, so I'd say IDE is fine.


All this is possible by an integrated Linux that is running from a 2 MB flash chip. This also means that AirLive can customize the product if the market demands additional features. At this time opening the system for user modified firmware is not planned. But after talking to one of their engineers and throwing a couple of ideas at him I am convinced that you will see a large number of additional useful features in the near future. Some of my wishes: Gigabit Ethernet, eSATA, Power-Over-Ethernet Output. The WMU-6500FS will start shipping in the next week at a retail price of around $80.