iServe pieces continue to fall into place

Between Macworld, CES, and the efforts of the open-source community, we continue to move closer to the day when we'll all have an iServe in every pot.

New or recent releases that help:
• Ovolab's Phlink is an answering machine for your Mac with full programmability -- you can get an e-mail with the message anytime someone leaves you a message, or give everyone in your house their own PIN code, with calls being routed by PIN code.
• Perceptive Automation's Indigo interfaces with X10 home automation equipment.
• There's a detailed writeup on using a Linux box as an iTunes server, complete with Rendezvous support.
• There's also TunesAtWork, a Java streaming server you can run on a machine at home that provides a web interface to your iTunes library.
• Finally, on the client side, ElGato has introduced their new EyeHome, which brings your computer's music, photos, movies, and internet bookmarks into the living room, showing them on your TV, and playing them through your stereo.

I notice that this week, I can walk into CompUSA and plop down $99.99 and walk out with a 200-gigabyte drive (after a $70 mail-in rebate). Imagine the price a big manufacturer like Apple would get.