Streaming music wirelessly with Apple's Airport Express

Back in April I posted a blurb about my unsuccesful effort to stream music wirelessly in my house. I predicted that one day Apple would create something that solved the problem:

One day, in a future land not far off, I predict that Apple will release the "iPod of Wireless Home Music Devices." It will be an sleek thing that people will crave just for it's award winning design. But it will be easy to use and highly functional. The iTunes music program that you have on your Windows PC or Mac will communicate very nicely with the futuristic gizmo (e.g. it will allow you to create playlists in iTunes that the streaming music device can read easily, and you will be able to control the device from any computer in the house). And it will even let you play protected AAC files that you've downloaded from the iTunes Music Store.

Well, my Airport Express arrived yesterday; I set it up and I'm now living in the world that I predicted. And it is a very nice world indeed.

Reviews of the Airport Express have been mostly positive (see this post which collects several of the reviews). The Wall St. Journal tech reporter Walter Mossberg didn't like the fact that you have to use a computer to control the music, which is to say he thinks that a remote control should have been included. He says he doesn't want to have to traipse over to the computer to control the music. I have some advice for him: 'Dude, get a laptop with built-in Wi-Fi.' Or, if you really need a remote control for your Airport Express, try this.

If you have a wireless network and you want to stream music from your computer to your stereo, and you use iTunes to store your digital music, then you should seriously consider the Airport Express. It was easy to set up and it works great.