“In truth, as yet there isn’t that much Linux software that
really uses mDNS. Apple have made rather more use of it: their
software is called Bonjour, and handles printer setup, music
sharing via iTunes, photo sharing via iPhoto, Skype, iChat, and an
array of other software services. However, in terms of the
technical implementation, avahi is an excellent piece of software,
and capable of doing everything that Bonjour does. It’s been
suggested that the Debian/Ubuntu dev teams are actually trying to
help give mDNS a bit of encouragement with the inclusion of
avahi.“So, what can you do with avahi on your Linux box? One
possibility is to use it for networked music sharing. In
particular, if some of your music is on laptops that appear and
disappear from the network as they are moved around and shut down
or booted up, auto music discovery is very handy. This is the same
tech that Apple uses for iTunes. Since I have a Mac laptop and a
couple of Debian desktops which live in another room, this sounded
promising.”
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