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XM Radio Pulls PC Hardware
Didion Sprague writes "News.com is reporting that XM has decided to "quietly discontinue" the XMPCR -- a tiny USB satellite radio receiver for XM radio. Slashdot readers may remember last week's story about TimeTrax -- homebrewed software that allows XMPCR users to automatically record and tag each song. Now, XMPCR receivers are going for almost $400 on ebay. The RIAA, it should be noted, claims that they weren't "behind the discontinuation of the PCR"."
I always assumed this was why DJ's talked over the intro to tunes, to mess up anyone recording, lord knows they could save their breath because who cares what DJ's have to say when your tune starts to play (you actually want them to shut the fsck up!)
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Can you really call it "going for almost $400" if nobody has actually bid on the item? Sounds more like "profiteers are trying get ridiculous prices like $400"
I don't get what the fuss is all about... So, it let you download songs? Who's in it's right mind is gonna pay 400$ for a crappy radio that let me download songs? Hello? P2P? If you want to get (illegally) free songs, at least do it for FREE? :)
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You then go on to prove that the RIAA is actually behind p2p music sharing and the clampdown on copying and sharing among normally innocent people.
Gad! How arcane!
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
This could be an opportunity for sirius to get into the game and become actual competition. Sometimes its amazing how a niche product can create a halo over an entire product line.
"Kittens give Morbo gas!"
It looks like they pulled the hardware because of the presumed potential for piracy and they might not have had any legal remedies against. However, if the INDUCE Act had been in force, there would have been a law they could have used to outlaw the software. See, Hatch's Hit List #30 - XM Radio to MP3.
i agree
... either way, they chose one that's well supported. there are now plenty of apps out there available to do lots of cool stuff. they even promoted some of the bigger ones (a mac player, etc). some people even modded theirs to get digital output. being able to do that is just damn cool
i had xm in my car through my pioneer deck and an addon xm receiver. i loved it so much, i couldn't wait to get something for my home computer (i've got a car pc here too, by chance). i could have bought some component, but the xmpcr was small, cheap, and worked
plus, it is a very hacker friendly device. xm chose a well-supported by oss usb/serial adapter. they didn't have to. maybe they chose it by price
i now hope they don't start playing the directtv game and start turning off current xmpcr subscribers. that would make them complete pieces of shit to the second power
vodka, straight up, thank you!
The canceling of the PCR is more likely related to the rumored inclusion of a USB port on the soon to be released Skyfi 2. They're not going to shout from the rooftops that they're discontinuing it any more than they advertised the demise of the Roady in favor of the Roady 2. There is no conspiracy here.
XM just needs to suck it up and realize this is the way the game is played. You just have to try to keep it low profile, geek hobbyist only and then tell the RIAA you do not condone or support any such functionality. And let the geeks do their hacking and the rest of the sheeple just won't bother. As long as it requires soldering or breaking open plastic cases, it'll be off the scope and shouldn't attract any more of this RIAA-fodder media attention.
Thank god all the Tivo hacks never attracted this kind of media frenzy. I've been sucking video off my Series 1 Tivo for several years now, it's just been low profile because it requires a moderate amount of technical know-how to install all the requisite software.
That might be any PC. If anyone were to invent an algorithm that can do an "analog checksum" on a sound file (assuming it hasn't been invented already), then all of this functionality would be available to anybody with a computer and a sound card.
Software could continuously record the audio source, cross reference checksums against an online database akin to the freedb CD database, and catalog and save whatever is new. Hook it to an FM radio, Music Choice on digital cable, Muzak, XM, whatever, and you could start accumulating your very own digital music library.
As I said in another post, you can take apart any XM radio, remove the XM module (it's a one-piece SIPP package) add a usb/serial converter and a DAC to it and make your own identical XMPCR device. There is no need to reverse engineer anything at all. The protocol has been documented by people writing software for it. The PC->radio protocol is the same used internally by the microcontrollers in every commercial product out there.
A car pc, do you say? Do you happen to use this program:
p =1 25414
:) I was very excited at the end of last year when XM was really getting into supporting the XMPCR hackers. We were all very nervous that they would turn on us, but they very suprisingly did the opposite. It's highly unfortunate that they seem to have changed their tune.
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http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?
I only ask because I wrote it
Another poster mentioned that the SkyFi 2 radio that is supposedly forthcoming is rumored to have a USB port and be computer controllable. If they are canning the XMPCR for this, then I can't say that I really blame them. Delphi makes the SkyFi and XM probably doesn't want to hurt sales of a new radio by offering a product with similar functionality for a lot less money (ie why would you buy a $150 skyfi2 for your computer when you could buy a $50 xmpcr?) XM makes the money from selilng the module to delphi anyway, so it's not like they are making any less money stopping the distribution of the PCR.
Now here's a tangent
It's also worth noting that if the skyfi 2 USB rumor has truth to it, it might be a good opportunity for them to fix some of the problems with the XMPCR such as the slow (9600bps) communications speed between the radio and the computer. It would also be slick if they added the ability to receive data through the unit - their network is capable of it -- XM weather radios that download and present gobs of data are available, but expensive.
Something like USB (or bluetooth!) + a data cpable SkyFi 2 + A PocketPC could SIGNIFICANTLY enhande their traffic+weather offerings to provide maps, etc. right alongside the broadcast. As XM are currently fighting a war with local broadcast stations who are trying to prevent them from broadcasting "in their markets", this would certainly give them an edge in the fight, as it would turn XM into a 'weather data' service and not simply a radio broadcast. [To go further aside, this is a battle that I'd really like to see XM win.]
Netpliance and the iOpener
The original hack required someone to fabricate a hard-drive bracket and cable, plus solder a 40-pin IDE header to the board. Then they tried to stop it and the real fun began.
Netpliance locked out the BIOS. So people started sharing old BIOS images, then somebody had to open up their unit, pull the flash, reflash it in a programmer, then reassemble.
Netpliance then started epoxying the BIOS into the socket. So then people wrote a QNX flash program.
Netpliance then started sending the Cease and Desist letters. Somebody wrote a webpage with an embedded QNX flash applet. No screwdriver required... just point it's built in web-browser at a URL.
--Rob
its even better: ALL xm chipsets are rs-232 controllable; its just a matter of setting up an interface and then you're all set. also, the "xm direct" has just been released which is basically a receiver that is designed to be controlled via an adapter to any number of xm-ready vehicle radios. it will be very simple to come up with an adapter that turns the xm direct into a clone of the PCR.
XM is 60% owned by ClearChannel anyway. Why would you want to give your money to them?
Buy a Sirius tuner and suck it up. Sirius plays better music too.
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And with MythTv I am hoping that I can grab the music (that much is trivial) and somehow get the text descriptions that come up with the song.
This has been available for quite a while so I don't understand all the fuss overthe leagal speculations. I bet it was a simple "these things are not selling like hotcakes and the support team costs us a bundle" rpoblem.