RadioShark Is Vaporware No More

DLWormwood writes "Well, after acquiring a reputation for being 'vaporware of the year' from Wired News, MacCentral is reporting that Griffin Technology's radioSHARK is finally shipping. Now maybe I can finally get some sleep while Dr. Demento is recorded by my Mac late at night..."

Comments

How about a mobile model?

[fildo]

I want this for my car!!!

Re:How about a mobile model?

[a_ghostwheel]

Why parent is funny?

Seriously there are countless times when I missed traffic report on my 107.7 just because I was busy handling situation on the road. And you dont want to miss traffic report in Northern VA during rush hour :).

I would have glady paid for car audio module that would handle both MP3s on CD and provided time-shifting (even 10-30 minutes for live radio will do).

Re:How about a mobile model?

[Crudely_Indecent]

just wait a while, a mobile system will show up sooner or later.

This component particularly interests me because I'm building a mp3/radio/cd/dvd/wardriving system for my truck. My previous option for (only) fm radio was the (discontinued) dlink usb radio. Now I have an option for am/fm and it's entirely USB! (the dlink has usb control and 1/8" stereo jack for output).

My question is, does it run in Linux?

Re:How about a mobile model?

[kommakazi]

This already exists in a way - iBook/PowerBook + radioSHARK

Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[goldspider]

...and the headline even said that it's not Vaporware!

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[prell]

This was never vaporware.. they were just compelled by the RIAA to wait to release the RadioShark until such time that the programming on the radio sucked enough that none of the filthy pirates wanted to jack it.

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[Anonymous Writer]

they were just compelled by the RIAA to wait to release the RadioShark until such time that the programming on the radio sucked enough

Was the programming on the radio better in 2003 than it was now? Somehow that doesn't seem to be the case.

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[Anonymous Coward]

Sadly, it was for me. My favorite raido station just got bought up by a crappy media conglomerate.

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not to be a prune, but radio is getting better thanks to deregulation of the radio industry.

Just tune into the new "even-numbered" stations like 99.2 and 104.8. You'll hear very few commercials, and the programming is of very very high quality.

Re:Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[The Infamous Grimace]

And how many car stereos pick up those even-numbered stations? I've seen one in the last ~10 years.
I think I have an old analogue radio around here somewhere, complete with 8-track that would work, however.

(tig)

...but their site is

[TheOtherAgentM]

Their site is VaporWare. Anyone got a mirror?

Great.

[Guano_Jim]

Now I can finally get more of that ClearChannel advertising goodness on my iPod.

Re:Great.

[connorbd]

Or, put differently...

The RadioSHARK rocks. Too bad most of the good music these days is online... long live StreamRipper...

Speaking of online music, I'd like to plug my new favorite radio station, www.wxrv.com. It's a station out of northeastern Massachusetts -- I listen to it on the web because I can't get the signal on Cape Cod, but it's a great station.

Google has cache...

[jea6]

http://64.233.179.104/search?sourceid=navclient&ie =UTF-8&q=cache%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.griffintechnolog y.com%2Fproducts%2Fradioshark%2F

Act now!

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

Now maybe I can finally get some sleep while Dr. Demento is recorded by my Mac late at night...

At least for the 7-10 days that they're up, before Tandy sues them back into vapor.

--
Free gmail invites

Re:Act now!

[FuzzzyLogik]

Wow... that was a trip back to memory lane. I had a Tandy 1000. i remember playing Outrun on that baby lol woooo... and a game called Vette... i still have the disks around somewhere too hehehe... good stuff.

Re:Act now!

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for letting us know.

P.S. Please keep us up to date on your navel lint, too.

Re:Act now!

[Anonymous Coward]

A few more decades and he'll be the doddering old guy who insists on starting rambling, boring conversations with you on the train.

"I remember playing 'Hunt The Wumpus'. Yes, those were the days..."

Re:Act now!

[Anonymous Coward]

Tandy Corporation no longer exists as such. It was renamed Radioshack Corporation a few years back. I think the original Tandy Leathers company (on which Radioshack was built) is still around. Radioshack Corp still has a whole constellation of satellite companies such as Tandy Repair and Tandy Security that help out their store operations.

Re:Act now!

[Anonymous Coward]

At least for the 7-10 days that they're up, before [Tandy] sues them back into vapor.

You do mean [RadioShack] Corporation right??
Who knows if Len sees this he might cut a deal to sell them in the stores.

Re:Act now!

[b1t r0t]

At least you don't have to wake up at 6AM on a Saturday morning for Dr. Demento like the folks in Austin do. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw this.

Re:Act now!

[Anonymous Coward]

I had the Vette game for my IBM/AT 286. Did you ever get to see it in color? Wooooooh! CGA! Yeah!

time shifting?

[minus_273]

is time shifting the new buzzword for recording?

Re:time shifting?

[ARRRLovin]

http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=121917&t hreshold=1&commentsort=0&tid=176&mode=thread&cid=1 0257234

Maybe?

Re:time shifting?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, I'm time shifting a bunch of Mp3's off the internet.

Re:time shifting?

[Anonymous Coward]

is time shifting the new buzzword for recording?

No, it's the new word for recording then watching at a later time.

Re:time shifting?

[Minwee]

If by "new" you mean "twenty five years old, and in common use when Universal sued Sony over it in 1979", then yes it is a new word.

Re:time shifting?

[DrMindWarp]

is time shifting the new buzzword for recording? AFAIK, the phrase has been in use for over twenty years so it is hardly new.

In many countries (if not all) using a VCR to copy TV programmes off-air is only permitted for the purposes of 'time-shifting', i.e. to watch a programme *once* at a later time. It is clear in this case that the copy is a temporary one that enables the broadcast time to be shifted to a time which is more convenient for viewing.

Of couse, current technology permits 'simultaneous' recording and play-back so that one can time-shift by a period much less than the duration of the broadcast - the phrase has thus taken on a new dimension.

Re:time shifting?

[geoffspear]

Sure, if by "common use" you mean "used by about 5 lawyers and 10 geeks" it was.

Re:time shifting?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I were to move from my house to a new house which is a mile closer to my local radio station, I'd have time shifted my reception of their signal by 1/186,000th of a second.

Re:time shifting?

[Anonymous Coward]

Current death toll from Amnesty International's actions in Nepal: 9000

Off-topic, but do you have a source for this? Google doesn't seem to yield any significant results.

Thanks!

Re:time shifting?

[hackstraw]

is time shifting the new buzzword for recording?

No, it's the new word for recording then watching at a later time.


I believe that the term is refering to the ability to be able to record in realtime, pause, and resume at any point up to "now". Thats slightly different than recording and watching at a later time.

Re:time shifting?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe it refers to what you can do while recording. That is, you can record while playing, and listen to either the recording or the source the while it is still recording. If you're listening to the recording you can forward until it runs into the source and listen to that; and if you're listening to the source you can transparently go backward as if you were listening to the recording in the first place.

Does any of this make sense to anyone? Oh well, I feel better now, anyway...

Re:time shifting?

[NialScorva]

"time shifting" was used in the betamax case to describe using a VCR recording a program so that it could be watched later.

Re:time shifting?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes I do. Yuo have teh ghey!!!1111!111oneoneonetwo ROLOFFLE!

Re:time shifting?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe that the term is refering to the ability to be able to record in realtime, pause, and resume at any point up to "now". Thats slightly different than recording and watching at a later time.

No, the term was coined in the early days of the VCR as a way to state that recording shows wasn't piracy but rather a method of watching the shows (and, ostensibly, the commercials) at a later time.

Re:time shifting?

[heydonms]

sort of, time shifting generally refers to a device capable of simultanious recording and playback. So you can start recording a 1 hour show, come in 10 minutes after it starts and watch/listen to the beginning while it keeps recording the end

hmmmm....

[Anubis350]

radioShark eh? does it eat pirates?

Wow, Dr. Demento.

[Anonymous Coward]

The pastey nerd stereotypw will never die.

(scurries off to go watch Firefly on suped-up Tivo)

Re:Wow, Dr. Demento.

[AvantLegion]

The pastey nerd stereotypw will never die.

(scurries off to go watch Firefly on suped-up Tivo)

Nor the one of the illiterate Slashdotter.

If this turns out to be a dud...

[Anonymous Coward]

...will they say the RadioSHARK has jumped the Fonzi?

Re:If this turns out to be a dud...

[ChuckleBug]

Hmf. Young 'uns...

It's not "the Fonzi." It's "The Fonz," or "Fonzie."

You are not cool. Aayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Re:If this turns out to be a dud...

[Eristone]

...will they say the RadioSHARK has jumped the Fonzi?

Only in Soviet Russia...

What is the demand for this?

[no haters]

I don't know about other people, but for me, the radio is something that helps to pass the time when I'm doing something else. I listen to the radio when I'm driving my car, when I'm cleaning my house, when I'm having dinner, occassionally. Granted, I wish I could catch "Prairie Home Companion" more often, but oftentimes many broadcasts that are one-time appearances like that are available online after the fact anyway. Do people see a strong demand for an item like this? At $70? Only available as hookup to your PC?

Re:What is the demand for this?

[saundo]

There's likely to be a great deal of demand for it. Sporting events broadcast by radio, your favorite DJ's zaniness, or in my case, not being able to listen to Fox Sports Radio because I'm still at work but wanting to catch Steve Czaban's show sometime later.

The "when I'm doing something else" part doesn't change, it just makes it more convenient for me to listen to something interesting when I want to.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[DogDude]

I agree. About all I want to listen to on the radio is Car Talk, and I can download all of those. There's really nothing compelling on the radio any more. Hell, if I want somebody else picking music for me, I use launch.com, which for $36/year, gives me unlimited, CD quality (better than radio), ad-free, DJ-free music in a ton of different formats, or as my own personal station. I think that radio's time has really come and gone.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[Electric Eye]

Every Howard Stern fan with a computer will want this. Seriously. If Griffin is smart, they'll start taking out ads on his show. They'll sell millions of them.

Imus fans are too old and bitter to hook anything up to their computers.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[gsfprez]

I want to listen to Jim Rome.

I want to listen to John and Ken in Los Angeles.

I can do that with this, because otherwise, i cannot listen to the radio while at work.

there are tons of people - esp. TiVo owners - that often move their hand toward the radio knob in their car wanting to jump back and hear what was said... but then realize that they can't.

Now, if the radio shark makes the "ga-bluck, ga-bluck" TiVo button sound - i'll pay even more for it.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[Rude Turnip]

"...the "ga-bluck, ga-bluck" TiVo button sound..."

Not to nitpick, but it's more of a "ba-doop" sound.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[smclean]

I'm not arguing with your point that this device is indeed useful, but as for your question of how else could you listen to John and Ken, you can record radio off of internet streams very easily, and if you know how to use schedulers or shell script you can time shift just as easily.

Now Howard Stern, with his no-internet-streaming BS, is another matter.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[djallstar]

So basically all Dish network would have to do is get licenses for the talk radio stations (probably very costly, but still possible) and make them available.

We currently get Sirius Radio's music channels on our Dish receiver, equipped with PVR.

the RadioShark is an idea whose time has passed.

unless of course they're giving them away :)

j.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[Barlo_Mung_42]

My personal list:
Air America
NPR
Baseball Games that are not televised
I'm sure I'd think of others

Re:What is the demand for this?

[jalano]

I got so tired of waiting for the radioSHARK that I ended up cobbling together the equivalent; I bought a Griffin iMic and hooked it up to a D-LINK USB FM Radio (DSBR-100), now discontinued. It requires both of the USB ports of my powerbook.

I use it to record Car Talk, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me and A Prairie Home Companion each week, which then gets burned as mp3 files to a CD-RW that play in my car's mp3 player. It's great to listen to the NPR weekend programming as part of my daily commute. It's all done with some Applescripts and cron entries in OS X. I also have scripts which change the Energy control panel so the laptop automatically turns on before the broadcast and powers down when the recording is complete.

If I had to replace my setup I'd have to buy the radioSHARK since there are no FM USB tuners that will work with my powerbook. I hope there will be an API so I can have it write mp3 files instead of making a pit-stop through AIFF.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[smcdow]

Do people see a strong demand for an item like this?

I'm blessed to live in Austin, where there is much great radio. I don't get a chance to listen to it as much as I want to. So, yeah, I'd get one of these things. I'd set the thing up to record Blue Monday, Left of the Dial, Eklektikos, and all the rest of the great radio shows that I miss every week.

If you have any stations with really great DJs, you'd want to record their shows just for posterity.

I dunno about the $70, though. I think $45 is a better price break.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[gamgee5273]

I've been chomping at the bit for this for a while.

I live just outside of Detroit and get a lot of Canadian radio stations. A couple of them have shows that I've not heard for years because I have not had the energy to stay up until 3am Sunday - Thursday and work, too (funny about that, isn't it?). When Nivana first hit the Seattle scene (well before "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - we're talking around their first album, "Bleach") I heard them on Canadian radio because, at that time , I was a high school student with nothing to do but stay up until 3am and listen to strong new bands on some obscure radio show out of Vancouver...

I can easily think of five or so weekly shows that my wife and I want to listen to but don't have the ability to due to the nature of a broadcast medium like radio and TV. I adore my TiVo. Now, with this, I can drop these shows on my iPod and listen to them at work or in the car.

That, to me, is a strong reason.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[The Infamous Grimace]

With this device, I don't have to download software I don't want to be able to listen to my favorite public radio show when I miss it.
I spend a lot of time on the road. Radio shows that I like are not always available where I am. I'll be looking at this a bit more closely.

(tig)

Re:What is the demand for this?

[jafac]

It's the timeshifting, stupid. (no offense - just trying to drive a point).

If I drive to work at 9am, but my favorite radio show is on at 7am, while I'm asleep or otherwise occupied, it would be great to be able to record a radio show, dump it to my iPod, and listen in my car. (and skip the goddamned commercials!).

Re:What is the demand for this?

[Strange_Attractor]

Where in the Detroit area? I'm in Oak Park, right by the zoo.

cough...cough...

Er, slightly more on-topic, I'd be interested in this for Stern and NPR. I love the Canadian proximity more for CBC-TV and Canadian comedy.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[ZorbaTHut]

Not quite CD quality - I'm an audio snob, rip my CDs into FLAC, and while Launch is mighty close, it's not quite the same quality level.

Which should come as no surprise.

But it's damn close, and I shell out $36/yr so I can use it at the high quality with no commercial breaks, and it is probably responsible for hundreds of dollars of CD sales from me alone. :)

I just wish it didn't require IE.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[drinkypoo]

To me the real problem with a device like this is that it's not capable of adjusting itself to get a good signal, so it's not going to be useful for weak stations that you have to tune to get in without some additional hardware, like perhaps a servo aiming setup. I do agree that if I'm buying a radio I want it to have its own interface. I might pay $100 for a radio receiver with a USB interface and computer control. I'm not paying $70 for one that I can't tune in from the panel. I don't mind connecting it to an external amplifier in order to actually hear anything, but I do want to be able to see what frequency it's dealing with and change it from the unit, so I can use it without involving my PC.

When I have a steady job that pays halfway decent money I will almost certainly be buying a digital radio. It's the least-hassle way to get good quality new music, as long as you don't mind eating what you're fed (and you can always change the station...) In areas with an abundance of radio stations I've always been able to find something to listen to, though commercials do tend to cheapen that since they tend to play them at the same time for obvious reasons.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[Anonymous Coward]

I have an XMPCR, which allows me to listen to XM satellite radio on my PC (it's modded with optical SPDIF out, which means the sound quality is quite excellent too, not audiophile level, but very good on most stations). Unlike internet streaming audio, I don't have to eat up a large portion of my bandwidth, sloowwwwing down my browsing, email and downloading and generally causing lag. And if some other app starts eating up bandwidth, the stream will drop out. Very annoying.

Anyway, I don't really know why you'd want to do this with FM (well, maybe you can't get up for Howard Stern, or you always miss your favorite NPR show...), but the XM content, music and talk, is quite good. And you can get Open Source software like PCRCommander that will record individual music tracks, timeshift programs, etc. The 10 bucks a month I spend on XM is well, well worth it.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[repetty]

> There's really nothing compelling on the radio any more.

Compelling? That's big word. Obviously you don't listen to KUT in Austin, Texas. The DJ's know music, design their own playlists, an so forth. Several times a week (Friday, at least) they broadcast live performances of excellent quality from a real on-site studio.

You're listening to the wrong shit.

--Richard

Re:What is the demand for this?

[Anonymous Coward]

I take the subway to work. I spend about 60 minutes underground each work day.

This way I can put news and radio shows on my iPod and listen during my commute.

So it certainly does work for me. If I didn't have a long underground commute, then I'd be less inclined.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[malarkey]

http://www.pogoproducts.com/radio_yourway.html

Re:What is the demand for this?

[managerialslime]

If this really works easily and reliably, it can be a road-warrior's dream-come-true.

It seems that when I'm on the road, what is on the radio is the stuff I've already heard or don't want to hear.

In my last job, I commuted 2 1/2 to 3 hours a day for 8 years. Much of that time would have been better spent if I had my favorite NPR shows on CD.

While my current position has a trivial commute, I have had a half dozen driving trips to places 200 to 400 miles away this year alone.

In the last decade, I have listened to more than 100 books-on-tape from the local library, but what pain-in-the butt that bi-weekly trip was.

My last trip was from Philadelphia, PA to Richmond, VA. Know what's on the air in the middle of the night on the interstate in VA? Absolutely nothing.

If the interface is easy and the product works, this is a no-brainer for lots of people.

Re:What is the demand for this?

[maxpublic]

There's really nothing compelling on the radio any more.

Hey, as bad as radio is at least we don't have to listen to those shitty garage bands certain punk-ass pseudo-intellectual college kids go on and on about.

Max

Re:What is the demand for this?

[gamgee5273]

Harper Woods. Basically 94 and 8 Mile. :)

I wish I could get CBC... but DirecTV doesn't see that as a local station. :(

Rhymes with Steve-O

[jea6]

From their vaporized web site:

• What is Time-Shift Recording?
  Simply put, time-shift recording allows you to pause a live broadcast and return to it moments -- or even hours -- later and continue exactly where you left off. (it's a lot like a popular TV accessory whose name we can't say...but rhymes with Steve-O.)

Re:Rhymes with Steve-O

[Anonymous Coward]

Could it be Tivo?

Re:Rhymes with Steve-O

[Anonymous Coward]

Nah, I don't think so

Re:Rhymes with Steve-O

[Anonymous Coward]

What kind of f-d up legal system prevents you from mentioning the name of a commercial product? Here, I'll do it for them, TIVO TIVO TIVO TIVO!!!!

What next, being stoned to death for saying "Jehovah"? *ARGH!*

Re:Rhymes with Steve-O

[Anonymous Coward]

bad dude, don't lie.

Re:Rhymes with Steve-O

[gclef]

Okay, I'll bite: what does Devo have to do with this?

Re:Rhymes with Steve-O

[Anonymous Coward]

Revo?

Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[Bin_jammin]

Seems like too little too late for me and radio. After the corporate buy-outs (Clear Channel, I'm looking at you) the blandification of radio pretty much turned me off from turing radio on. If I could find a station I wanted to listen to, it would probably not entice me to buy another radio to listen to it. If this product had been around 5 years ago, it would have been the latest and greatest. As it is, it's just the lastest. The tech behind it is cool, and it seems like a great product. Commercial free radio would be great, but these days it seems like the songs are the breaks in between the commercials, and not the other way around. Alas radio, you've died at the hands of top 40, and the funeral march will be performed by top selling artists. You sure do look nice in that beige suit though.

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[introverted]

If I could find a station I wanted to listen to, it would probably not entice me to buy another radio to listen to it.

A way to timeshift broadcast radio doesn't have a lot of appeal for me either, but I also enjoy Dr. Demento and none of my local stations carry the show. What I need is a way to timeshift streaming audio. Anyone know of something?

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, since your username is introverted, perhaps you really don't know.
But there has long been an open source project called StreamRipper that does this, and not only does it, but does it better than the various --and there are already quite a few-- commercial products that do the same.
If you have the bandwidth, and hard drive space you can easily run a dozen or more consoles simultaneously all ripping 128Kbps and higher MP3 in near real time around the clock and with ID3 tags. Interestingly though, some of the tags on a certain small but noteable minority of the stations are wrong which makes you think they problably downloaded their "record stacks" off P2P. But since many of them aren't even in the US, it's a complex issue. Ahhh, complexity. That's one thing the RIAA can thank Bush for --making it all very complicated. Dear dear dear.

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[RPI Geek]

Try finding a small independent radio station, or a college radio station. They tend to have good programming and the Top40 music is occasional rather than the rule. One of my favorite radio stations is 102.7FM WEQX (Manchester VT, but I can hear them in the Albany NY area just fine) simply because they don't pump out the same crap over and over.

91.5 WRPI plays a lot of eclectic and oftentimes strange music, and they aren't corporate slaves.

88.3 WVCR "The Saint" plays mostly hit music during peak hours, but other than that, you can hear just about anything: classical, folk, rock and rap sometimes within a few hours, especially if you're up for some sleepless night.

The bottom line is that there are a handful of radio stations that are actually doing very well without ClearChannel's meddling. Try finding one of these because they're actually enjoyable to listen to, and you might find that it's better than listening to your music collection over and over. Or try finding a local NPR station. Or listen to any given AM station, they can be pretty damn funny sometimes, especially when they're trying to be serious.

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[mingrassia]

Alas radio, you've died at the hands of top 40, and the funeral march will be performed by top selling artists.

While I agree with you completely on the Clear Channel issue, I don't think that radio is dead as a medium of entertainment. As was mentioned earlier, radio fills the void when doing inane everyday tasks like driving to work, cleaning the house, etc.

Since the take over of the American airwaves by Clear Channel I have noticed that most people have changed their radio listening habits, not decreased them. For example some have moved to satellite radio or Internet radio while others (like myself) have discovered local NPR stations. The overall shift is away from "canned entertainment" like Clear Channel. Radio is a form of entertainment that fulfills a need and is not going away any time soon.

The above being said, I don't think there is a market for this product. Most radio shows that I listen to can be streamed over the Internet on demand for free if I miss them (gotta love NPR for their show archives).

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[FuzzyBad-Mofo]

Since the take over of the American airwaves by Clear Channel I have noticed that most people have changed their radio listening habits, not decreased them.

I changed my listening habits from local stations to a Rio Karma + RF adapter. All music, all the time. No irritating commercials or inane DJs, and substandard tracks are summarily deleted.

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[connorbd]

So start your own. Get an AM transmitter -- you can cover most of an average-sized town on the 100mW Part 15 AM limit, whereas FM is pretty much Fed-bait if it gets out of your backyard -- and plug it into a computer or MP3 player. It's not hard.

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[connorbd]

My car has a total of fourteen custom-made CD mixes in it, and would have more if my burner was working. Fortunately, eastern MA isn't a total radio wasteland... we only have four ClearChannel stations in Metro Boston.

Re:Things that make me go ho-hummmm

[jav1231]

People give Clear Channel far too much credit. They don't own a monopoly or even the majority of radio stations in the U.S. I think the numbers come to about 1400+ out of a 17K total. People started screaming about how they were dominating and pushing conservatives etc. Here in Atlanta, arguably the most conservative station is on AM. CC did have them simulcasted on FM but pulled it. Believe me, many would love for them to go back to FM. CC owns I think at least 2 of the FM stations but both play music. They piloted one of them for talk and I think it still has some talk programming, but not what you would call typical conservative talk. Largely sports and more tame stuff.

Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[The I Shing]

I can't wait to get a RadioShark, record Coast to Coast A.M. every night, and then listen to the cavalcade of freaks and weirdos on my iPod while driving, walking, exercising and so on.

For internet broadcasts, I'll still be using iRecordMusic to bring shows like This American Life and The Savvy Traveler into my iPod via iTunes on my Mac.

Good thing that 120GB external hard drives are on sale at Office Max this week!

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[meekjt]

The Savvy Traveler is still airing? I thought the show ran out of funding. To bad, it was a great program if it did.

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[The I Shing]

Indeed, that show did end. That's sad news. At least the audio archives are still around, but for how long?

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[Hoi Polloi]

"and then listen to the cavalcade of freaks and weirdos on my iPod while driving, walking, exercising and so on."

What, reading Slashdot isn't enough for you?

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[Kehvarl]

Maybe he means Slashdot is being broadcast live on national radio.

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[Lumpy]

Why??

I have been doing EXACTLY that for over 2 decades with a FM radio Tuner Card in my pc, or one of the serial port radio tuners, or current USB tuners.

The software that came with all those devices allowed you to specify a time to start recording and a channel. convert the WAV to a mp3 using lame when finished and everything is done.

I do not understand why people think the radioshark is anything innovative or special. It's the same-old from 20 years ago and has been available ever cince.

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[pangu]

How about because it does AM as well as FM? There aren't that many tuner cards that do AM.

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[SlamMan]

What USB tuners? I haven't been able to find one.

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[gnuman99]

I can't wait to get a RadioShark, record Coast to Coast A.M. every night, and then listen to the cavalcade of freaks and weirdos on my iPod while driving, walking, exercising and so on.

Already do that. Hook up a regular radio (headphones) to Line-In (or Mic if no Line-In), and run

sox -t ossdsp /dev/dsp /c2cam/`date -I`.gsm

Run that from crontab each night... Then you have all the shows and the radio is like $15 not $70... At least the "server" gets 2% CPU usage at night :)

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[Anonymous Coward]

search google for D-link USB FM radio

did you even try google?

gemtek even has some. I have one from 2001 that came with both MAC and Pc software that would do recording.

Lumpy is right, they have been around forever.

Re:Gettin' in line to buy one of those...

[Lumpy]

Hate to reply to myself but a friend came up with an idea on the drive home...

why buy a really low end PC radio? you can get a $59.00 Akai reciever from most places that has a AM/FM reciever that will kick the rear out of anytihn you can buy for a PC. install LIRC to control it and plug a line out into the PC.

Voila. better reciever, external antenna capability, computer controlled and a end product mp3 that is magnatude better than the best PC/MAC radio tuner device+software ever made.

works on linux and MacOSX.

Misread

[StevenHenderson]

Did anyone else read this as Radio Shack...?

Re:Misread

[Anonymous Coward]

No, shut up.

Re:Misread

[Profane MuthaFucka]

I did. Vaporware? I've had a Radio Shack down the street for years now.

Re:Misread

[Anonymous Coward]

I did too.

Also shipping .....

[sawb]

... are new servers to GriffinTechnology. That was a quick Slashdotting.

Google cache

Version 2.0.......

[ARRRLovin]

.....is said to feature a "fricken laserbeam". When asked to comment on the new feature, Paul Griffin (CEO of Griffin Technologies) said, "Every 'former vaporware of the year' ( he said using finger quotes) device deserves a warm meal." He then raised his ring laden pinky to his lower lip and let out a dasterdly chuckle.

Re:Version 2.0.......

[System.out.println()]

Why wait? Version 1.0 of Griffin's (utterly worthless) iBeam already HAS a frickin laser!

"Every iPod deserves a warm meal."

Re:Version 2.0.......

[AndroidCat]

Damn! I bet that there would be a "fricken lasers" comment within eight top level posts. 13th? Unacceptable!

Exciting!

[Anonymous Coward]

It's just marginally better than the existing FM tuners, I guess.

Apple Section? Why?

[reiggin]

How is this an "Apple Story?" It's clearly PC or Mac, not just a Mac device. What's the reason for putting this in the Apple section of Slashdot?

oh come on!

[Anonymous Coward]

When will people learn on Slashdot to use something like http://www.scs.cs.nyu.edu/coral/ to prevent from /. sites. Come on folks. Common sense.

Re:oh come on!

[Anonymous Coward]

Holy crap that's cool! Why haven't I heard of this before??

Anyway, here's the goods with that technique built-in...

Re:oh come on!

[Anonymous Coward]

And that works so well. Or should I say, not at all currently. Looks like their dns servers are down right now.

It Works On PCs Too...

[DLWormwood]

...though it is a bit expensive ($70) come to think of it. I still plan on getting one, however. My iMac doesn't have an audio-in, and this device appears to send the recorded data over USB. I don't have cable, so I never got a TiVo, but now I can experience something similar. Staying up late for the Funny Five wrecks my return to work on Monday mornings.

I might start listening to more NPR too, since I've had bad luck listening to their Internet broadcasts. I better curb my enthusiasm, I'm starting to sound like a Griffon shill...

Wow, I'm batting 3 for 3 on getting accepted submissions, anybody have a longer streak?

Re:It Works On PCs Too...

[LinuxHam]

I might start listening to more NPR too, since I've had bad luck listening to their Internet broadcasts

Have you checked Shoutcast lately? Remember the old days when, in order to get NPR via streaming MP3 you had to look up a station at current.org that streams in MP3? Well, after the McDonald's hieress died and donated what, a trizillion dollars to NPR, they can be found on Shoutcast with like 56 of 157628 listeners! Your troubled NPR streaming days are over. (Just checked, and they are currently at 0/96669 listeners at 56k.)

Come on, people, get on those streams! Let's show their appreciation for this effort. No more WUGA, WPSU, WRDU, or WDET for me.

Re:It Works On PCs Too...

[Rude Turnip]

"My iMac doesn't have an audio-in,..."

Griffin also makes the iMic, which gives you audio-in over USB. They're relatively cheap and come with software (Mac&PC) for converting vinyl/casettes to MP3.

Re:It Works On PCs Too...

[stankyho]

How can I get the NPR stream in iTunes?

Re:It Works On PCs Too...

[Anonymous Coward]

taying up late for the Funny Five

Man, I used to listen to Dr. Demento all the time, but the station they were on in Portland, OR (many many many years ago) died through numerous buyouts. Where the heck are you that you can still get it? And anyone know if there's a station playing it in Portland?

Re:It Works On PCs Too...

[david_reese]

How can I get the NPR stream in iTunes?

Well, NPR already exists in iTunes' radio section under public.

But if you want to use the streams from shoutcast, just click the "Tune in"... unless iTunes isn't the default for .pls... in which case, you can copy the link, then "advanced -> open stream" in iTunes. It should just play, then.

Re:It Works On PCs Too...

[sessamoid]

I might start listening to more NPR too, since I've had bad luck listening to their Internet broadcasts.

Check out KCRWs webcasts on iTunes. I believe they're also listed on Shoutcast, but in any case you can get to the webcast from their web site at http://www.kcrw.com . They broadcast three streams:

1) Simulcast of the radio station
2) All music
3) All news

Best public radio station I've ever listened to of the major cities I've lived in, including Dallas, Austin, Tampa Bay, SF, and now LA.

Re:It Works On PCs Too...

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

The directions on the iMic are the most counterintuitive things I've ever seen on any computer product. And the directions that come with the device are useless. You have to go to their website and dig around to find out how to use it.

I wanted to record something through my mic. So I plugged the microphone into the input with the microphone picture above it. Then I flipped the switch away from the speaker and towards the microphone, and nothing recorded.

After digging through the FAQ, I finally discovered that I have to flip the switch to the SPEAKER to get the MICROPHONE to work. Makes perfect sense, doesn't it?

I've tried to convert a tape to digital with it, also, and had horrible sound quality. Might be my tape deck, so I'll have to give it another shot sometime...

-Augie

More expensive

[MacGod]

It's cool to see this finally released. Sadly, they upped the price. Originally it was supposed to be $50US, but Griffin's site now lists it as $70. Does inflation apply to products before they actually exist?

Re:More expensive

[Chairboy]

Actually, that's not entirely accurate. Please see this archive of the earliest RadioShark page, with the price listed:

http://web.archive.org/web/20040110095549/www.gr if fintechnology.com/products/radioshark/

text, cause the site is TOAST

[mrhandstand]

The radio airwaves will never be safe again. The RadioSHARK adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC -- but that's just the beginning.

The RadioSHARK can record any AM or FM radio broadcast in real time. You can also program it to record a scheduled show, or to 'pause' live radio so you can return right where you left off moments or even hours before (See 'What is Time-Shift Recording?' sidebar above).

RadioSHARK includes a full-featured application that controls all radio and recording functions. Favorite station presets can be set with the click of a mouse, and new stations can be scanned and tuned with ease. The application is also where you program Time-Shift Recording, either to take a break without missing any of a show or to record your favorite broadcast to listen to later.

The RadioSHARK connects to and is powered by USB. The fin-shaped device acts as an antenna and can be positioned for best reception and recording. Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the go.

RadioSHARK gives you control of how and when you listen to your favorite radio shows. Dive in today and take a bite out of the airwaves!

Finally!

[gamlidek]

Now if only my car radio could have a cool tivo-like feature. I've often been listening to something on NPR or whatever and found myself lost in a thought for am oment only to snap back to reality missing some detail... oh man-o-man. How cool would that be? Although, it would be weird driving and constantly 'boop'ing back to listen to things you missed and I imagine that would only add to the number of bad drivers... or maybe add it to the stearing wheel...

Re:Finally!

[killjoe]

For me it would be cool for me to record the songname and the artists. I listen to a lot of collage radio and I hear a great song but I have to leave the car before I know what it is.

Re:Finally!

[fracai]

Remind me never to drive near you when you're "lost in a thought" before you "snap back to reality". I'm afraid it might lead to me "missing [being alive]".

Re:Finally!

[gamlidek]

;-) Yeah, no kidding, right? I should have written that more clearly.

Re:Finally!

[fracai]

hehe, sometimes I myself wonder how I get from point A to B. I can't wait for those robot cars.

Re:Finally!

[Gondola]

Well, when I drive, I'm concentrating on driving. The radio is always secondary. So if something happens while I'm driving that requires more attention (ie, some jackass cuts me off, I start ranting about the people who don't use their fucking turn signals, loud screeches, looking for a street sign, etc.) then the radio fades out of perception until my "available CPU" is back down to normal.

Yuck

[bentfork]

"Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the go."

AIFF? thats so 1994

I would rather have one of these opensource firmware mp3 player w/ radio reception / transmission

Re:Yuck

[Shaleh]

I have one. Great player. However the radio was a huge disappointment. I get the local NPR affiliate but not my favorite local music station. General poor reception from the FM.

Re:Yuck

[Anonymous Coward]

So, you'd rather have a lossily-compressed MP3 file than an uncompressed AIFF file? And note that it can easily be encoded to AAC, which (as an MP4-based encoding) is hardly "so 1994." Only thing wrong is it's not OS.

Re:Yuck

[bentfork]

Poor FM reception? that is too bad. Does it use the headphones as a antenna? If not it shouldn't be too hard to add a wire.

Any experience with the FM transmitter?

Re:Yuck

[bentfork]

I like AAC, but we are talking about radio here. I assume a 64kb mp3 encoding would be overkill for standard FM reception.

How is this different...

[hyaline_sky]

from Audio Hijack?

Re:How is this different...

[DLWormwood]

This device is a built-in tuner that can communicate with the computer it's hooked up to. Audio Hijack would require a radio attached to audio-in, and Hijack wouldn't be able to tune a channel or shut the radio off when not in use.

Since my iMac doesn't have an audio-in, and my only radio's an analog tuner, this thing appears to be right up my alley. I hope... (the price hike's bummer though.)

Re:How is this different...

[Anonymous Coward]

Are there even radio stations that don't have web feeds? Maybe I'm taking my broadband connection for granted, but broadband and Audio HiJack seem like a better deal.

From vaporware to

[AchilleTalon]

vaporcomments passing thru vaporsite.

Get us a smoke and pass along...

Hrm...

[ReverendHoss]

Personally, I'd rather just pay Dr. Demento a couple bucks a month for an MP3 (sigh, fine, AAC, whatever) subscription to his program.

Re:Hrm...

[kkovach]

I'd like to pay people for MP3s of their shows as well. Unfortunately, this is not always an option.

I have a subscription to Jim Rome's online service. However, they do not allow you to take it with you so I can listen to it at work. I have to go home and sit infront of my PC and listen to it. I wish I could just take an mp3 into work with me the day after. Unfortuantely, it's only streamed.

When this is the case, radioSHARK sounds like a good alternative.

While we're at it. Can anyone suggest a free stream ripping app? I'd be happy to keep paying Jim Rome for the online service, and just rip the show and take it into work.

- Kevin

The real question is...

[Anonymous Coward]

Does it come with a laser on it's head (presumably to fend off RIAA lawyers)? :)

Re:The real question is...

[Anonymous Writer]

Does it come with a laser on it's head

or rather a friggin' laser.

Re:The real question is...

[Anonymous Coward]

No, but it is ill-tempered.

From the site

[slashrogue]

radioSHARK
AM/FM Radio with Time Shift Recording
[ Now Shipping ]

The radio airwaves will never be safe again. The RadioSHARK adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC -- but that's just the beginning.

The RadioSHARK can record any AM or FM radio broadcast in real time. You can also program it to record a scheduled show, or to 'pause' live radio so you can return right where you left off moments or even hours before (See 'What is Time-Shift Recording?' sidebar above).

RadioSHARK includes a full-featured application that controls all radio and recording functions. Favorite station presets can be set with the click of a mouse, and new stations can be scanned and tuned with ease. The application is also where you program Time-Shift Recording, either to take a break without missing any of a show or to record your favorite broadcast to listen to later.

The RadioSHARK connects to and is powered by USB. The fin-shaped device acts as an antenna and can be positioned for best reception and recording. Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the go.

RadioSHARK gives you control of how and when you listen to your favorite radio shows. Dive in today and take a bite out of the airwaves!

What is Time-Shift Recording?
Simply put, time-shift recording allows you to pause a live broadcast and return to it moments -- or even hours -- later and continue exactly where you left off. (it's a lot like a popular TV accessory whose name we can't say...but rhymes with Steve-O.)

radioSHARK also allows you to start and stop recording at any time while you are listening, and lets you schedule recording so you won't miss your favorite radio show.

$69.99

Re:From the site

[dorkino]

yes but you cannot save the recordings to your computer. it will queue for a certain amount of time, basically affording you tivo-like pausing / replaying of live broadcasts.
however, you cannot "copy off" these broadcasts and play them at a later date.

all this thing is, is a radio with a pause button.

Re:From the site

[Anonymous Coward]

From the article posted right above The fin-shaped device acts as an antenna and can be positioned for best reception and recording. Any recorded broadcast can be transferred to an iPod or any other AIFF-compatible digital music player to replay on the go. Sounds like it records to AIFF to me.

Here ya go

[DigiitalWiz]

http://www.griffintechnology.com.nyud.net:8090/pro ducts/radioshark/

wow I thought it said...

[dcstimm]

Wow I thought it said RadioShack was no more! I thought apple took them over or something, I hate products that have common names with big companies.

Re:wow I thought it said...

[dcstimm]

why is this troll?

Re: My Bad

[DLWormwood]

How is this an "Apple Story?"

Mostly historical reasons, this product had most of it's buzz a year or so ago in the Mac blogspace. Also, the company has mostly focused it's marketing and products to Macs in particular. I've added a comment with some more info about the device below, since the radioSHARK page got /.'ed quickly.

The only other category that this would have fit under was the general "Index," but my submission seemed too much like an ad to me to warrant the front page. (Yes, I've been hanging around kuro5hin too long...)

Wait a minute....

[v_1matst]

from the Q&A section:

What type of recording can I do with radioSHARK?
With the radioSHARK, you can record what you are listening to at the moment by selecting record, or you can set the radioSHARK to record at a specific date and time. The radioSHARK also allows time-shift recording to "pause" live radio, although this recording cannot be saved as a file.

errr... so you can't save the recording? It's just paused for a long time? WTF? I'm sure you'll be able to get the recorded file if you try but it won't be supported by the software? I guess this means not being able to put on an iPod, burn to CD, etc... This device just got a lot less appealing.

Re:Wait a minute....

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't panic. Depending on what you direct the software to do, it will:
- record live audio (you're listening, you want a copy, press Record)
- record live audio as scheduled (like a VCR, set the time & date of your show)
Either of those methods produces a saved audio file. You can do whatever you want with this file.

The last mode is:
- "pause live radio" which accumulates a buffer of audio on the HD as the live radio progresses. When you unpause, you are listening to the old end of the buffer while the software continues to record the live end. This buffer can't be saved via the provided software, simply because that would be confusing -- you asked for Pause, not Record. If you'd wanted Record, you would have said so.

Re:Wait a minute....

[kgarcia]

errr... so you can't save the recording? It's just paused for a long time? WTF? I'm sure you'll be able to get the recorded file if you try but it won't be supported by the software? I guess this means not being able to put on an iPod, burn to CD, etc... This device just got a lot less appealing.

No. Let's try to read this a second time:

With the radioSHARK, you can record what you are listening to at the moment by selecting record, or you can set the radioSHARK to record at a specific date and time. The radioSHARK also allows time-shift recording to "pause" live radio, although this recording [The "Paused" content] cannot be saved as a file.

In other words, you can record, or you can pause, but you can't pause AND record.

Re:Wait a minute....

[wvitXpert]

Mod Parent up! I was just about to put my credit card back in my wallet until I read this. :)

Re:Wait a minute....

[v_1matst]

They should fix the text on the site then... It's a little misleading. After I read it again I realized that I missed the "also".

Why is this interesting?

[Redshado]

For $70 dollars I can buy a Hauppage Win-TV FM, $10 dollars more I can add Hauppage's radio time-shifting software. So, for a net cost of $10 dollars more I can have all the benefits of the RadioShark and a TiVo, or even better, run it under Linux and MythTV/MythRadio and have it all for the same cost.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[v_1matst]

yea, but your solution isn't as easy as buying this device and plugging it into a USB port. People generally don't want to go through the hassle of adding a card and running linux and setting up mythWhatever. They obviously have a target market that isn't you.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[LittleLebowskiUrbanA]

I'd say the interesting part is that this thing is available for a Mac unlike your solution.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[mrhandstand]

Cause this one does AM too. My wife like AM radio. (Don't know why but she does and I love her, so that's important.)

Re:Why is this interesting?

[M.C. Hampster]

You don't get AM, which is what I would imagine a lot of this would be used for (think talk radio).

My biggest complaint is it doesn't do MP3 (only AIFF). I have a portable CD player that does MP3's on CD, which is where I would be transferring this too. I guess I could transcode, but since AM radio already has such poor quality, I'm not sure I would want to do that.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[Jagasian]

Hauppauge sells a USB version of their WinTV line that has TV and FM radio. This Radioshark looks like yet another overhyped, overpriced Mac product.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[DLWormwood]

My biggest complaint is it doesn't do MP3 (only AIFF). I have a portable CD player that does MP3's on CD, which is where I would be transferring this too. I guess I could transcode, but since AM radio already has such poor quality, I'm not sure I would want to do that.

AIFF is a container format, not a compression scheme. The "poor quality" of AM radio is probably why Griffin didn't bother to include a MP3 compressor in the device. Even at full 44.1/16 CD-level sampling, audio data can easily move across USB 1.1. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the stream is only 22.05/16 to save bandwidth.

Converting AIFF to MP3, AAC, or WMV isn't transcoding if the AIFF data is lossless. The only lossy compression scheme that AIFF is spec'ed to support is IMA 4:1, but Griffin isn't likely to use that since the Apple and Microsoft playback implementations of IMA weren't compatible with each other. (Byte order issues, I've read.)

Re:Why is this interesting?

[blamanj]

There's a Hauppage subsidiary called Eskape Labs that does Mac versions of their products.

The myTV/fm combo TV and FM tuner is available from CompUSA for about $140.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[Anonymous Coward]

Not only that but you can get an ATI All-in-Wonder such as the 9600XT
http://www.ati.com/products/radeon9600/aiw9600xt/f eatures.html

It features the time shifting and scheduling of radio recordings and you can save them in MP3 format.

Not to mention it is a fairly decent video card and has TV tuning abilities as well.

As I can see it, the only possible advantage the RadioShark might have is AM tuning, for many people that isn't an issue though.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[Anonymous Coward]

And like all things Mac...it's more expensive.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[M.C. Hampster]

Converting AIFF to MP3, AAC, or WMV isn't transcoding if the AIFF data is lossless. The only lossy compression scheme that AIFF is spec'ed to support is IMA 4:1, but Griffin isn't likely to use that since the Apple and Microsoft playback implementations of IMA weren't compatible with each other. (Byte order issues, I've read.)

In my mind I was thinking AAC, not AIFF. I didn't know anything about the AIFF format. Thanks for the info!

Re:Why is this interesting?

[DLWormwood]

I didn't know anything about the AIFF format.

Which, sadly, was the problem with it. AIFF is a much more flexible lossless storage format that WAV; it's parly decended from Electronic Art's original IFF format on the Amiga, and later helped influence the file formats for QuickTime and MPEG-4. However, only Apple ever used AIFF to any great degree, even though it was supposedly an open spec. Since Apple was during its "beleaguered" period when AIFF was introduced by them, nobody wanted to adopt the same format that Apple was backing.

Re:Why is this interesting?

[commodoresloat]

Exactly! Why spend $70 for something you basically plug in and use, when you can spend more money, and then spend 3 days reading HOWTOs and compiling things before realizing that this solution won't work on your Mac and you missed the show you wanted to record anyway?

Re:Why is this interesting?

[drinkypoo]

Another point is that it's easy (relatively speaking) to make a computer control your radio, if it has infrared remote capability. There are assorted learning remote programs and hardware devices for computers. A little tiny bit of scripting and some atjobs and bingo, you're recording radio. (Personally I'd want to do it on some Unix and use at and cron for one time and repeating recording jobs...) This would be easy to do with either audio or video. Just get a device whose remote has the option to enter a frequency directly, and to select a band as well.

Does that also include...

[_PimpDaddy7_]

Duke Nukem 3???

Radio does not equal Music.

[iceperson]

Some people actually listen to sporting events, local news, commentary, etc... Actually... that's all I use my radio for anymore, if I'm going to listen to music I'll play my own thank you.

Re:Apple Section? Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

At $70 it is a hideously overpriced piece of hardware. Yep, I'd put that in the Apple section.

Shlashdotted already...

[Pig Hogger]

Geee! If slashdotters get to read the article, where is the world going to????

the last time I listened to the radio

[WormholeFiend]

I was annoyed by the fact that the stupid DJ chatter overlapped the beginning and/or the end of the songs I really liked.

Do they do this on purpose to foil attempts at recording/reproduction?

Re:the last time I listened to the radio

[tepples]

I've read rumors that many commercial FM radio stations' licenses with ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC do in fact require DJs to talk over the music so as not to jeopardize member publishers' share of record sales. Can anybody reading this who worked in commercial FM radio confirm or deny this rumor?

Re:the last time I listened to the radio

[kfg]

Do they do this on purpose to foil attempts at recording/reproduction?

Yes.

KFG

Re:the last time I listened to the radio

[kalidasa]

You haven't noticed that the music from commercials and shows overlap one another on TV yet, have you?

Re:the last time I listened to the radio

[WormholeFiend]

I don't watch TV.

awesome

[Electric Eye]

This could be very handy for recording Howard Stern every day. I guess the problem is, when the hell do you have time to listen to all your recordings when you are married and actually have a job. :)

Re:awesome

[Anonymous Coward]

when the hell do you have time to listen to all your recordings when you are married and actually have a job. :)

During the hour commute between the house you could afford, and the job you had to take to afford it.

Re:awesome

[Electric Eye]

I used to have that. But my commute is now only 15 minutes. :)

Linux drivers

[Eric Smith]

Are there Linux drivers? If not, is the company willing to provide a spec for the USB commands to control it, so that a Linux driver can be written?

Re:Linux drivers

[Pr3d4t0r]

We don't have any Linux drivers, but I'm sure the spec will be made public in time. We made the PowerMate specs public after all.

Re:Linux drivers

[Anonymous Coward]

arent there linux drivers... so tired of that one. you go out and develop a product, market it, take the financial risk. come back. see if you still need to ask that question.

Re:Linux drivers

[Eric Smith]

Um, what exactly is wrong with asking about Linux drivers? It seems like a perfectly reasonable request. I was not in any way criticizing the product or the company.

Re:Linux drivers

[Eric Smith]

Within minutes of posting this request, an employee of the company let me know that there will be an SDK for software developers, probably available within the next week. He also said that the device is easy to control using HID and Audio class drivers, so that a specific Linux driver is probably not necessary. Just an application. I'll order a RadioSHARK and try to write one.

I want a Radio "Controlled" Shark...

[Dareth]

This would be the perfect thing for the beach.

The only thing that would make it better, NO NOT FRICKEN LASERS, would be if it could have waterproof speakers and play the Jaws theme music while it swims around.

How is this new?

[rbowen]

A walkman, an audio cable, and some cronjobs. I've been doing this for years.

You need better radio stations.

[antizeus]

I'm fortunate enough to live in an area with a good number of great noncommercial radio stations (my favorite being KFJC). These stations offer actual programs with different styles of music (or talk) that you typically won't find on the bland and offensively inoffensive corporate stations.

If, for example, I love bluegrass, but I'm not near a radio when a good bluegrass show is on, then it would be nice if I had a device that could record the program for later enjoyment. This is an issue for me because the radio reception in my office is terrible.

I'm not sure about this particular product though. I haven't read the fucking article yet.

Re:Apple Section? Why?

[Zebbers]

Look at the picture. It's much too curvey to work with a regular pc. With those lines, it must be applelicious.

How is this better?

[Ced_Ex]

Couldn't all the features mentioned for the Radioshark be duplicated using an old radio with a recordable tape deck?

Record real time radio shows (hit rec and play at the same time for the cassette tape)

Play back when you want (hit play)

Save (take the cassette tape out)

Plus, with a cassette recorder, it's portable.

Re:How is this better?

[The I Shing]

The tape deck and radio combo, which I remember so fondly from my youth (oh, those uncensored Canadian radio broadcasts... sigh...) requires the user to actually be there to press the buttons.

This RadioShark thingy will change the station and press the button for you while you're away, as far as I can tell.

Re:How is this better?

[tepples]

Start recording at a given time while you're out.

Yes, a simple stereo system from a RadioShack store can time-shift radio, but it appears that advantages of the 'Shark (with an R) may include 1. simultaneous recording and playback and 2. timer programmability similar to that of a VCR.

Plus, with a cassette recorder, it's portable.

iPod.

Re:How is this better?

[Ced_Ex]

But iPod is an Apple product.

My elitism doesn't allow me to go there.

Only took 18 months and a $20 increase in price...

[Musicfan]

It's only been what, like a year and a half since this thing was announced and won a Best Of Show award at Macworld NY (CreativePro, whatever). Glad to see they finally got it out the door - by axing features too. No internet recording? If you pre-ordered this, man have you gotten the screw.

I'll be sticking with Audio Hijack Pro and my old D-Link radio. It's a cheaper combination, and it does much more.

Re: We Must Do It For... The Chillllldrennnn

[DLWormwood]

Personally, I'd rather just pay Dr. Demento a couple bucks a month for an ... subscription to his program.

So would I, but my understanding is that the trial balloon Brian Hansen floated as part of a survey never materialized into an actual service. XM and the rare streaming radio station that's always overcrowded are the only other options for listening to Dr. D anymore. Most stations that play it over broadcast put it in wonky time slots to keep it away from "impressionable" little minds, and the stations are too far apart to have more than one opportunity a week to catch his show.

D-Link DSB-R100 reborn

[fruity_pebbles]

D-Link's USB FM radio I bought one of these 5 or 6 years ago. It worked OK, but the software was pretty bad.

is time shifting the new buzzword for recording?

[dpilot]

Just in time for the Induce Act, and for some sort of chicanery to reverse the Betamax Decision.

Has RadioShark lined itself up to be the first victim?

Dead is Better

[Walrus99]

I'd rather download another Grateful Dead show and listen to it on my iTunes or iPod. What is on the radio that I want to listen to? Like recoreded music, radio is dead. The new wave is to download music from bands that want you to listen to their music and come to their shows. Metallica is not afraid that you will download their music, they are afraid that you wont given the choice of all the bands that have their music for free on the net. The music buisness has missed the boat on this one and no piece of legislation is going to change that (see previous story).

Re:Dead is Better

[Anonymous Coward]

Music? I listen for "Car Talk"!

A Tivo for your radio

[fiannaFailMan]

Think of it as a Tivo for your radio. I'd be surprised if a product with this sort of functionality hadn't already been invented before, the ability to set a device to begin recording at a certain time has been around since VHS and Betamax was invented. It also strikes me as a bit of a novelty not having to have an internet connection to get content.

Up to now I've been content to use the BBC's website to hear their radio on demand, but now I can have the joys of NPR, Free Speech Radio, Air America etc. whenever it's convenient. I want one of these!

Re:A Tivo for your radio

[connorbd]

Actually such a thing does exist already -- check out the C. Crane Versacorder (tape) and Radio YourWay (TiVo-like MP3 recorder) from ccrane.com. They're marketed to people who buy the CCRadioPlus but they'll work with anything with a headphone jack, I believe.

(The CCRadioPlus in and of itself rocks technically, but it's limited to pretty much the same old crap programming, only from further away. It's marketed as the ultimate radio for AM talk.)

Sharks of another kind

[tepples]

But does your local RadioShack store sell programmable time-shifting equipment for FM radio?

I smell trademark infringement lawsuit. The makers of the RadioSHARK receiver will have to answer to sharks of another kind.

Re:Sharks of another kind

[introverted]

I smell trademark infringement lawsuit. The makers of the RadioSHARK receiver will have to answer to sharks of another kind.

Seems rather unlikely. The name "RadioShack" is undoubtedly trademarked. But it's difficult to imagine that the Tandy Corporation would have trademarked the derogatory nickname. That would be somewhat akin to me saying, "Hey! You can't call him a doofus! That label's reserved for when people want to insult me."

Why would anyone want to spend money defending something like that?

Off topic but try yes.net

[rdunnell]

http://www.yes.net has information from a lot of major markets. If you know the general time and station you can often find the song/artist there.

Might not apply to college radio though, unless it was a big college station.

RadioShack

[schnits0r]

Am I the only person who read that as RadioShack is no longer vaporware? You have no idea how confused I felt.

Is it new?

[dabadab]

Correct me if I am wrong, but there are tuner cards since I don't know when that are perfectly capable receiving radio (like my Miro PC TV Pro).
Of course, none of them is shark-fin shaped, but does it really matter?

Re:Apple Section? Why?

[mesach]

From the FAQ Section:
"What file format does radioSHARK use to save recordings?

The radioSHARK will record both AAC and AIFF files on the Mac. You can select which one you would like in the radioSHARK application."

I tried to look for a definitive answer but i believe it is a MAC ONLY product at this time, hardware wise you might be able to plug it into a PC but software wise i think they only have a Mac version at the moment. PLEASE correct me if I am wrong, I would like to know if I can use this on my PC.

WRPI, Troy

[SteveM]

91.5 WRPI plays a lot of eclectic and oftentimes strange music, and they aren't corporate slaves.

Wow, that takes me back and makes me smile.

Long ago and far away I used to play strange music on WRPI.

SteveM

BS Physics '82

Re:WRPI, Troy

[No-op]

Hear Hear! hats off to all our strange and glorious brothers (and sisters) who made WRPI the greatness that it is.

I still remember with a tear in my eye listening to Jim spin 2 hours of beautiful hardcore on "Suspect Device". I think it was Thursday afternoons in the mid-90's.

I went to RPI just because of him! (and the scholarship! but mostly him!)

Shortwave

[Hoi Polloi]

Too bad they don't have a version of it that does shortwave (aka Worldband) radio also. Then you could record shows from, say, Australia at 3AM your time or if you were a HAM you could set it to record a period when someone you are waiting for to transmit.

Re:Shortwave

[chevyorange]

I agree! I hate getting up at 4AM local to hear Radio New Zealand International.

Re:Shortwave

[iCat]

You could always plug a SW radio into the headphones jack on your Mac then use Rogue Amoebas Audio Hijack Pro to record the program.

Re:Shortwave

[Hoi Polloi]

Actually I used to practice my german by listening to radio Deutsche Welle.

now I can get....

[nusratt]

AfroPop Wodrldwide and Jim Svejda

kewl

It's not too confusing for TiVO

[llevity]

Tivo in general has gotten pretty good marks on user friendlyness, and with it, you can pause, and then later record, as far back as the buffer goes.

Dr. Demento station(s)?

[OYAHHH]

I,

Used to enjoy Dr. Demento but alas I'm not as patient any more and find myself very rarely surfing radio stations.

If you go to the Dr. Demento website they specifically state that their "network" will not allow them to just list the stations that carry the show.

Anybody know what station Dr. Demento is played on in the San Jose, CA market? Would others in other markets like to chime also?

How stupid of a marketer do you have to be to not tell your customer where they can get the product. It leaves me scratching a big hole in my head.

TIA

Re:Dr. Demento station(s)?

[engywook]

Um, how about Demento Station List? Granted, it's still one step removed, but they claim, "Unfortunately we cannot provide a specific list of stations that actually air our show, due to the policy of the network that carries our program." They seem to provide links to station finders, though.

Re:Dr. Demento station(s)?

[Anonymous Coward]

alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.dr_demento

Despite living in a major metropolitan area I can't find Dr. D. on any station within range, which irritates me somewhat.

Re: "time shifting" - currently I run cables across the living room to my iMic (hey, Griffin!) and use cron to launch an AppleScript which tells Audio Recorder to start recording. I have no channel control and I have to leave the stereo on, but it suffices for occasional recording.

With my TiVo I time-shift shows like crazy, much more than I'd ever do with a VCR. A radio version could make radio time-shifting equally painless.

Wow... not!

[Anita Coney]

My WinFast TV2000 XP tuner card has been able to do that for years now. It also cost 20 dollars less AND is also a TV card!

But it doesn't look like a shark, and to Mac-heads, appearance is more important than utility.

Re:Wow... not!

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, most Mac-heads will appreciate the fact that it functions with a mac system, unlike the WinFast tuner card.

Re:Wow... not!

[Anita Coney]

Wow, I wish I could use a computer platform where I'd have to wait years, pay more, and get less features!!! Sign me up!

Re:Wow... not!

[Anonymous Coward]

Can your tuner card tune in AM stations? Most of the radio cards I've seen are for FM only and there's nothing I want to record on FM.

Re:Wow... not!

[chevyorange]

I've been doing it for FREE on my Mac since 1998 when I started caring. I haven't waited for anything, this just makes it easier.

Where was this 10 years ago?

[bugg]

This would have been cool, but since ClearChannel and Infinity bought up all of the stations, I swear, turning in any given radio station is like listening to a time-shifted version of any other radio station on the dial.

Wake me up next time there's diversity on the dial, and I'll get one of these.

I'm sorry, but isn't this just...

[kirk444]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a plain AM/FM radio that happens to have a USB cable attached to it. Couldn't this same thing be acheived with very simple (probably readily available) software and any AM/FM radio with a headphone jack? Moreover, I have a TV tuner that happens to come with a FM tuner as well, it performs all the functions of this griffin unit, and it cost me 50 dollars over a year ago. (Plus it came with a remote... and a TV tuner...) I dunno, this just seems like a complete and utter waste of money, I don't understand why people are excited about it.

One question...

[BaltikaTroika]

Will it be compatible with the Phantom?

BaltikaTroika

Re:Apple Section? Why?

[pertinax18]

Umm I guess you didn't search that far because this gem is the first paragraph on the page linked from the /. article.

"The radio airwaves will never be safe again. The RadioSHARK adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC -- but that's just the beginning."

Time shift online broadcasts?

[Mr. Cancelled]

The Doctor Demento comment got me all nostalgic as Mr. Demento's no longer broadcast in my area.

So my 1st thought was "Maybe there's a netcaster for his show", but when I checked out the manufacturer's site, there's no mention of Net broadcast capabilities.

Does anyone know if it supports such things?

For that matter, I couldn't see whether it supports coax hookups or not. $70.00 is pretty expensive for an antenna-only device, particularly when a large portion of their target audience can probably get better reception over their cable line than via a stand alone antenna.

Now if I could record off my broadband, and via an analogue/coax input, the price might be justified... But I'm not going to pay that much to just record a radio station when I'm not home. I can already do that via a simple line out from my stereo into the Mac, and a scheduled audio recording job.

I want Short Wave!!!

[alfredo]

Of course I can always plug in my short wave radio to my computer and listen through the speakers.

No you haven't

[A nonymous Coward]

This thing can select stations under program control. You got a robotic arm under cron control?

Not vaporware?

[tm2b]

It ain't vaporware until people actually receive shipments. I don't think anybody has yet.

Mine has been on order for about 14 months. They told me they'd ship mine in a couple of days, a couple of days ago - and when I told them that my address has changed, they said they'd ship in 5 to 10 days.

Can it work with AirTunes?

[Anonymous Writer]

The MacCentral article says...

Recordings are automatically synchronized to iTunes so you can transfer files to the iPod.

It doesn't mention if the product can actually play the live radio broadcasts through iTunes, only the recordings. For someone using the AirTunes function of AirPort Express to play music on their stereo systems, it would be important to be able to listen to everything through AirTunes, and not just what has been time-shifted.

Re:Can it work with AirTunes?

[tweek]

CAll me crazy but if you wanted to listen to a radio broadcast in realtime on your stereo, why wouldn't you just tune in the station?

Re:Can it work with AirTunes?

[Anonymous Writer]

CAll me crazy but if you wanted to listen to a radio broadcast in realtime on your stereo, why wouldn't you just tune in the station?

Just for the purposes of having all your station controls and presets in one place, as well as being able to use the timeshifting option with AirTunes. Timeshifting isn't supposed to be just plain recording. It's supposed to allow you to listen to a live broadcast, pause for a moment, then resume where you left off while it is still recording the rest.

iPod AM/FM receiver?

[Gogo Dodo]

So when is somebody going to make an AM/FM receiver for iPods?

Audio quality?

[Zhe Mappel]

What is the audio quality of a song delivered by FM radio signal relative to a music CD or, say, 128-bit mp3?

Can radio "time-shifting" become the new, er, "file sharing" in an age when music is under pressure to be, well, "paid for"? ;-)

Why Time-Shift

[Anonymous Coward]

Why do geeks use the phrase "time shifting".... Seems like useless jargon. Why not just say - it allows you to record the radio or some such. I guess that doesn't sound as cool.

Re:Why Time-Shift

[Anonymous Coward]

For the same reason you say "Seems like useless jargon" and not "It seems like useless jargon." It replaces a longer phrase - "it allows you to record the radio or some such" - with "time shifting" - a shorter phrase. Faster, easier to type, easier to say. That's why.

Please. Don't promote this junk

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought their iTrip FM transmitter, and its a complete waste of $35. Oh, it looks nice, but that's about it. Low fidelity (and anybody who tells you otherwise either is a liar or is deaf), and it suffers from interference constantly. Inability to set the volume loud enough without distortion.

You can't say enough bad stuff about this.

Like he can affect that

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey genius, what do you expect him to do? Move to get better radio?

No, radio sucks pretty much everywhere.

The only salvation is satellite radio, and its only available to those of us who can afford the silly per month cost.

But its finally worth listening to, even with the serious shortcomings.

Re:Like he can affect that

[antizeus]

Hey genius, what do you expect him to do?

Please point out the part of my message where I said that he should make changes to his radio market.

radio sucks pretty much everywhere.

Apparently you don't live near me.

Nice idea, bad implementation

[terris]

Tivo for radio is *my* idea! radioshark is a good example of how smart people can make stupid products. As echoed by many others, the vast majority of people listen to the radio IN THEIR CAR. After that, it's people sitting on some form of public transit followed by those performing some sort of outdoor activity.

AM radio interference?

[jhemmila]

I like to listen to AM radio (talk and such), but whenever i have it near a computer or TV, it gets a lot of interference. Anyone know if this takes that into account?

Re:AM radio interference?

[Anonymous Coward]

The inside of a computer is an RF nightmare. This is the reason why there are a number of products out there that support TV and FM recording but, conspicuously, not AM. I'm sure the radioShark doesn't have any special technology to clean up AM signals, but by being an external USB model you can hopefully position it far enough away from your computer to get a decent signal.

Tin-Foil Hat Time

[reactor_man]

There is no such thing as vaporware! It is only a government consiricy. My Proof: A National Laboroatory buys a Blue-gene/L system so that they could "test" Duke Nukem two and windows XP. The FCC bought all of tese radioSharks so that they could record every instance of a swearword on public spectrum radio.

Where's the innovation?

[TedRoche]

I've been doing (most of) this for a couple of years with the D-Link DSB-R100 and free software available on the web - recording, scripting, scheduling, pre-sets, just not the "instant pause" a la TIVO. Check it out at http://presslink.dlink.com/pr/?prid=95

Confusingly similar

[tepples]

The name "RadioShack" is undoubtedly trademarked. But it's difficult to imagine that the Tandy Corporation would have trademarked the derogatory nickname.

A holder of a registered trademark still has grounds to sue somebody else using a not identical but confusingly similar mark for a product in the same category.

Missed the point, eh?

[tepples]

s/iPod/$your_mp3_player/g and the point remains valid. Apple's iPod isn't the only brand of digital music player that can play digital recordings made on your PC from AM or FM radio.

Re:Apple Section? Why?

[His name cannot be s]

Are you SURE that it's PC friendly?

It's USB, sure, but nowhere did I see that it mentions using it on a PC.

Griffin Technology is a Mac shop by the looks of their product.

Without suitable drivers, this ain't gonna work on a PC.

--
The above post is null and void if someone points out the page where it says it works with a PC.

AIFF - SNAFU

[Anonymous Coward]

Sheesh just more freakin MacCrap. Jobs, give it up, you can't force me to buy your shit no matter how great it is. Now, if only you'd stopped being such a farkin control freak, I might consider paying extra for a bite of an apple. Maybe.

Re:Apple Section? Why?

[reiggin]

"The radio airwaves will never be safe again. The RadioSHARK adds an AM/FM radio to any Mac or PC -- but that's just the beginning."

This, from the very top of the main product page, is what I was referencing. Looks like it has "suitable" drivers to me. I basically think this thing got misfiled or else "nifty" new technology is now synonymous with "Apple." ;)

FM radio quality is really substandard

[Anonymous Coward]

If it worked with XM radio or Sirius, THEN they'd be on to something.

Re:FM radio quality is really substandard

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree. So get yourself an XMPCR and get PCRCommander. Of course, the XMPCR is discontinued now and people are paying through the nose for them on eBay since everybody wants them now. But you can also build your own PCR with an XM SkyFi, with the optical mod from myradiostore.us, and a MAX232 and DB9 header and some modest soldering skills. Total cost is about 200 dollars, but now your SkyFi home kit has a serial port on the base (or if you are more electronically inclined, use an FTDI chip and make your own serial-USB port bridge).

For more detailed info, search around on XMFan.com. As far as getting an official product that can do this, the RIAA is the one the put the clamp down on the XMPCR in the first place, so it's pretty unlikely you'll see official PCR-like hardware again from XM, and Sirius likewise probably won't do it anytime soon.

sweet!

[utexaspunk]

now i can combine this with my iTrip and record songs from my iPod onto my computer!!



(j/k!)

old news

[adolf]

I did this years ago, on a K6-2, using cron, LAME, and a bit of scripting to handle the encoding (which was nowhere near realtime on that CPU). Mid-side encoded, tweaked a bit - it sounded good.

I just plugged an old, standalone Kenwood tuner (which was free) into a (quite nice) $10 Yamaha XG sound card. And then it was done, finished, and completed.

If I wanted to play it in realtime, I just loaded the temporary WAV file in XMMS.

I see no reason why this wouldn't work on OS X.

An addendum to this hack (if one could even call it that) would be to use a different tuner that can be computer-controller (or Mindstorms to push the preset buttons). But, since there's only one FM station here with content that was worth recording, I never bothered.

Would someone please tell me what it is about this product that makes it front-page material?

(Oh. And those of you who think you're going to be able to record AM broadcasts anywhere near an actively-running PC, think again.)

For Radio Lovers

[Anonymous Coward]

For people who absolutely love radio (and I count myself among them), you should know about the World Radio Network. These folks archive public broadcasts from around the world and you can either stream them to your computer or download them via FTP (RealAudio or WindowsMedia formats).

I live in Canada, and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio 1 broadcasts these public english-language programs at night from 1:00AM to 5:45AM. Once I found out that all of these broadcasts were on WRN free to download (and no ads!) I was able to change my schedule. I'm guessing these folks make their money by selling broadcasts to other broadcasters (like the CBC).

Argh!!!!

[wandazulu]

Somehow, I have never heard of this, and on Sunday went to the Apple store and bought a Griffin analog-to-usb converter so I could hook up my radio. And since the included software is barebones (no scheduled recording, etc.) I was trying to write an AppleScript for it, and getting absolutely nowhere. And I just threw the damn receipt away too.

*Sigh*...this is *exactly* what I wanted, and didn't know it. Maybe for Christmas...

Why has the phrase"time shift recording"...

[meme_police]

...become the new meme? It makes it sound like these are time traveling devices rather than the media delay devices that they are. Can I record a show before it happens?

I mean seriously.

[Ayanami Rei]

Is it like, if it has the "i*" naming convention, then every Mac user and jealous PC user is flying out the door to buy it?

It's not like the radio tuners were hard to find; most TV cards come with one whether you know it or not.
Trick is finding a service that gives you the radio schedule. But scheduled recording is real easy, (crontab and sox piping into lame, at the most barebones) especially if you have OSX, linux/FreeBSD, or a PC with the right user-land software (HINT: Not ATI).

And there has got to be radio time shifting projects on sourceforge. There's GOT to be. That's such a geek thing.

why use the bandwidth?

[betsywetsy]

Streaming shows over the internet when you could get them over the airwaves seems like a real waste of the shared and non-infinite resource of internet bandwidth.

If a show's not on the air locally, that's one thing, but if it is, I feel very dissipated using the 'net.

Durrr...

[Ayanami Rei]

I'll bet it's usb-audio + usb-hid device. It better damn well work on a PC or Mac. Reason being I wouldn't put it past Griffin to develop or pay for the development of a whole usb protocol and drivers that is hardened for precise timing required for realtime audio... the pre-existing standard and chipsets are the way to go... just have to write the application software that makes it easy to use. They'd use "buttons-n-dials" from usb-hid standard to control the tuner.

Side note: Why do Mac people insist on calling it "AIFF" when they mean PCM? AIFF is a container format, like WAV, but it only comes up when they mean PCM, which is exactly what the radio transmits to the computer (usb-audio standard, after all).
I hear "WAV" format and cringe as well.
Did you know you can have a WAV file that contains AAC encoded data, among other things? Yeah, I bet you didn't.

0x0000 WAVE_FORMAT_UNKNOWN
0x0001 WAVE_FORMAT_PCM Microsoft Corporation (the common one) ... a whole shitload of other possibilities...
0x0180 WAVE_FORMAT_MPEG2AAC Fraunhofer IIS

Yeah... there you go.

LL Cool J Has Something To Say

[a.deity]

Deepest, bluest...

My radio antenna's like a shark's fin!

USB microphone + radio tuner

[Calroth]

From what I can see, it's a USB microphone with a built-in radio tuner. The tuner would be sending audio all the time, just like how a microphone sends audio all the time. The remainder is software to record what's coming down the USB pipe at any given time, and play it back.

And you pay $70 for it.

Apple Idiots Part 23

[tomwhore]

Once again, something that has been done for years by folks is touted by the CultOfApple as New.

First off, AIFF only? For bogs sake why?

Second off, Radio shows have been pulled off the airwaves and posted as MP3s on various USENET grops for years now to the point that most any show I have heard mentioned here , Demento, Bell, Air America, NPR, CBC, BBC, etc etc are all there for the daily taking.

And in a format that allows me to use it on most any devices I have for audio.

Third off...the hardware to do this has been around for ages on OPEN platforms that allow technology to be created for it rather than forcing innovation into style-over-substance regulations and packing it up in fiesta condom colors.

Think Differnt

Stern without commercials

[SethJohnson]

A couple of easy steps if you have a linux server.

1. Download and install brag. It's available with RPMs for easy installation.

2. Add this cron entry: brag -s news-server -g alt.binaries.howard-stern -a '*CF*'

3. For convenience's sake, add this as a cleanup cron entry: mv /root/.brag/news-server/alt.binaries.howard_stern/ finished/*.mp3 /home/user/stern (customize that last path for your own installation)

4. Oh, and this other cleanup cron entry- rm -rf /root/.brag/news-server/alt.binaries.howard_stern/ unfinished/*

Schedule those around 3:30 your time, and have the latter entries run a couple hours later. You should be good to go with Stern each day on your iPod without commercials.

Re:first?

[mjc_w]

That's ok - mod me down all you want - this was my first "first" post!

So there!

I worked on software for this way back...

[Anonymous Coward]

I think...

Any scalablites in the house?

trademark issues?

[blueworm]

How long before Radioshack sues them for trademark?

They should make one WITHOUT the radio tuner

[Mr2001]

Seriously. I'd love to have a Tivo-like recorder for *any* audio setup. Just line in and line out. I want a way to pause shows on satellite radio, skip commercials during talk shows, and hear instant replays of parts that I missed.

I remeber tape players with timers

[Anonymous Coward]

There used to be tape players with timers. The problem was that cassettes were too short to tape full four hour DJ shows.

People used to set up VCRs to record audio. You'd have to put some kind of picture on the tv tuner part so the tracking would be steady, then set the timer, and put a radio onto the right station, and hope for the best.

Then, after a while, block programming (where you have specific shows on the radio) was replaced by format based programming. So the market for this became extremely limited.

It's still limited. If a market really existed, VCRs would have a "record FM show at" feature, because the tuners in them can pick up FM audio.

Radioshark Killed the Video Star

[doublem]

Someone had to say it.

Two Words: Howard Stern

[Anonymous Coward]

Now I can catch Howard Stern's radio show. I can't play it at work, now I can timeshift it. Cool.

Re:Apple Section? Why?

[Anonymous Coward]

The FIRST paragraph on the web site says it supports PC or MAC...Of course the Q & A document just mentions the file formats on the MAC platform so it does make you wonder if the company is staffed by a bunch of goobers. 8-)