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RadioShark for Windows and Mac OS X
Quantrell writes "Ars Technica has done a very thorough review of the AM/FM radio time-shifting device radioSHARK. I was surprised when I read it,
because I thought it was Mac-only. Actually the device has good Windows support, and their review shows that some of the problems experienced by early adopters have been solved
with recent updates to the product. That said, there are actually some considerable flaws with the product, so buyer beware." There's a lot more meat on this review than this story which was a lot more glowing of a review.
I got mine for Chistmas, and it's nice, however I get really bad reception in my house.
They really NEED to get the capability to tune into internet radio as well, then all will be well.
Eschew Obfuscation
I had a difficult time reconciling the fact that the following two statements are in the same review:
...
...
Say you're listening to All Things Considered and Nina Totenberg is about to make an especially poignant point about the day's oral arguments at the Supreme Court
If you're listening to your favorite top 40 radio station and the newest Ashlee Simpson tune comes on and you want to save it
Yikes! Still, I think the pause feature may be a nice Tivo-ish thing, but the Season Pass concept will probably be better covered by podcasting. (Actually, there was a feature on podcasting on NPR's Day to Day: you can listen to it here, but alas, not as a podcast.)
Is it just me, or is configuring ALSA a black art?
The RadioShark is a great piece of hardware but fails in the biggest area that makes TiVo great-the guide. What good is recording radio if you don't know what is on and where it's coming from. The heart of our service is our guide, it covers am/fm, internet, and xm/sirius radio, and soon will have full rss/podcasting support. To quote our website, we have "35,000 stations in 140 countries. 100,000 sports games per year."
We have both mac and pc clients, though the mac client is still very early in development. Recordings are made as simple mp3 files, and even get dumped into itunes. The mac client supports the RadioShark, the pc version will very soon.
We're always looking for great feedback to help us improve the service. Sign up is free for unlimited listening.
I feel it's almost a concept too late for the show. We're probably not that far from a generation which says, "AM? FM? What are these strange things you speak of? Can I get that at the iTunes store?" where all they know of is what they download or listen to over the web.
What I need is something to record From the Web audio to my HD for later playback, and I'm pretty sure such a thing is out there if I look, or maybe just a few tricks.
What would I want to record radio for? Unless I'm so cheep as to want to make MP3's out of music DJ's blab over.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Who needs radio when you've got Podcasting?
I produce my own podcast once a week (TinyPodcast) on mobile technology and gadgets, and I subscribe to dozens of other podcasts. I get to listen to what I want, when I want, and it's almost invariably more interesting that what's on the radio. What's more, the only station I usually listen to anyway, NPR, is starting to podcast some of its shows, like On The Media and Tech Nation.
I love picking up my iPod (or any other MP3 player) in the morning, and having fresh content that I've selected, not what the radio station wants me to hear.
Just picked one up at my apple store. It was "refreshed", which means that someone bought and returned it. I know why they did now.
The reception is pretty crappy for me. I'm trying to tune a FM station that is broadcast locally from about 3 blocks away from my house and I mostly get static. I've got the Shark sitting in my upstairs window and am using a Sagean ANT-60, which is plugged into the mic port and unwound about 15 feet creating a "web" in the window (I've also tried various other positions and poses, with and without the Sagean antenna). There are several stations that I pickup with any other radio tuner that I own (even the on tiny FM tuner for my rio mp3 player). I'm also using the latest version of the software for the Mac Version; 1.0.3 (RS59).
I'm going to try the trick mentioned by some of purchasing a USB extension and wrapping it around the unit and see if that helps. If not, I'm returning it myself.
I'm disappointed, and I think that this will turn me off of other Griffin products. I had be considering the PowerWave for some time, but there are other USB audio input devices on the market. The only other "saving grace" would be if the tuning software worked for Internet Radio stations (including Windows media), but it sounds like those plans have been scrapped.
Check the return policy on this item if you buy it.
PS I do think that it is cruel that the only station that the unit will "seek" to is a FM Country station broadcast from several counties away.