There’s a chill in the air, the Thanksgiving leftovers are nearly gone, and thoughts are turning to holiday shopping. For me, scoping out interesting radio-themed gifts is a highlight of the season, as there’s always something new that piques my interest. If you have a radio fan in your life or if you are searching […]
Archive | Electronics
Streaming Uncompressed Music Is Here: A Review of Deezer Elite
Interested in CD-quality uncompressed streaming? Also check out our review of TIDAL. In September European music streaming platform Deezer entered the US with its Deezer Elite service which delivers true CD-quality uncompressed sound. Currently Deezer Elite is only available to owners of Sonos wireless audio systems. The Sonos system has been around more than a […]
Notes on the Boombox/Walkman war of the early 1980s
I’ve been rummaging through old articles about the emergence of the Walkman in the 1980s, and one thing stands out: some people thought it was a social cure for the Boombox. Here’s an excerpt from an old column by George Will, responding to the charge that the Walkman isolated people from each other. ‘Some sociologists […]
Amazon’s New Fire TV Looks Like a Nice Internet Radio
Today Amazon announced its own set-top streaming box, the Fire TV, to compete with the likes of Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast. It’s more like the two former devices and less like Chromecast because it’s not completely device-dependent and can be operated with its own remote using an on-screen menu. However, it does offer mirroring […]
My Chromecast is an internet radio
This post has been updated for December 2014 with many more great radio and music apps for your Chromecast. Like a lot of other folks, I’m guessing, I received a Google Chromecast in my stocking this past holiday season. It’s a neat little device the size of two thumb drives that plugs into your TV’s […]
Need a music automation program? StationPlaylist gets high fives
We’ve got an interesting discussion going on our reader forum about the best automation/music library software for Low Power FM and indie radio stations. The winner, so far, is Station Playlist, a software package that comes out of New Zealand. “We’ve been using StationPlaylist Studio, Creator and Streamer for almost 4 years at Crescent Hill […]
Decorating for audio nerds: “Advance of Audio Apparatuses” poster
As Radio Survivor’s technology editor, I have to come clean as the biggest audio nerd here. That’s why I’m seriously geeking out over this Pop Chart Lab poster of the “Advance of Audio Apparatuses.” If their marketing strategy was to get audio nerd bloggers like me to link to it for free publicity… well, it […]
Exploring San Francisco’s vault of old car radio stereos
Just got a new car audio/radio device installed over at New Sound car stereos on Valencia Street in San Francisco. New Sound is an awesome place: great selection; fast service; I love my new system. But on top of that, it has a wonderful secret: a magnificent basement crypt of ancient car stereo/radios. To get […]
My iPad is an internet radio
When the iPad was first announced three years ago, I have to admit that I was initially skeptical. At first blush it seemed like an e-reader on steroids, something that would be great for reading and games, but not a serious tool. I was wrong. I’ve had my iPad for two years now, and it’s […]
Sprint to add FM radio to smartphones – too little, too late?
The biggest radio news to come out of CES this week was Sprint’s announcement that it struck a deal to integrate FM radio tuners in some of its smartphones. Radio listening will be available through the forthcoming NextRadio tuner app on Android and Windows devices, which Sprint says will offer, “a wide range of interactive […]