radio

The best way to discover new music

Finding new music has never been easier, and music podcasts are my favorite discovery path. I prefer shows with hosts that put music in context. That's why I like discussion and music sets, and occasional interviews with musicians and live performances. The shows listed below (for the most part) can be downloaded and played back when you're ready to hear them.

WNYC's John Schaefer has two daily programs, Soundcheck, which features a wide mix of music genres, interviews, and live-on-the-radio performances; and New Sounds, which, if anything, covers an even wider range of music styles. Each episode … Read more

Experience a world of music with Radio Player Live

Gone are the days of twisting your radio dial back and forth in the hope of finding something that you want to listen to; the Internet has made it possible to listen to music of every genre from all over the world with just a few clicks. Radio Player Live is a Google Chrome extension that makes this process about as easy as it gets. If you like sampling music from all over the globe, it's a great addition to your browser.

Like most Chrome extensions, Radio Player Live installs without any hassle, appearing as an icon to the … Read more

Link between cell phones and cancer may be unjustified

Are people endangering with their lives, risking cancer, brain tumors, and infertility by talking on their cell phones? A new review by the U.K.'s Health Protection Agency (HPA) says no.

Scientists conducting the review looked at hundreds of studies and assessed all major research into "low-level radio frequency," which they said comes not only from mobile phones but also TV and radio broadcasting, Wi-Fi, and other technologies, and concluded that everyone in the U.K. is exposed to "universal and continuous" radio frequency, according to the BBC.

Despite this constant exposure, the scientists said … Read more

Spotify reportedly creating online radio station to rival Pandora

Is Spotify looking to beat Pandora at its own online radio game?

The streaming music provider may be building an online radio service that could rival that of Pandora, according to Bloomberg.

Citing "two people with knowledge of the situation," Bloomberg said the new service would launch before the end of the year and be funded by advertising. Spotify has just begun informing content partners about the new service, according to the sources.

Spotify currently works as a downloadable application that provides access to your local music libraries and lets you search for and play music online. Users … Read more

Audio? Video? iTunes does it all.

Bottom line: Version 10.6 of iTunes brings a handful of enhancements to Apple's ubiquitous media software, and adds support for 1080p video.

Review: As one of the most popular programs for managing music and video content on a personal computer, Apple's iTunes software has become an indispensable part of our digital life.

Interface The look and layout of iTunes 10 is essentially identical to that of iTunes 9, with just a couple of noticeable differences. The first is that Apple has updated its logo for iTunes. Rather than the old-school music note-over-CD icon, you'll see a … Read more

Tivoli's 'wireless' PAL radio

The Tivoli Audio PAL (Portable Audio Laboratory) radio is pretty small, just 6.25 by 3.7 by 3.9 inches, and it weighs a little under 2 pounds. It has just one 2.5-inch "full-range" speaker, but the little radio is one of my all-time favorite products. The battery-powered PAL is "wireless," because radio was, after all, the original widespread wireless format.

The PAL is dead simple to use: turn it on, select AM or FM radio, and tune to the station you love. You can also plug an iPod, or any device, into the … Read more

RadioShack starts selling Apple's new iPad

Besides Apple, RadioShack is now open to sales of the new iPad.

Today the company said it's taking pre-orders for the new tablet, which was announced at an event yesterday and proceeded to go up for pre-sale only on Apple's Web site.

There is a catch for those who choose to pre-order with RadioShack though, buyers need to purchase a $50 RadioShack gift card, and make the pre-order from one of RadioShack's retail stores.

The gift card can be used on other goods at the store, or go towards the purchase, the company said. Buyers can also … Read more

Pandora's longtime VP to step down

One of the top female executives in Silicon Valley is stepping down.

Jessica Steel, Pandora's executive vice president of Business and Corporate Development, is wrapping up her nearly eight-year tenure at the company, according to tech news site The Next Web.

Steel's role at the Internet radio giant was to lead the company's business development and work on strategic partnerships with device manufacturers, car companies, and more.

"The car is one of the most popular venues for radio listening and incorporating Pandora into the native environment of automobile dashboards makes listening to personalized Internet radio as … Read more

Jewe NetRadio is an ultracompact radio player

Jewe NetRadio is a free Internet radio player built on the JewelScript GUI library, the BASS audio engine, and parts from 7Zip and other open source freeware. It has an ultracompact, interactive interface and a minimalist design that is focused on playing music and other Net radio programming, without a lot of extras that you'll probably never use. It plays stations from 181.fm's playlist, but you can copy other playlists to the program's playlist folder to add more stations.

The minuscule, rectangular NetRadio interface is about as simple as a player gets; just a black background … Read more