Tuning in to Internet Radio
Harry McCracken
I love radio. The old-fashioned type, I mean--the kind that comes in fine on the boom box I've owned since Milli Vanilli was blazing up the charts. Web radio, on the other hand, had always left me cold. I tended to obsess about the medium's downsides. It hogs bandwidth. It often produces iffy sound quality. And it's utterly unportable. (Ever tried to string a modem line to the beach?)
Lately, though, I'm listening to lots of Web radio--and liking it. What changed? My mind-set, mostly. (That and the fact that I'm now using a cable modem with bandwidth to spare.) True, Net broadcasting won't kill its over-the-air ancestor anytime soon. But the largely silent world of PCs and the Web needs a soundtrack, and Net radio does the job. In fact, I'm humming along to a little Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Susie Q") as I tap out this column.
As with much of what's on the Web, the sheer variety of Internet radio is one part blessing, one part curse. There are thousands of channels out there, originating from practically everywhere and broadcasting a staggering range of genres. But this embarrassment of audio riches is balkanized into an array of incompatible technologies: Some stations broadcast in RealAudio, others in Microsoft's Windows Media, and a few worthy contenders use proprietary systems. To explore Net radio seriously, you'll have to download, update, and troubleshoot a passel of player programs.
You'll also need a good station guide. There are plenty to choose from--old dependables include Microsoft's WindowsMedia.com, Real's RealGuide, and Yahoo's Yahoo Radio. If I had to choose just one, though, it would unquestionably be VTuner, a nifty downloadable front-end for RealPlayer. Like other guides, VTuner lets you browse stations by genre or geographical location. But you can also search for a particular show, or get schedules of what's on right now. VTuner also rates stations' reliability and audio quality--an invaluable feature given how many stations are barely listenable (when you can connect at all).
Did I imply that VTuner could quench my thirst for Net radio all by itself? I lied. Spinner Plus is equally indispensable, for different reasons. This free player program broadcasts 150 wonderfully nichey music channels, including ones devoted to klezmer, Hawaiian tunes, early reggae, and the always-essential Hi NRG Dance. The sound quality is reliably decent, and while the Spinner program itself is crammed with on-screen ads, I barely notice them. (Also, Spinner has a minimum of audio ads compared with traditional radio.)
Sonny, Cher, and... Chopin?
Of course, having an endless parade of online stations doesn't guarantee you'll chance upon one that nails your musical whims. Enter personal radio: channels you can meld to your ears' content. Radio Sonicnet offers such stations, as does MusicMatch 6--the latest edition of a Swiss Army Knife-like program that should be on every music lover's hard disk.
With both services, you choose from an array of musical genres and specify just how much (or how little) of each you want to hear. In other words, you can create a station that's a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll. Or one that's largely jazz vocals, with healthy infusions of soul and Brazilian pop, a dash of swing, and just a hint of Tex/Mex--which is what I whipped up at Sonicnet.
As of press time, Radio Sonicnet let users mix and match more than 50 musical styles, but oldies wasn't one of them. (Sorry, Archies fans.) MusicMatch has oldies--but with 18 genres, it doesn't offer Sonicnet's sheer tweakability.
Unfortunately, the arcane licensing restrictions mandated by music companies limit just how personalized these personal stations can be. For example, MusicMatch doesn't let you select specific performers; Radio Sonicnet does, but you must choose a daunting 60 (!) faves. Which means that for now, at least, you can't program an all-Boz Scaggs channel.
So much for radio that adjusts to your tastes. How about radio that adapts to your schedule? Some online broadcasters are leaving shows up so you can listen to them whenever the mood strikes. Public stations are doing it with the most gusto: National Public Radio has archived several years' worth of a bunch of programs. (Car Talk, alas, is not among them.) Also worth a listen: KCRW.com, home of Harry Shearer's Le Show, the funniest hour on radio (and one that I listen to only on the Net, since my neighborhood public stations refuse to carry it).
All in all, I must admit that my trusty old boom box is seeing less action nowadays. Its portability still rules, though, so it's definitely safe from the Salvation Army--at least until someone comes up with a PC that can dub cassettes.
Contact PC World Executive Editor Harry McCracken at websavvy@pcworld.com.
New on the Net
Mixed-Bag Browser: Who says the browser wars are over? With the final version of Netscape 6, the venerable browser has battled its way back onto my desktop. (It's available at PCWorld.com's Downloads and at Netscape.)
This upgrade has a slick new look, handles Web site user IDs and passwords better than Internet Explorer, and sports a built-in version of Instant Messenger that's almost worth the download by itself. But at press time, many worthwhile sites (DialPad.com, Octopus.com, and ThinkFree.com, among others) misbehave or won't operate at all in Netscape 6. Stay tuned for further developments...
Mapping the Web: If you've ever tried to find something on the Internet and ended up thoroughly lost, take a gander at Map.net. This inventive Web directory organizes its links into a map; related sites are clustered geographically, and you can zoom in for more detail. Its visual approach can't fully replace more orthodox search tools, but it's addictive and fun.
Gimme Five: The Best Antispam Sites
Got an in-box that's rife with ads for pyramid schemes, sleazy sex sites, and questionable pharmaceuticals? Fight back with these online resources.
- Junkbusters: Essential tips, tools, and news here help you combat both junk e-mail and junk snail-mail.
- Brightmail: This service filters spam out of your POP3 e-mail account, and it's free to individual users.
- Spamhaus: A rogues' gallery of known spammers and the ISPs that keep them in business.
- SpamCop: Help spam merchants get what's coming to them--use SpamCop to tell their ISP what's going on.
- The alt.spam FAQ: Everything you ever wanted to know--and then some--about the odoriferous business of bulk e-mail.