Do you spend a lot of time on your PC? Do you like to keep up with the latest news? Do you like to listen to music while you work? If you are on broadband you can have the best of all worlds; click on:-
http://windowsmedia.com/radiotuner/MyRadio.asp
and make your choice.
Radio
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
On this particular point I could not possibly disagree with you more.vrooje wrote:This type of thing is pretty cool -- except that Windows Media is evil...
I have a friend who uses this at work (well, not this, but a different one that uses RealPlayer and therefore works in Linux).
I myself will stick with my iPod nano!
The only reason anyone could say that MediaPlayer is evil is that they have a paranoid hatred of anything with a Microsoft label. It plays the radio bands perfectly and that's all it's supposed to do. Where it beats Apple's iTunes into a cocked hat is the range of radio stations available. If one is not amongst the minority, those based in the USA, Iraq or Japan, iTunes is quite useless.
I must say I am a fan of RealPlayer but I find MediaPlayer does exactly what I expect it to do.
Actually, I was addressing the availability of radio on the Internet. I was not wanting to start an argument involving the sub-cultures of Mac of Linux.
Alan
Alexia,
"Windows Media is evil" is really hyperbole. It's just that I have always disliked that program.
I don't like WMP for two reasons. The first is the deal-killer for me: Windows Media player is unavailable in Linux. It's not a terribly hard thing to program -- they just don't want to bother. Linux isn't only for freaks & geeks; it is preferred in some very specific applications (academic science being one of them). So there's a segment of the population that MS has chosen not to support. That's of course their choice, and it's not even a ridiculous choice from a numbers perspective, but I don't have to like them for it.
The second reason is that the last time I actually used the Windows Media Player (which was a couple of years ago), it had just changed from being a standard Winamp-like player to being this strange beast which required you to specify your music library in a particular way, and which displayed funky colors and patterns when the music played. In my opinion, it became more dumbed-down and less customizable, so I lost respect for it then, too.
I actually don't use iTunes for much -- I'm forced to because I have an iPod, but I don't use it to listen to music or to the radio. So I can't really compare them.
Last I recall, Yahoo! had a free music service that was pretty cool. You got to pick from plenty of stations, most of them divided according to genre. Then you could rate songs as they came to you, and the station became more "yours" as you did so, because the player would customize music according to your individual tastes. That was pretty cool.
Now, Alan, what I find curious is that you seem to have such a dislike of all things "big-brother"ish, yet don't mind Microsoft?
"Windows Media is evil" is really hyperbole. It's just that I have always disliked that program.
I don't like WMP for two reasons. The first is the deal-killer for me: Windows Media player is unavailable in Linux. It's not a terribly hard thing to program -- they just don't want to bother. Linux isn't only for freaks & geeks; it is preferred in some very specific applications (academic science being one of them). So there's a segment of the population that MS has chosen not to support. That's of course their choice, and it's not even a ridiculous choice from a numbers perspective, but I don't have to like them for it.
The second reason is that the last time I actually used the Windows Media Player (which was a couple of years ago), it had just changed from being a standard Winamp-like player to being this strange beast which required you to specify your music library in a particular way, and which displayed funky colors and patterns when the music played. In my opinion, it became more dumbed-down and less customizable, so I lost respect for it then, too.
I actually don't use iTunes for much -- I'm forced to because I have an iPod, but I don't use it to listen to music or to the radio. So I can't really compare them.
Last I recall, Yahoo! had a free music service that was pretty cool. You got to pick from plenty of stations, most of them divided according to genre. Then you could rate songs as they came to you, and the station became more "yours" as you did so, because the player would customize music according to your individual tastes. That was pretty cool.
Now, Alan, what I find curious is that you seem to have such a dislike of all things "big-brother"ish, yet don't mind Microsoft?
Brooke
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Alan Knighting
- Posts: 4120
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 7:26 am
- Location: Monflanquin, Lot-et-Garonne, France
Brooke,
I am now lazy so I use "mainstream" software and that means stuff which is written for Windows. It's not necessarily good but it is a "no brainer".
When it comes to listening to radio on the Web I do think that Microsoft's RadioTuner is the pick of the bunch. That doesn't mean I like MediaPlayer cos' I don't but it does what it says on the tin. I don't even have to look at it because I have it minimized. Does anyone live their life around "skins"?
Isn't it odd? People argue, over the Internet, about the virtues of Microsoft, Linux and Apple, IE and Firefox, and yet the backbone of the Internet is all Unix.
Alan
From previous posting I think you probably know I am not necessarily a great fan of Microsoft or of Windows. For historical and technical reasons my preference is Unix and X-Windows. Today, for Unix read Linux.Now, Alan, what I find curious is that you seem to have such a dislike of all things "big-brother"ish, yet don't mind Microsoft?
I am now lazy so I use "mainstream" software and that means stuff which is written for Windows. It's not necessarily good but it is a "no brainer".
When it comes to listening to radio on the Web I do think that Microsoft's RadioTuner is the pick of the bunch. That doesn't mean I like MediaPlayer cos' I don't but it does what it says on the tin. I don't even have to look at it because I have it minimized. Does anyone live their life around "skins"?
Isn't it odd? People argue, over the Internet, about the virtues of Microsoft, Linux and Apple, IE and Firefox, and yet the backbone of the Internet is all Unix.
Alan
So true!
Really, if I were going to practice what I preach all the time, I would not have a dual-boot system. But I do think MS Word and Powerpoint are some of the best PC options out there for their particular applications. So I'm as ensnared as the next person by mainstream software.
As for skins, well... perhaps you haven't been to a college campus recently. Skins are a tried-and-true procrastination method!
I'll have to find out the radio program that my colleague uses -- she's very happy with it as far as I know. I'll let you know, if I can ever remember to ask her.
Really, if I were going to practice what I preach all the time, I would not have a dual-boot system. But I do think MS Word and Powerpoint are some of the best PC options out there for their particular applications. So I'm as ensnared as the next person by mainstream software.
As for skins, well... perhaps you haven't been to a college campus recently. Skins are a tried-and-true procrastination method!
I'll have to find out the radio program that my colleague uses -- she's very happy with it as far as I know. I'll let you know, if I can ever remember to ask her.
Brooke