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XM Radio Pulls PC Hardware
Posted by
timothy
on Mon Aug 30, 2004 10:41 PM
from the kill-golden-geese-quickly dept.
from the kill-golden-geese-quickly dept.
Didion Sprague writes "News.com is reporting that XM has decided to "quietly discontinue" the XMPCR -- a tiny USB satellite radio receiver for XM radio. Slashdot readers may remember last week's story about TimeTrax -- homebrewed software that allows XMPCR users to automatically record and tag each song. Now, XMPCR receivers are going for almost $400 on ebay. The RIAA, it should be noted, claims that they weren't "behind the discontinuation of the PCR"."
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XM Radio Pulls PC Hardware
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Make them change their mind (Score:5, Insightful)
Posting at the top.... (Score:4, Informative)
Has everyone forgotten the other two members of the triumvirate for finding things geek?
(eBay, PriceWatch, Froogle).
As I note in a later message, there are completed eBay auctions in the previous five days or so via Buy It Now! for $29.99, $29.99, $40. That's less than what everyone's discussing.
PriceWatch has nothing listed - just remember it for future use.
Froogle, which everyone seems to overlook, seems to have an interesting outlook on XMPCR [google.com].
Just remember:
________________________________________
My Trunk Monkey can beat up your Trunk Monkey.
http://www.suburbanautogroup.com/ford/trunkmonkey
Bloody shame they were pressured... (Score:5, Informative)
But here's the part that gets me... from the Product Information Page http://www.xmradio.com/xmpcr...
"XM PCR Developer Communities:
The XM PCR revolution is in full effect. Across the XM Nation, we're excited to see independent developers creating fantastic new versions of the XM PCR software for a wide range of platforms including Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows. Windows: XtreMe PCR
Macintosh OS X: MacXM
Unix: XMPCR perl scripts
Linux: xmd-xmfe
Did we miss a developer? Let us know if you're developing any PCR software."
Heh. Looks like they missed TimeTrax.
Re:Bloody shame they were pressured... (Score:5, Insightful)
(http://www.rigidsoftware.com/ | Last Journal: Saturday September 24 2005, @11:58PM)
Did they ever hang that new satellite?
Ebay (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ebay (Score:4, Insightful)
(http://www.curchin.org/ | Last Journal: Monday January 17 2005, @10:02PM)
Starting bid: US $379.99
Number of bids: 0
Hits: MPCR receivers are going for almost $400 on ebay
Lotta Chatter: Orange Alert! (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.dragonswest.com/ | Last Journal: Monday November 05, @07:35PM)
I always assumed this was why DJ's talked over the intro to tunes, to mess up anyone recording, lord knows they could save their breath because who cares what DJ's have to say when your tune starts to play (you actually want them to shut the fsck up!)
Re:Lotta Chatter: Orange Alert! (Score:5, Interesting)
- A brand identity
- Making sure diary-keeping listeners know and remember which station they are listening to
- Making sure anything recorded is clear what station was recorded
- Making sure that if the competition grabs a song from their air, they get an unclean copy that they can't use.
- Complying with publisher requests to protect new content.
"Clean" recordings are what you usually have to pay for. Any form of broadcast is expected to have some bit of interference either by signal technology, DJs doing their intro thing, or intentional mucking. Pure digital streams have to do more mucking than usual because their delivery system is so clean.
No bids? (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://dodgersden.com/)
Re:No bids? (Score:5, Informative)
But who knows after Slashdot has its effect.
OK that does it. (Score:5, Funny)
(http://blog.macb.net/ | Last Journal: Monday March 05 2007, @04:38PM)
And um... It had nothing to do with this, or any other screw-ups with XM programming.
What the heck (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.biologynews.net/)
Re:What the heck (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm not sure it's illegal. It's akin to taping off the radio, not sharing via P2P. In any event you're not broadcasting your IP when you'e doing it so there's little chance of getting caught.
It's definitely not worth $400. But it might be worth $40 to me, if I had XM anyway. Find a channel (type of music) you like, tape it all day, come home to a neat little stack of songs to wade through...
How much? (Score:5, Funny)
(Last Journal: Tuesday August 17 2004, @10:31PM)
It's "going" for $400 right now, yet there isn't a single bid.
pay service (Score:4, Insightful)
(http://www.chuckfucter.com/ | Last Journal: Thursday October 26 2006, @12:58PM)
RIAA (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, maybe not directly, but from XM's perpective, the possible threat of the RIAA coming to get them sure did.
hmm... (Score:4, Funny)
(http://itsbeenconfirmed.com/ | Last Journal: Sunday May 04 2003, @02:33AM)
XM Module (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.blurbco.com/~gork/ | Last Journal: Friday February 13 2004, @01:34PM)
It's worth noting, though, that the XMPCR is a pretty simple device. It would be incredibly easy to build a DIY one out of any XM radio. Here's why:
XM sells a receiver module to radio manufacturers. Essentially the satellite part of the radio hardware is made by XM and is the same on all units. This module exposes a serial interface (9600 baud TTL level) for control and it outputs digital audio (I forget what format). It's powered on 5V (or 3.3V -- i forget)
Anyway, all the XMPCR has in it is a simple power supply circuit, a USB/Serial converter, a DAC and an antenna jack. All you would have to do to make your own is take the tuner module out of an existing radio and wire it up the same way. You could even use the same USB/Serial converter to make it 100% identical to the regular XMPCR. The serial number (used for activation and whatnot) can be queried out of the module with a command (or taken off the donor radio's label of course).
Re:XM Module (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/ | Last Journal: Saturday December 02 2006, @04:02AM)
i had xm in my car through my pioneer deck and an addon xm receiver. i loved it so much, i couldn't wait to get something for my home computer (i've got a car pc here too, by chance). i could have bought some component, but the xmpcr was small, cheap, and worked
plus, it is a very hacker friendly device. xm chose a well-supported by oss usb/serial adapter. they didn't have to. maybe they chose it by price
i now hope they don't start playing the directtv game and start turning off current xmpcr subscribers. that would make them complete pieces of shit to the second power
Re:XM Module (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.blurbco.com/~gork/ | Last Journal: Friday February 13 2004, @01:34PM)
http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?
I only ask because I wrote it
Another poster mentioned that the SkyFi 2 radio that is supposedly forthcoming is rumored to have a USB port and be computer controllable. If they are canning the XMPCR for this, then I can't say that I really blame them. Delphi makes the SkyFi and XM probably doesn't want to hurt sales of a new radio by offering a product with similar functionality for a lot less money (ie why would you buy a $150 skyfi2 for your computer when you could buy a $50 xmpcr?) XM makes the money from selilng the module to delphi anyway, so it's not like they are making any less money stopping the distribution of the PCR.
Now here's a tangent
It's also worth noting that if the skyfi 2 USB rumor has truth to it, it might be a good opportunity for them to fix some of the problems with the XMPCR such as the slow (9600bps) communications speed between the radio and the computer. It would also be slick if they added the ability to receive data through the unit - their network is capable of it -- XM weather radios that download and present gobs of data are available, but expensive.
Something like USB (or bluetooth!) + a data cpable SkyFi 2 + A PocketPC could SIGNIFICANTLY enhande their traffic+weather offerings to provide maps, etc. right alongside the broadcast. As XM are currently fighting a war with local broadcast stations who are trying to prevent them from broadcasting "in their markets", this would certainly give them an edge in the fight, as it would turn XM into a 'weather data' service and not simply a radio broadcast. [To go further aside, this is a battle that I'd really like to see XM win.]
Re:XM Module (Score:5, Interesting)
XM just needs to suck it up and realize this is the way the game is played. You just have to try to keep it low profile, geek hobbyist only and then tell the RIAA you do not condone or support any such functionality. And let the geeks do their hacking and the rest of the sheeple just won't bother. As long as it requires soldering or breaking open plastic cases, it'll be off the scope and shouldn't attract any more of this RIAA-fodder media attention.
Thank god all the Tivo hacks never attracted this kind of media frenzy. I've been sucking video off my Series 1 Tivo for several years now, it's just been low profile because it requires a moderate amount of technical know-how to install all the requisite software.
Re:XM Module (Score:5, Informative)
(Last Journal: Wednesday August 03 2005, @10:21AM)
Re:XM Module (Score:5, Informative)
In any case, the difference in quality between the TOSLink digital output and the analog output apparently is only moderate anyway apparently. The point is that this was never about "closing the digital loophole" - there is no meaningful loophole to close here, the stuff people were recording was almost all D to A to D converted anyway. It was just the ease with which the access to the data feed gave to splice and dice and name MP3 files that seems to have caused the brick shitting. LOL, when you think about it, it's quite absurd - they just object to the labor saving aspect here.
abbreviation madness! (Score:5, Funny)
(http://itsbeenconfirmed.com/ | Last Journal: Sunday May 04 2003, @02:33AM)
two words: reverse engineer (Score:3, Informative)
who has the hardware from xm..
to reverse engineer a better one. and sell the prototype to a competitor or something.
so that we can once again, continue to be free of restrictions from morons such as the *AA, and now
most notably the XM-radio service.
I see a business opportunity (Score:5, Interesting)
(Last Journal: Monday November 05, @02:21AM)
In other news, slashdot buys XMPCRs (Score:5, Funny)
(Last Journal: Thursday February 16 2006, @06:22PM)
Already on Hatch's Hit List (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.corante.com/importance/)
Web-based coming (Score:5, Informative)
With my Sirius username/password, I can listen to the music channels on my home PC, and the actual receiver is in my pickup. No comedy or sports, but no extra fee, either. My wife can use it simultaneously, as well.
No, I don't work for Sirius. Honest. I like both XM and Sirius - just speculating on reason ATM.
Just got my order in for one... (Score:5, Funny)
Now if only I could pick stocks that quintupled in value in 5 days....
Nothing to see here (Score:5, Interesting)
Flash: RIAA shoots own foot (Score:4, Insightful)
Think about it. So-called "time shifting" is (for the moment) legal. They never minded people taping things off the radio. They're mad as hell about people not paying for their music - but radio airplay makes money for them through compulsory fees, not to mention publicity (at least in theory, IANA broadcaster...)
Enter Sirius / XM; the industry still gets money and still gets publicity (perhaps more than before; with all the niche stations and lack of commercials & inane banter, I've been tempted to subscribe...) And more people are willing to PAY FOR MUSIC because of this service - just not the $18 or so they want 'em to pay.
So if the RIAA is behind the move to get rid of the XMPCR, what do they expect? That a lot of the people who subscribe will continue to pay for XM, AND pay for a copy of the CD, AND pay another couple of bucks for a "legal" version for their portable player once it becomes illegal or impossible to rip it yourself ... And of course piracy is a perfect excuse^H^H^H^Hplanation for why XM will lose subscribers from this.
Hell w/ XMPCR -- I want the silver XM car! (Score:5, Funny)
Did I mention that NO ONE from this guy's office bitched about him driving that little car through the hall and cutting them off at the elevator?
What about the hot chick in the left of the elevator that's eyeing his little silver car? Schwing! With the XMPCR, chicks'll just give you looks like, "That's gadget geek from the mail room or accounting, right? So sad -- look how he cradles his laptop and that weird mouse." No -- she'd be asking for a lift down to cubicle area 37 on the 11th floor -- chauffeur style.
And damn -- talk about being able to take a break. You don't have to walk the three blocks at 12:30pm for your half hour lunch/nap in the car just to listen to the XM radio and justify the cost of the service. And remember -- it'd be THAT radio you'd be carrying those three blocks along with a laptop if you had the XMPCR. Hell no! With the silver XM car, you'd just walk out of your cubicle, open up the cooler in the trunk, grab your ham sandwich and chips, and lay down in the back seat.
Hell -- if your boss DOES bitch about you blocking the aisles betweens cubes 45 and 46, you can just "accidentally" back over him and drag his body under your cubicle desk before anyone notices. The XM radio in the car can be turned up to drown out his dying scream. And, if he's still alive, you can beat him over the head with that XM jukebox that they show in the commercial -- you know you'd have one if you had the cool XM car!
If you had that piddly XMPCR and your boss bitched about the music, what would you do? Strangle him with the USB cord? Hell no. He may be your lame ass boss, but he does get to the company gym for the executives while you ride on the shitty subway home with your XMPCR that gets looks from thieves on the train. What exercise have you had while he's been at the gym, eh? He's take that USB cord and strangle YOUR ass!
Yeah -- screw that overpriced XMPCR -- I want the silver XM car!
IronChefMorimoto
Exhibit A (Score:5, Interesting)
(http://www.rarose.com/)
The original hack required someone to fabricate a hard-drive bracket and cable, plus solder a 40-pin IDE header to the board. Then they tried to stop it and the real fun began.
Netpliance locked out the BIOS. So people started sharing old BIOS images, then somebody had to open up their unit, pull the flash, reflash it in a programmer, then reassemble.
Netpliance then started epoxying the BIOS into the socket. So then people wrote a QNX flash program.
Netpliance then started sending the Cease and Desist letters. Somebody wrote a webpage with an embedded QNX flash applet. No screwdriver required... just point it's built in web-browser at a URL.
XM is the devil (Score:3, Interesting)
(http://www.juniperforum.com/)
Buy a Sirius tuner and suck it up. Sirius plays better music too.
Cause and Effect? (Score:5, Informative)
(http://www.dasnet.org/)
The general buzz on the XM message boards is that XM Radio was planning to discontinue the XMPCR for some time, and it just became evident (clearance sales, retail channels drying up, etc.) right about the same time as the software concerns hit the radar.
I mean, really -- could a big company like XM really decide to pull a piece of hardware from the market on only a day's notice? (the TimeTrax software and initial rumors of XMPCR being pulled happened on the same day). There's also been talk of a USB port on new cradles (which may or may not have been recently nixed, depending on your paranoia settings).
And anyway, the XMPCR was never a big seller for them. Only available from online merchants, it was originally a cheap way for someone to get XM (since they didn't need to sell any controls or displays). Now, the prices have come down (my SkiFi with cradle cost $200, a Roady2 with free home cradle is $100), so they don't need the bottom-end as much any longer.
So, yes, it's possible there was some RIAA pressure, and it's possible XM decided on their own to avoid the RIAA, but if so, that was probably only the last straw -- I would not be surprised if they'd made this decision 6 months ago.
DirecTv has Music (Score:3, Interesting)
This has been available for quite a while so I don't understand all the fuss overthe leagal speculations. I bet it was a simple "these things are not selling like hotcakes and the support team costs us a bundle" rpoblem.