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Hardware Your Rights Online

XM Radio Pulls PC Hardware 265

Posted by timothy 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 More

XM Radio Pulls PC Hardware

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  • Make them change their mind (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eric76 ( 679787 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:43PM (#10114807)
    If enough people over a period of time asked if they could hook it up to their computer and decided not to buy when they say no, maybe they would rethink their decision.
    • Hell, if I would have known this could have been done I might have thought about getting XM a while ago.
    • The RIAA, it should be noted, claims that they weren't "behind the discontinuation of the PCR".

      Methinks he doth protest too much.

    • Posting at the top.... (Score:4, Informative)

      by FlutterVertigo(gmail ( 800106 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @01:43AM (#10115410)
      ...so it's available to everyone who doesn't scroll down to read everything.

      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. html

  • Bloody shame they were pressured... (Score:5, Informative)

    by VinceWuzHere ( 733075 ) * on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:43PM (#10114808)
    Bloody shame, IMHO IANAL that they felt pressured to kill the product line and avoid any issues with the RIAA. Next news flash will be that the RIAA has pressured music stores to stop selling CDs and avoid "any needless distribution of our highly overprotected music".

    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)

      by dnoyeb ( 547705 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:01AM (#10114930) Homepage Journal
      XM is not in any position to expend any amount of money on law suits or even legal wrangling. They will probably revisit this 5 years out...

      Did they ever hang that new satellite?
    • Actually, you can still control most XM radio receivers via a computer; save streams to disk to do time shifting, etc. You're just forced to use an IR interface, rather than the direct USB interface. I imagine it wouldn't be that hard to figure out the IR codes sent by the XM remote.

      Of course, you'd lose the information about what channels are there, what's currently playing, etc.

      It's too bad if this sticks. I did a simple forwarder/transcoder that lets you control a xmpcr from a Tivo HMO; with the a

      • its even better: ALL xm chipsets are rs-232 controllable; its just a matter of setting up an interface and then you're all set. also, the "xm direct" has just been released which is basically a receiver that is designed to be controlled via an adapter to any number of xm-ready vehicle radios. it will be very simple to come up with an adapter that turns the xm direct into a clone of the PCR.

  • Ebay (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:43PM (#10114813)
    Who else thinks that the seller of that ebay item *may* have had something to do with this post?

  • Lotta Chatter: Orange Alert! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:46PM (#10114829) Homepage Journal
    homebrewed software that allows XMPCR users to automatically record and tag each song.

    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!)

    • > 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!)

      This has been going on since long before people even had cassette recorders. I think it's just a matter of trying to cram more crap into a 24 hour day, same as playing songs to overlap each other, playing them at accelerated speed, talking ultra-fast du

    • I'd always assumed that too. One newer development I've noticed is the latest hit video clips player on some free-to-air TV channels often have a "glitch" in the audio.

      • Re:Lotta Chatter: Orange Alert! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by LostCluster ( 625375 ) * on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:47AM (#10115179)
        Radio stations have always desired to "watermark" their feeds for various reasons which include:

        - 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)

    by DJ-Dodger ( 169589 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:48PM (#10114838) Homepage
    Can you really call it "going for almost $400" if nobody has actually bid on the item? Sounds more like "profiteers are trying get ridiculous prices like $400"

  • OK that does it. (Score:5, Funny)

    by cmacb ( 547347 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:48PM (#10114840) Homepage Journal
    I'm canceling my XM account.

    And um... It had nothing to do with this, or any other screw-ups with XM programming.
    • I'm canceling my XM account.
      And um... It had nothing to do with this, or any other screw-ups with XM programming.

      Parent isn't off-topic: he's riffing on the RIAA denial:

      "News.com is reporting that XM has decided to "quietly discontinue" the XMPCR.... The RIAA, it should be noted, claims that they weren't 'behind the discontinuation of the PCR'".

      While not a "freaking goggle fest", it's a smart and subtle jab at the RIAA's less-than-believable denial.

      I won't presume to speak for anyone else, but I got a

  • What the heck (Score:5, Interesting)

    by FiReaNGeL ( 312636 ) <`moc.liamtoh' `ta' `l3gnaerif'> on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:48PM (#10114843) Homepage
    I don't get what the fuss is all about... So, it let you download songs? Who's in it's right mind is gonna pay 400$ for a crappy radio that let me download songs? Hello? P2P? If you want to get (illegally) free songs, at least do it for FREE? :)

    • Re:What the heck (Score:4, Interesting)

      by huchida ( 764848 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @01:02AM (#10115250)
      I don't get what the fuss is all about... So, it let you download songs? Who's in it's right mind is gonna pay 400$ for a crappy radio that let me download songs? Hello? P2P? If you want to get (illegally) free songs, at least do it for FREE? :)

      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...

    • Here is how to do it for free. (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Buy a DVB card for your computer. Download some audio ripping software for the satellite card http://audiorip.dvbnetwork.com/
      If you want some video decoding then download software for descrambling http://audiorip.dvbnetwork.com/.

      Point your satellite dish at 110, 119 or 91 degress west. You can watch video and audio.
      YOu can also record audio digitally from the satellite. The dish network satellite also carries the Sirius channels. THe audiorip software will name tag the songs and cut them too. It will also

    • Re:What the heck (Score:2, Informative)

      by karmatic ( 776420 )
      The legal aspect is why this was so popular. Timeshifting is legal, the music is licensed, and you are authorized to listen to it. As such, you can legally store, and replay the music as you see fit. Needless to say, the RIAA dislikes this.

    • Re:What the heck (Score:3, Informative)

      by Caraig ( 186934 )
      The thing is, recording from XM or any radio, for that matter (since XM is billing itself as satellite radio) falls under the time-shifting provisions of fair use. I can record a broadcast for later enjoyment, especially if I'm not able to listen to it when it broadcasts.

      So, as far as fair use goes, it's perfectly legal to rip from the XM stream.

  • How much? (Score:5, Funny)

    by jm92956n ( 758515 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:49PM (#10114851) Journal
    How much will it cost me to have my ebay link posted on the front page? Sure, you can find just about any sucker to buy a product if you show it to enough people; while it may take time, eventually you'll find either a person with too much money, or a person who lacks the ability to comprehend the value of money.

    It's "going" for $400 right now, yet there isn't a single bid.

  • pay service (Score:4, Insightful)

    by chuckfucter ( 703084 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:49PM (#10114853) Journal
    Isn't this kinda pointless, customers are paying for this service, it's like hooking up a vcr or tivo to your cable/satellite box and recording your shows (except the software tags the songs for you) I would think this would be a good thing for their service, that is, unless the RIAA asked them too (yea, yea I read the article)

  • RIAA (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Zorilla ( 791636 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:49PM (#10114855)
    The RIAA, it should be noted, claims that they weren't "behind the discontinuation of the PCR"

    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)

    by iamdrscience ( 541136 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:52PM (#10114874) Homepage
    XMPCR? Couldn't they have come up with a catchier name like DRMXM2PCUSBABCDEFG.

  • XM Module (Score:5, Informative)

    by GoRK ( 10018 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:53PM (#10114875) Homepage Journal
    First of all, XM are complete pieces of shit for doing this. The XMPCR was the only reason I even bought into satellite radio service in the first place. I use the XM-PCR on my Car PC and listen to it for hours every day.

    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)

      by Triumph The Insult C ( 586706 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:05AM (#10114952) Homepage Journal
      i agree

      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 ... either way, they chose one that's well supported. there are now plenty of apps out there available to do lots of cool stuff. they even promoted some of the bigger ones (a mac player, etc). some people even modded theirs to get digital output. being able to do that is just damn cool

      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)

        by GoRK ( 10018 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:50AM (#10115193) Homepage Journal
        A car pc, do you say? Do you happen to use this program:

        http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p =1 25414

        I only ask because I wrote it :) I was very excited at the end of last year when XM was really getting into supporting the XMPCR hackers. We were all very nervous that they would turn on us, but they very suprisingly did the opposite. It's highly unfortunate that they seem to have changed their tune.

        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)

      by Fnkmaster ( 89084 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:12AM (#10114998)
      Yup, I'm pretty certain you'll be seeing XMPCR compatible DIY kits for the Roady or SkyFi units within a month or two. Or an adapter board to sit between your USB or serial port and the XM Direct unit that talks to the headunit in my BMW - again, using a serial protocol of some sort, with a BlitzSafe adapter in the middle.


      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)

        by morcheeba ( 260908 ) * on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:43AM (#10115164) Journal
        XM is playing the game well, though. I looked into the chipsets that they use, and there is no point to pick off an unencrypted digital compressed signal -- you either get the lossy output that will produce artifacts when re-compressed, or the useless encrypted portion. Good engineering... until someone figures out which wire to probe on the raw IC.

        • Re:XM Module (Score:5, Informative)

          by Fnkmaster ( 89084 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:52AM (#10115203)
          Are you quite sure about that? What about the TOSLink digital adapters that people are using for the XMPCR (see here [myradiostore.us] for the device I'm talking about)? I don't know if the output is lossy and digital or not - frankly, I don't think it matters, it's not like XM transmission quality is really at CD level or anything. If you want CD quality audio, you still need to rip a song off a CD.


          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.

          • Re:XM Module (Score:3, Insightful)

            by morcheeba ( 260908 ) *
            Nice find! Yeah, the TOSLink is after the decompression. You're probably right - the digital link is probably not going to help improve the sound over the damage imposed by the compression.
      • Just duplicate the PC boards in the XMPCR and sell them complete without the XM Module. Once all the cars with built-in XM radios start hitting the junkyards, you'll see the price of used car radios (with their XM module inside) plummet.

        And there's only 12 or so big fat easy-to-solder pins on the module.

  • Willie Nelson (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Zorilla ( 791636 )
    Didn't Willie Nelson do a series of commercials for XM a while back about how it allowed him to listen to music freely whenever and wherever he wanted?

    Here's a major setback to that freedom. What would Willie think?

    • WWWD (Score:3, Funny)

      by vwjeff ( 709903 )
      What Would Willie Do?

      Willie would stop paying the bill. He would also forget to pay his income taxes. Oh wait...

  • abbreviation madness! (Score:5, Funny)

    by iamdrscience ( 541136 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:56PM (#10114895) Homepage
    IMHO the RIAA made XM discontinue the XMPCR ASAP because it didn't have any DRM, IIRC. Now everything's AOK because it's DOA, too bad though, if you want XM'S XMPCR USB thing you SOL.

  • two words: reverse engineer (Score:3, Informative)

    by KingPunk ( 800195 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:57PM (#10114904)
    i wonder how long it'll take somebody,
    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.
    /end rant
    • There are still stores out there with the XM PCR "in stock". If someone want to reverse engineer it/crack it/hack it drop me a mail for the link.

      xmpcr at techemail dot com

      (I'm not buying since they don't ship to Europe)

    • As I said in another post, you can take apart any XM radio, remove the XM module (it's a one-piece SIPP package) add a usb/serial converter and a DAC to it and make your own identical XMPCR device. There is no need to reverse engineer anything at all. The protocol has been documented by people writing software for it. The PC->radio protocol is the same used internally by the microcontrollers in every commercial product out there.
    • from morons such as the *AA

      Come on now. The RIAA and MPAA sure, but what's the AAA [aaa.com] ever done to you? They've always helped me out if my car battery died or if I had a flat tire!

  • I see a business opportunity (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gooman ( 709147 ) on Monday August 30, 2004 @11:59PM (#10114917) Journal
    This could be an opportunity for sirius to get into the game and become actual competition. Sometimes its amazing how a niche product can create a halo over an entire product line.

  • In other news, slashdot buys XMPCRs (Score:5, Funny)

    by iamhassi ( 659463 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:00AM (#10114921) Journal
    "In other news, /. editors buy 100,000 XMPCR receivers, publishes story their now worth $400 each and sells them on ebay, retiring as millionaires and outsources /. to India."

  • Already on Hatch's Hit List (Score:5, Interesting)

    by The Importance of ( 529734 ) * on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:00AM (#10114922) Homepage
    It looks like they pulled the hardware because of the presumed potential for piracy and they might not have had any legal remedies against. However, if the INDUCE Act had been in force, there would have been a law they could have used to outlaw the software. See, Hatch's Hit List #30 - XM Radio to MP3 [corante.com].

  • Web-based coming (Score:5, Informative)

    by SparklingClearWit ( 792141 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:03AM (#10114938)
    More than likely, they'll announce that existing subscribers will be able to listen to XM via Windows Media Player/Real Player/etc., as Sirius does. Right now, you need another piece of hardware, and another XM subscription.

    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)

    by Fnkmaster ( 89084 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:06AM (#10114960)
    I ordered mine on Thursday from xm-radio-satellite.com (they're out of stock now like everyone else), and it shipped out Friday. Supposedly mid-transit right now up to NYC from Florida, scheduled UPS delivery date Wednesday.


    Now if only I could pick stocks that quintupled in value in 5 days....

  • Just because the price is set at $400 doesn't mean they are going for that price. They will most likely not sell for such high of a price. In fact, not a single bid has been placed on the given auction [ebay.com] as of yet. So while the seller may be asking for $400, if no one is willing to pay that, he might as well sell it for a billion dollars.
  • http://www.xm-radio-satellite.com/index.asp?PageAc tion=VIEWPROD&ProdID=268 [xm-radio-satellite.com] $59.99, not 600 bucks like on fleBay

  • Nothing to see here (Score:5, Interesting)

    by GrimCracker ( 224167 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:11AM (#10114990)
    The canceling of the PCR is more likely related to the rumored inclusion of a USB port on the soon to be released Skyfi 2. They're not going to shout from the rooftops that they're discontinuing it any more than they advertised the demise of the Roady in favor of the Roady 2. There is no conspiracy here.
    • I'm glad to hear this! Things were looking down there. Hopefully, it will be more than just a rumor. The original XMPCR while minimalistic, inexpensive, and straight-to-the-point, had a significatn setback for control software -- the interface was stuck at 9600 bps! It takes over 20 seconds to grab the list of stations and what's playing. This slow refresh time is quite a hindrance when the radio internally is updating it much faster..
  • ahh, got it.

    XM Personal Computer Recorder

  • Flash: RIAA shoots own foot (Score:4, Insightful)

    by H_Fisher ( 808597 ) <h_v_fisher@yah[ ]com ['oo.' in gap]> on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:20AM (#10115044)
    If the RIAA *is* behind this, it seems awfully damned counterproductive.

    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.

    • So if the RIAA is behind the move to get rid of the XMPCR, what do they expect?

      I for one was considering this once I heard about the radio and software. Wow, the ablity to create a custom playlist and leave the junk out.

      Oh well, it was an interesting concept.

      In a free market, manufactures try to meet the consumers needs.

      In a monopoly, the most money is extracted for the least service.

      Thank goodness the commercial music isn't a required neccessity like food, water, and shelter.
  • "We are very concerned about a variety of technologies that essentially transform performances into music libraries," RIAA spokesman Steve Marks said.

    That might be any PC. If anyone were to invent an algorithm that can do an "analog checksum" on a sound file (assuming it hasn't been invented already), then all of this functionality would be available to anybody with a computer and a sound card.

    Software could continuously record the audio source, cross reference checksums against an online database akin t

  • The RIAA's goal is to make money. They keep wasting their time going after individuals who might be making digital recordings off "their" music. They should act like Microsoft does to piracy:

    If it spreads the music and generates popularity, it's all good.

    The RIAA, well just a bunch of companies, is going to keep making money. They should accept the fact people want to make music listening easier. As I type this, I'm listening to an album I bought but ripped to my hard drive because it's easier to mana
  • You can use the tape recorder in your portable to tape music off of the airwaves. I don't see Sony rushing to rip those suckers out. What's the difference here?
    • I don't see Sony rushing to rip those suckers out. What's the difference here?

      The difference is that Sony knows how to do business, and hasn't forgotten who it's customers are. Pity the RIAA can't say the same.

    • Everything you have heard the RIAA say about P2P and burning your own CD's is not new. In about 1970 or '71 they were saying the exact same thing, about cassette recorders. "It will kill the music industry". I swear that some of that crap is an exact quote from back then. Of course the quality of songs taped from the radio sucked, so it was never the threat they claimed. The difference today is the quality, it's much closer to store bought. Plus you can mix your own songs/artists however you want. We called
      • The quality of the audio broadcast by the typical FM station is terrible, even if the DJ can keep his mouth shut and not talk over the song. This is in large part due to attempts to sound "loud" by using very aggressive audio processing.

        Are the satellite radio services any better?

    • The tipping point is the signal quality.

      It's why DATs and audio CD-R recorders have (legally mandated) serial copy management systems, and analog cassette recorders do not.

      You're not the first person to make the inference between low-fi and hi-fi recording -- heck, some people even compare P2P to analog radio and wonder out loud what the difference is.

      Sometimes, a few orders of magnitude of audio precision make all the difference in the world. It's those orders of magnitude of precision that were the

  • CarPC Project (Score:2, Insightful)

    by LinuxWhore ( 90833 ) *
    Damn. I was really hoping these would stick around. It would have been a great addition to my aspiring Car PC project. Time-shifting talk radio over XM would have been neat.

    As far as I was concerned, devices like this were one the major reasons to subscribe to XM instead of Sirius.
  • If the XM broadcasts weren't in a proprietary encoding, we might be able to make our own players for their data format. Is it even possible to tune in their dedicated frequency signals on a 3rd party radio, controllable by a PC? The asymmetry between the dollars they paid for their right of way through public (and private) airspace, while standing on the publicly funded US satellite program, and the actual public benefit from their operations, seems extreme.
  • With Sirius, you get INCLUDED with your service streaming audio of all their programming to your PC. It's a simple matter to time-shift this music with .wav drivers.

  • Hell w/ XMPCR -- I want the silver XM car! (Score:5, Funny)

    by IronChefMorimoto ( 691038 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @12:44AM (#10115171)
    Screw this XMPCR crap. I want that little silver car that the XM office geek drives into his high-rise office building. Who needs a chic, cheap computer-based XM receiver when you can friggin' drive your cool little car right up to your cubicle?

    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
    • Huh...?

      Oh, you're talking about a commercial! I remember those things! Y'see, satellite radio has spoiled me rotten and I'm no longer able to tolerate advertisements the way I used to. Because of that I hardly watch any television any more.

      Did you know that, between my reliance on satellite radio and the ol' Adblock extension to FF, I have yet to see a single presitential campaign advertisement? I keep on seeing mention of some controversial commercials in the news, but that's the only way I know they
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • They may be able to quiet XM for now, but the same automated recording and tagging can be done with the new "HD Radio" standards that are getting pushed out the door. A closed-loop business like satellite radio is one thing, but broadcasters and radio manufacturers tend to be two different people when it comes to FM.

    Of course, I give it a week before the RIAA strong-arms broadcasters to essentially break the tagging features, but then you'll have some unhappy hardware manufacturers...

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @02:01AM (#10115467)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • "(Satellite) radio stations are in a tough spot between the recording industry, from which they license music, and subscribers, who want maximum flexibility in exchange for their monthly fees."

    I'd be more than willing to pay higher subscription fees for a company that would willingly go to bat against the RIAA instead of caving like this. I suspect I'm not the only one, either.
  • ...for not seeing this coming when that last story was posted. If I had put down 250 and bought 5, I'd i have a cool $1300+ profit for a few hours work... 'Course it wouldn't even come close to making up for the other hundreds of hours wasted on slashdot...
  • The RIAA, it should be noted, claims that they weren't "behind the discontinuation of the PCR".

    Bet they are gutted. They could have played with more law suits and everything. Think of all the missed lawyer fees!

  • But I want timeshifting. I'm going to be installing a PC in there for navigation and audio. (It's getting so cheap now...) However the radio annoys the hell out of me, if I can have timeshifting it will be worth it.

    When I go to do this I'm going to install whatever is easiest. If I can't get something that will work intelligently with my PC, then I'll just stick with mp3s I guess.

  • Cause and Effect? (Score:5, Informative)

    by dschuetz ( 10924 ) <.gro.tensad. .ta. .divad.> on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @07:39AM (#10116497)
    Everyone's been assuming that this is in response to TimeTrax. People seem to be forgetting that this has been available for some time (along with other, similar software). Also note that the XMPCR was on super-duper clearance in some places ($15 at XMFan.com a few weeks back, though w/out antenna).

    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.
  • Look yall, this has the stench of one big publicity grab. Dig it:

    XM gets the publicity from the time trax thing. Obviously DiaRIAA is pissed and throws in its two cents. But Publicity good.

    Because of Time Trax, the PCR starts selling like hotcakes...stock begins to run out, and the story starts to drop off the radar.

    XM announces that they are discontinuing the PCR. Huge new, people get worried, MORE PUBLICITY!!!! DiaRIAA is happy and excited (though claiming nothing to do with this of course). Stoc

  • DirecTv has Music (Score:3, Interesting)

    by theManInTheYellowHat ( 451261 ) on Tuesday August 31, 2004 @11:16AM (#10118483)
    And with MythTv I am hoping that I can grab the music (that much is trivial) and somehow get the text descriptions that come up with the song.

    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.

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