RADIO KILLED THE VIDEO STAR (HOPEFULLY) :

Ten O'Clock Tech : Radio's Smarter Future (Arik Hesseldahl, 08.06.02, Forbes)

Probably one of the great oversights in the history of consumer electronics design is that it's not possible to program an audio tape deck to record a favorite radio program when you're not there.

Sure, it's the most derided and poorly executed feature on a VCR. But fans of Rush Limbaugh, Garrison Keillor or Howard Stern wouldn't mind an easy way to record their favorite radio show when they can't be there themselves to press the "record" button.

It seems that the next generation of radio will correct that. Today IBiquity Digital, the privately held outfit cooking up the next generation of conventional radio technology that makes AM sound like FM and FM sound like a CD, says it is acquiring all the radio-related intellectual property of a firm called Command Audio. [...]

By grabbing Command Audio's technology, broadcasters should be able to experiment with new ways to send programming. One scenario often discussed is to put buttons on the radio receivers that call up instant traffic and weather reports--meaning no more waiting for "traffic and weather every ten minutes." Chances are the latest information will be stored in a hard drive contained within the radio itself and will be constantly updated as needed, so it can play instantly. And like the TiVo, listeners should be able to pause live programming and save it for later, maybe meaning an end to "parking songs"-- those great songs that always seem to come on just as you're parking the car.

It's about time. But, here's my question : why is radio programming so much better than TV, but radio ads are so much worse than even TV ads? Posted by Orrin Judd at August 8, 2002 10:01 AM