FM Boston Radio

The Internet has evolved and made many changes in our culture including personal MySpace pages, individual blogs, the way we trade information as well as the way the public finds and listens to music.

One of the upcoming and most popular formats is Internet Radio. Let’s discuss an Internet station, www.ilike2rock.net, who promotes, plays and exclusively features independent artists and their music.

Internet radio stations have been online for more than three years and offer listeners an alternative to “subscription radio” and commercial radio because of the eclectic music formats and unique opportunities for independent bands. The music is being brought to the forefront with stations like www.ilike2rock.net.

I spoke with DJ Tom of ilike2rock.net about the radio station and why it is important, not only the bands and individual artists they promote, but to the public as well.

”First and foremost, it is all about the music,” explained DJ Tom. “We offer a chance for the independent artists to submit their music free to us and to do that, they just go to our site and submit the music through a resource called “Music Submit” (we have an exclusive agreement with them). “Music Submit” allows bands and artists to submit band bios’, media kits and of course, the music, and this service in turn helps the bands by promoting them on ezines, other Internet radio stations, blogs and music related web sites.”

And www.ilike2rock.com adds even more to the table. I asked DJ Tom to elaborate.

”This gives the independent band or artist a unique opportunity to be heard with free exposure on our home page to reach their target audience and a chance for the band to attain new fans. We will also showcase bands in our “Talent Showcase,” keeping the band active on our play list. We also use the artists own promotional material (blogs, YouTube, My Space) and link up with them within our web site structure and we even create ring tones for them.”

There is a free program on the site to download called “Destiny Music Player” so you can tune in to the station and other Internet radio stations. It is similar to many of the music players for computers and is very easy to use and navigate.

Tired of the same format from your local radio station? Tune in ilike2rock and you can add more than 150 (and counting) independent bands and artists to your music play list. I spoke to DJ Tom about some of the bands they play and promote.

”This is what is the most exciting to me, we play the independent bands that submit to us (and Music Submit), from all kinds of musical genres and it is a free format, for both the listener and the bands. I am very excited for all our bands and artists. Some of the bands we promote are Hypnogaja, which supplied background music for the hit television on FX called “Dirt,” Black Frog, who have played at the Sturgis Bike Rally and Hide From Cleo, one of Michigan’s hottest bands and we promote all the bands equally.”

I was very impressed with DJ Tom and I too am excited to find new bands to listen to on the Internet. After all, it is always about the music.

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The short answer is that the sound quality that the alarm clock CD can supply is far superior to that of the alarm clock radio.

If there is one thing that I prefer about my alarm clock CD over my old alarm clock radio it is simply the sound quality.

My old clock radio was great and I had good choice as to how I could use it but the quality of sound left much to be desired. The sound repetition was very trebly if you know what I mean. Like the sound you would make banging an empty tin can.

Yes these gadgets will wake you up in the morning. But not with the full bass and full rounded tones of a good quality alarm clock CD. I am sure you would feel a lot better hearing the rich base sounds of your favorite piece of music over the scratchy hollow sound of the clock radio.

There is really no credible choice between the two for me. The bonus difference between the two is that you can select a particular piece of music with the CD player but you can’t do that with the radio.

So technically what makes the difference? They both function as radios, they both function as clocks. Well as I said earlier it’s the quality of the sound. You see in my opinion in clock radios the signal comes through very small speakers whereas the technology incorporated in systems that play CD’s have much more up to date Bose style technology.

It’s this technology that is good enough to be described as being of decent quality stereo sound.

We have just discussed a little bit about the technicalities but really in making a decision you need to balance desirable features against purchase cost.

I mean what do you really want? Do you just want to be woken up in the morning-then get an alarm?

There are many mechanical and electrical ones and they’ll both do the job for you. Do you want to be woken up in the morning to the news or the radio station of your choice that happens to sound a bit tinny? Well get a clock radio alarm.

The clocks and the alarms are reliable but the radio is at best average. Or do you want to be woken up in style with the rich sounds of Mozart or Beethoven that are well balanced between bass and treble. Then get yourself a good quality alarm clock CD.

When purchasing an alarm clock CD player you need to balance features against cost.

Good luck and good hunting!

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Jet Set Radio Future was a sequel to the Dreamcast game Jet Grind Radio. It was available in February 2002. The game transpires in Tokyo, and it was about an esoteric artifact that was pilfered. Gamers are in control of a character that wears roller skates and his struggle against the Rokkaku and Gouji. I have to admit the plot was more convoluted that Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Ninja Gaiden combined, but people should not be playing Jet Set Radio Future for the storyline. The gameplay in Jet Set Radio Future boils down to using graffiti. You can also perform various tricks while airborne that are stylish; furthermore, executing a grind on a railing was as rudimentary as shooting fish in a barrel. Getting careless will result in being chastised by the cops, so players should be aware of these things. There are a variety of graffiti sizes that can be utilized that range from infinitesimal to enormous. Jet Set Radio Future had visuals that introduced something known as cel-shading. This was a technique that is seen in video games like X-Men Legends and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. It was done intentionally in all of those games to give a more cartoon-like appearance. Cel-shading is an acquired taste. Some people love it; some people detest it; some people do not feel one way or the other towards it. This is not always the case. There are games where cel-shading works poorly with the tone of the game. Fortunately, Jet Set Radio Future was one of those game that perfectly takes full advantage of the cel-shading method. Personally, I interpreted the cel-shaded graphics to be unique and original in Jet Set Radio Future. The little things like the birds and airplanes flying though the air made Jet Set Radio Future ahead if its time; moreover, the reactions of civilians as you approach them was realistic. Other effects gamers might notice are the sparks that appear when grinding and the blurry streak effects that signify an increase in velocity. There is also some diversity with the pedestrians on the street. From the drunk to the somewhat scantily clad women, the game does have its fair share of characters that have personality to them. The real selling point of the game has to be the audio. Jet Set Radio Future had a soundtrack that was more than merely grandiose. There were over twenty songs that will make your head bop up and down throughout the duration of the game. The game had an up-tempo, rap, techno, and pop music that will please anyone. Jet Set Radio Future has a fairly limited multiplayer mode. Since the game was made during the early stages of the Xbox, it does not have any Xbox Live content. In other words, there was no downloadable content and no interacting with other players via Xbox Live. Luckily, there was a four player multiplayer that is playable on a four player split-screen. There was a racing mode, collect the flag mode, graffiti mode, and a tag mode. You try to come in first place in the racing mode. Collecting more flags than your opponent is what you will be doing in the collecting flags mode. The graffiti mode (which was my personal favorite) is about tagging more walls, and the tag mode is about tagging your opponent before they do. There were some glitches in the game that were few and far between. Two conspicuous flaws that come to my mind with Jet Set Radio Future were the camera and frame rate. There were times when the camera was more disorienting than helpful. The frame rate does not come to a screeching halt, but it does mildly decrease. Overall, the game is a solid pick up and play type of game that will appease most gamers.

http://wwwfunnyman.blogspot.com/

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Imagine …

You’re lying on your favorite sun lounger in your garden.

There isn’t a cloud in the sky.

You can feel the sun’s rays on your skin and there is a gentle breeze blowing through your hair.

There is a wooden table to your right. On the table is a tall glass. Inside the glass is your favorite ice-cool drink.

Next to the glass is a radio. From the radio you can hear your favorite music, old time radio shows, audiobooks, or whatever it is that tickles your fancy. When whatever you are listening to finishes another one of your favorites will start without you ever having to move a muscle.

Life is good!

Okay, you can stop imagining now and get back down to reality. The reason I asked you to imagine that particular scenario is that I wanted you to feel just how wonderful it is to have a little device called an FM transmitter. Some of you reading this will know what I’m talking about, but for those who don’t let me explain.

An FM transmitter is a rather clever gadget that allows you to transmit sound directly from your computer to any radio in your house. It’s completely wireless and works just like a normal radio station, but on a much smaller scale.

Here’s what happens. It’s really easy.

Step 1 – You plug the device into your sound card.

Step 2 – You select a frequency on the device that you want to broadcast at. For example you might select 92.5 FM.

Step 3 – You pick a radio show you’d like to listen to and start it playing on your computer.

Step 4 – You go to any FM radio in your house and tune it in to 92.5 FM.

Step 5 – You sit down and enjoy

The radio needs to be within a certain range, which will vary between 50 feet and 300 feet depending on the strength of the FM transmitter you are using and the number of walls and other obstructions the signal need to pass through to get to you.

The wonderful thing about FM transmitters is it allows you to listen to all the MP3 files you have stored on your computer or one of the online music services, whilst at the same time giving you the freedom to move around your house.

Luckily, the price of FM transmitters has dropped over the past few years and you should be able to pick up a decent FM transmitter that will work throughout a typical house for less than $100.

When purchasing an FM transmitter there are several things you need to consider before you make your decision to buy. Most important of all is the distance the signal covers. If you live in a tiny apartment there’s no need to spend the extra money on a powerful unit that will transmit 1000 feet, unless of course you want the whole neighborhood to be able to tune in to your broadcast. On the other hand, don’t buy one that will only transmit 10 feet if you want to listen at the bottom of the garden which is 150 feet from your computer.

A second thing to look out for is a digital display. Some units have no digital display telling you what frequency you are tuned into and require you to turn a screw on the back to adjust the frequency. This procedure can take quite some time as it requires a bit of trial and error. The end result is exactly the same, but with a digital display it is easy to set the FM transmitter to a specific frequency by reading the numbers on the display and then set the radio to exactly the same frequency.

Finally, some units require batteries whereas others run from the mains power supply. If the unit you buy runs off batteries make sure that it has an auto-off facility that will allow you to set a period after which the unit will automatically turn itself off. If you don’t have this you’ll find yourself wasting a lot of batteries.

FM transmitters are ideal for transmitting around your house, but the same technology can also provide an ideal way of listening to your MP3 player in your car without having to invest in an in-car MP3 unit. Just plug a battery powered FM transmitter into your MP3 player and then tune your car stereo into the same frequency.

So, now you know just how easy it is to set-up your very own micro radio station for your very own listening pleasure. It doesn’t matter whether you are a music fan, an old time radio aficionado, or an audiobook lover, this is one little gadget that can really add to the overall enjoyment.

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Advertising, a one-way communication with the purpose of informing potential customers about products and services and how to obtain them, is probably an essential function of any company to push their products in the market. Every major medium, with the examples of newspapers, television, radio, movies, magazines, video games etc. is already being used for the purpose of advertising.

All advertising mediums, however, are not as successful, or rather efficient for the purpose. In other words, choosing a proper and effective advertising media is an important basic preliminary. A medium, which is experiencing a trend of consumers shifting away from it, would be a bad advertising medium to choose in the long run. Rather, the medium, which is en vogue and experiencing a gradual or rapid trend shift towards it, would be more effective for advertising as it has the opportunity of a greater reach.

Newspapers, television, movies and magazines have been some of the stable advertising media for a long time. Radio, as we had in earlier days, is rapidly losing popularity. It must be said that the stable media mentioned previously is also suffering from trend shift but not as much as the radio. And it’s all because of a newer media that has recently taken the advertising media world by storm. It’s none other than the World Wide Web. Yes, internet, as we love to call it, is growing popular with every passing moment and newer technologies, easier access to centralized data and variety of cross demographic interests are attracting more and more people into the web.

This essentially makes internet a widely sought after advertising media of the new generation entrepreneurs. One of the latest wonders of the internet as an advertising media is the inception of internet talk radio. Advertising on the internet talk radio is similar to advertising on the old-age radio, except that its more powerful. A recent arbitration report states that over fifty percent of internet users consume streaming media and in the last three years, the number of Americans using internet radio has almost quadrupled. Moreover, Americans now seem to spend less time with television and print due to their time spent on the internet. Almost fifty six percent of the internet radio users have rated the media as new and fresh. All these definitely make internet radio the talk of the next generation advertising medium.

These factors help the advertisers with more precise targeting opportunities and get exact numbers of impressions delivered. Advertising on internet radio is multi-faceted. There are scopes to combine audio ads with synchronized banners and buttons to maximize visibility and retain attention. It is also more actionable as the listeners pay attention and the business site is just a click away. All these functionalities, together as a package, cannot be found in any other advertising media.

Catering to the tech-savvy, educated, affluent professionals from 20s to 50s with large disposable income who are comfortable spending online, the internet radio is fast becoming a very powerful advertising media.

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Radio interviews offer a power strategy for launching your new book or sharing your message as with radio interviews you can share your message with millions effortlessly. Here are some must know tips for making your radio interviews pay off BIG for you!

1. Radio Producers Love Controversial Topics and Hot Topics In The News. Producers and radio show hosts are always on the lookout for guests who can discuss the hottest and most current news of the day topics.

2. Follow The News Stories That Fall Within Your Area Of Expertise And Create Your Talking Points For Each Story. Do this even if you are not booked on the topic (yet) as you will be developing a strong skill set of being able to apply your education, credentials, experience and wisdom to the socially relevant issues of the day.

3. Create A List Of Intriguing Questions To Offer To Your Producer Or Host. Develop questions that are hard hitting and benefit loaded for your listening audience. Producers and hosts want to ask you questions that will intrigue their audience and captures their attention.

4. Avoid Questions Such As “Why Did You Write Your Book?” However, be ready to answer that question with a strong, powerful, benefit packed 20 to 25 second answer. If you are a great guest with high energy, enthusiasm and outstanding information, the host will be more than happy to give you a chance to mention your website or how listeners can find out more info. Be ready with a several points of developed content.

5. Responsibly Promote Your Book During The Interview. Radio producers and hosts love to interview authors and experts who are responsible in the promotion of their book while on the show. Remember, you are a guest on the show and primarily booked to entertain, inform and converse with the audience and the host (keep in mind you are not booked for an infomercial).

6. Avoid Phrases Such As “In My Book”. It is better to use the name of your book as if it were a living entity, this way you can be promotional but in a way that makes sense to the conversation you are having. Invest in media training specifically for radio interviews so you can become a top notch, professional guest and make the most of the outstanding ability of radio to reach millions with your message.

7. Have Lots Of News Topics: Create a list of topics you can discuss along with talking points on each topic. A talking point is your commentary on the issue at hand and what you would contribute to the discussion.

8. Apply Your Knowledge: Always respond to any question using your point of view as defined by your education, experience and credentials. Your opinions are welcome especially when you have top notch credentials and a strong platform.

9. Never Wing It: Always prepare for your interview and have note cards, special reports, news stories etc. Remember, radio interviews generally take place over the phone so you can have lots of prepared material ready for reference in front of you.

10. Website Strategy: Be sure your website has lots of content such as a bio, special reports, tip sheets, table of contents of your book, a summary of your book and a list of discussion topics and related questions for each topic. This information will help the producer as well as the host get ready for your interview. It’s always better to support the producer and host with sufficient information so they have a guideline for the interview. Otherwise, they could go in a new direction and you might not be prepared appropriately.

11. Energy Is Critical In Delivering A Radio Interview. Practice speaking with energy, excitement and passion in your voice as your voice, along with your content, play a critical role in the success of your interview. Energy can also be thought of as urgency. Urgency, in that, you feel compelled to share your information with others in that you can help them. Listeners will sense your passion and listen. Hence, a great interview!

12. Be Personable With The Host & With Callers. Use good relationship building skills to create a rapport with the host such as using his or her name when you speak to them on the air or if they ask you a question that you feel is especially good you can say “great question” or even better, you can say “great question, Joe” and go on to your answer.

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If you know know the names of all of the most famous sports announcers by heart or if you find yourself calling the plays at your high school football game, a career in radio might be for you.

Knowing sports is important for success as a sports anchor person, just like knowledge about music is key to being a DJ. Sports announcers can report live from the dugouts and benches as the coaches and players develop strategy that often determines the vital winning strategies. You mihgt even get to interview famous professional athletes when you do in-depth interviews as part of your sportscast.

Or, do you want to learn to be a DJ because you like the idea of having your own radio show — playing the hit songs, joking around, announcing new record titles? DJs often interview recording artists and movie stars. Radio personalities get paid for public appearances to help promote the station. Being a DJ means you might even become famous.

Or, you might be better at delivering the news. As a news person you will also be involved in on the spot news bulletins, often at the actual scene of where news happends. And as a prominent member of your community, you must attend civic and special meetings where important issues are debated. Come election time, you’ll be in the thick of it reporting on the top candidates.

Learn how to be a sportscaster, DJ or a news announcer, isn’t all that easy. Radio jobs are in high demand so it is easier to get a job at a smaller radio station. The proven best way to get a job is via a mentor program or school that offers professional mentors who can help get you a job. Earnings are often higher in larger cities than in small towns in the U.S.

According to the 2006 US Bureau of Labor Statistics, half of all radio and television announcersand some of them were DJs—earned between $8.10 and $18.62 an hour. 10 percent of the lowest paid earned less than $6.55. 10 percent made more than $32.98 an hour. Announcers held about 71,000 jobs.

30 percent of these workers are in broadcasting, mainly in radio and television stations, with 17 percent working in the motion picture, video, and sound recording businesses.

Behind the scenes there are also plenty of other jobs at a radio station — digital recording, editing, and broadcasting has changed the work of broadcast and sound engineering technicians and radio operators. Today’s technicians must learn skills for computer software and networking.

The important thing is that if you want to learn how to be a DJ or get a job in radio, you need to learn from a working professional – a mentor who can teach you all the inside tips and tricks.

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I recently purchased a new clock radio, the Sony Dream Machine, to wake me up in the morning for work. The old clock radio we had was thrown out in disgust because it was so irritating, and the buttons were not working properly from repeated frustrated beatings when I was trying to set the time.

The Sony Dream Machine is pretty standard looking, not that expensive, and has large green numbers that can be seen OK in the day, and are not too bright in the night.

It’s best feature is a little paddle switch with which you can adjust the alarm time up and down. So if you want to get up 15 minutes earlier one day because the CEO is coming to visit your office, you can easily adjust it and then just adjust it up 15 minutes, back to what it was the next evening. You don’t have to cycle through 24 hours, in minutes, all 1440 of them, like most other cheap clock radios.

Setting the time is the same. You can change the hours and minutes forward and backward, and not just in one direction, which is marvellous!

You can be woken up with a choice of either radio (fm and am) or buzzer, and you can switch the alarm off.

Another nice feature is that you just touch a button on the top of the radio to switch the radio on, and another button to switch it off. No horrible slider switches. This same button is used to switch the alarm off when it wakes you up. There is also another very large rectangular button to put the alarm into snooze mode, which gives you 10 minutes more sleep time every time you push it. If you push it twice in quick succession it will let you snooze for 20 minutes before waking you up. There’s a lot of common sense in this radio!

The radio has a little lithium battery for retaining your settings during power failures. It should last about 5 years.

It also has a daylight saving button, which adds an hour to the time, to put the radio in summer time mode.

I’ve bought quite a number of clock radios in the past, and this is the first one I’ve actually liked. It really is a brilliant little machine, and whoever designed it has obviously put a lot of thought into it’s functions.

I’m very happy, and no one is paying me to say this!!

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With the advances in high-speed internet more and more people are flocking to online radio stations for their listening pleasure rather than tuning in to their local airwaves. The internet offers a wider variety of choices in every genre and it is instantly available. There are also talk radio stations that offer fun and informative programming and you can pick up stations in any country around the world no matter where you are located.
The only drawback to online radio stations is that high-speed connections are a must, and the faster the better.

Slower speeds even in DSL can cause lags in signal, slow loading, and a lot of buffering which causes breaking up of the music or information. Another reason people are tuning into internet radio in droves is the fact that they are largely commercial free. Like the old FM of the initial heyday in the 70’s that offered a commercial free alternative to AM stations, the internet gives its listeners continuous pleasure without breaks for advertising.

Some of the advantages of the top online radio stations:

• Many broadcast both music and videos so you can see the top music videos to go along with the song vs just listening to the music on your radio.
• Easy to use
• Many offer parental guidance ability to block what you do not want your children listening to
• Some allow you to create your own ‘station’ with music you choose to listen to

Some of the disadvantages of the top online radio stations:

• Many will require that you sign up for the service. Some are free, some are not, but most of the sign up forms are easy enough to fill out.
• Depending on your country of origin there may be some limitations from stations from other countries

For many listeners the internet is the way to go for the best music and talk radio experience.

For more information on radio stations, visit http://www.radiostations.asia.

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Friends, do you remember the button marked ‘FM’ that all of us had on our old ‘Made- in-Japan’ 2-in-1’s, I mean when you turned it on, one could just hear the hissing sound and nothing else. And how could you forget the FM Stereo light that never lit, because it never caught the signal. Déjà vu..right? Now the time has come to dust your old radio sets and get them ready because the FM radio revolution has come. We have all been hearing stories about the resurrection of Radio for the past so many years, but how far are they true? Well, it’s time we looked at that.

Frequency Modulation (FM) as a technology has been in India since 23 July 1977, when the first FM radio station was launched in Madras by AIR. But sadly, FM’s potential was never exploited and it was left to fend for itself. The FM service got a shot in the arm in the year 1992, when AIR setup a FM station at Jalandhar.

The very next year, the Government announced the introduction of time-slots that could be given to private parties on AIR FM stations at Delhi and Bombay. The response was enormous and many producers came and started slowly, but surely. Sadly, the hullabaloo could not sustain for long and the AIR authorities pulled the plug in 1998, bringing to an end some really creative efforts.

In 1999, the Government came with a very ambitious plan to popularise FM radio in all major cities of India and auctioned frequencies on the “License fee” model, which became a bone of contention between the Government and the private operators. It was this phase that gave birth to Radio Mirchi, Red FM, Radio City, Go FM, Win FM etc.

But the stringent policies and a very high license fee came as a big stumbling block and that led to heavy losses for the operators. Keeping this in mind, the Government on the recommendations of a high level committee came up with the more popular “Revenue Sharing” model on whose basis; it again asked private parties to apply for various FM stations in India.

In 2005, the private operators were offered a total of 336 frequencies in 91 cities which were lapped up, thus bringing us on the verge of a new era of quality entertainment and of course, lead us away from the world dominated by the omnipresent ‘K’ factor world.

Are you tuned-in to this opportunity…are you?

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