| Sirius or XM, which do you have?
- Click HERE for Original Thread
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| 04mdx4sq |
| As someone who works in the industry selling systems for both sat. companies, I'm trying to see how many of you have sat. radio and any comments or suggestions you might have about either system that I can pass along to my reps. |
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| DaleB |
| I don't think differences are that great, but $3 will still work towards a great mug of draft!:7: |
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| cycler15 |
I have XM and love it.
With XM Radio being first to market, they have a huge subscriber base advantage over Sirius. A few months back I read that XM had over a million subscribers and Sirius had around 300k. I also read somewhere that they need around 1.5 million subscribers (not sure the exact number) to break even since the satellites cost so damn much. Could be a factor if Sirius cannot get to the break even point soon. |
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| Jim03MDX |
| XM - standard on my '04 TL. |
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| mgmdx |
| Neither. Don't need it as I mostly listen to my mp3s. |
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| R Stevens |
| XM here. Have had it for 2 years and love it. Any plans for using DD 5.1 on the music channels? Noticed that XM is carrying ACC football--any chance of adding Big 10? |
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| 04mdx4sq |
According to Sirius rep, they are going to be sending signals encoded for Dolby Pro-Logic II. As far as Big 10, I will see what I can find out.
Rumor mill has it Sirius will be broadcasting video in the near future (I believe they are waiting until they hit a certain subscriber #). They have reportedly tested it and can make it go. I suspect when that happens, you will also see 5.1 or DTS encoding. |
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| nightguy |
Neither. I love good ol' fashioned terrestrial radio. Hmmm. :D
By the way, the numbers don't necessarily represent paid subscriptions. |
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| 04mdx4sq |
| Very true, but it makes the stockholders feel better.... |
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| apple904 |
| I've got Sirius but in my Jeep, not the X. I decided on it because all of the music is commercial free. They just added local weather and traffic so that's pretty cool. I also can log on to the website and listen to any music station on-line. Pretty cool when I was in my hotel in Shanghai to be able to log on and listen, felt like a little break from the crap you have to listen to over there! I could close my eyes and pretend I was home for a while. Choose Sirius! I own the stock and I need the money!! |
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| nightguy |
| Do either of them guarantee that the commercial-free channels will remain so for a certain period of time ? In a world where Oreo's are now 18 oz., ice cream is less than 1/2 gallon, and my shampoo bottle keeps shrinking, I don't think they'll be able to pass up the extra revenue to keep the subscription price the same. |
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| apple904 |
| Sirius charges more and they are trying to get their base up so it's unlikely that theywill add commercials. They would get killed if they did. To the best of my knowledge there is no guarantee but it's a major focus of their marketing. |
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| cycler15 |
XM radio is also commercial free (at least all of the original programming stations). I think the syndicated stations like KISS have a few commercials. XM also has traffic and weather for the major cities. XM radio went commercial free once their subscriber base hit a certain level, I doubt they will go back to having commercials.
Basically, the 2 are VERY SIMILIAR. I guess it just comes down to if your car is setup for one or the other or you like the hardware of one over the other. $3 a month isn't much, but it adds up when both offer basically the exact same thing. |
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| Fabvsix |
| I have XM in my new 04 RL. It is all I listen too ! Is it "da bomb" .......:2: :2: :2: :2: |
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| apple904 |
How many commercial free original programming stations does XM have now? Sirius has about 70 right now. They have 40 news, 14 sports, and 23 "etertainment". Only the 70 music stations are commercail free.
I agree there is very little difference in the 2 services. If you're trying to decide, best to go on-line and review their line-up to see which one has the best selection for you. |
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| nightguy |
quote:
Originally posted by apple904
Sirius charges more and they are trying to get their base up so it's unlikely that theywill add commercials. They would get killed if they did. To the best of my knowledge there is no guarantee but it's a major focus of their marketing.
No commercials is a major focus and they might keep it the same, but I doubt it. More likely it's a lure for innovators. I believe they will need to change their business model not only to keep up with the debt service (unfortunately not much competition in the satellite launching business), but to keep the stock price up. By the time they get done paying debt, paying ASCAP fees, repeater maintenance, advertising, employees, etc., there's not much left.
Those 1,000,000 and 300,000 subscriptions are providing some cash flow but if some of those are rolled into the price of the car, I doubt they are getting the full $120 and $156 from them. Then, there's the marketing costs of getting them to renew. Doing forecasts and budgets must be a nightmare.
There is some other revenue from the channels that do have commercials but for those to be maximized, they need to be hitting some key demographics - adults 25-54 and women 35-44. Since there are no ratings for satellite radio yet, they either must rely on free information provided by the subscriber through surveys or hire out expensive third party research to sell to advertisers. By the way, I'll ask again, is the XM traffic and weather sponsored ? If it is, I think there will be many more of those embedded in places where they weren't before. Eventually it will be like public television affiliates - sure no commercials, but plenty of lengthy sponsorships that sure sound like commercials. Eventually they'll just take the plunge and start running spots. They'll have no choice but to add this vital revenue stream to grow - if they ever get out of debt.
Soon (maybe sooner based on what I read), radio corporations could drastically cut their number of commercials and promotional announcements. It's possible that satellite and terrestrial radio will be running the same number of spots, the only difference being one is free. It's a win-win for the big companies because fewer interruptions mean better ratings and a higher rate. And digital signals could eventually provide more sub-niche opportunites and revenues.
Then again, I could be full of hogwash. As far as I know there are no obligations to the service other than the activation fee, so people should try it out. |
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| 04mdx4sq |
I will agree the programming is similar, XM does tend to play program loops where Sirius does not. I also like the fact that if I can listen to NFL games on Sirius, even out of market teams. You also can get the game from the home team announcers as well as the away team announcers. As far as the $3 a month, it's really not such a substantial amount that it would sway my decision.
Listening to the two side by side in our sound room, I would also have to say the Sirius sounds less compressed. The S-Plex technology is a brilliant way to get better sound with their available bandwith.
Either system is a leap ahead of local broadcast radio. Those of you who have it, let me pose a question to you that was posed to me by my Sirius rep: If I were to give you $500.00 to pull satellite radio out of your car and not use it for 5 years, would you?
After I got my X and was without it for a week, I would have to answer no. |
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| Fabvsix |
I use my XM satelite in my RL 100% of the time. Why bother with cd's, radio etc.....??????????????????
I think it is awesome ! |
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| Blackura |
AM and FM stations have been adding commercial and promotional clutter for years. Now, one company has proudly announced cutbacks... but it will barely be noticeable.
They're adding more 30 second commercials where there used to be only 60 seconds... so more spots, but with less time for each advertiser.
Some stations will no doubt cut back the number of spots at 3am and then proudly proclaim "fewer commercials!". Others will lose 1 just minute an hour in off-prime hours and claim the same thing.
Radio stations used to be run by people with a passion for radio. It was done as a community service and also a business. Now after deregulation of the Regan era, it's only about the short term dollars... screw the community. Radio owners have been making money hand over fist for a decade or more, but only now that the stock prices are sinking do they react.
It's way too late to save it. The competition is here with Internet and satellite radio. It's not just about Britney and Whitney. There's lots of variety. There's audio quality. There's a respect for the intelligence of the audience.
What will really put satellite over the top (in my opinion) is when high profile radio personalities jump over. Opie and Anthony are already there. Stern will eventually be there. They're even launching a whole new channel for Bob Edwards.
Internet radio, XM and Sirius are putting a serious (no pun intended) dent in "regular" radio. To the person, everybody I know that has satellite will never go back to regular radio.
It's very sad how a few greedy people have raped what was a great (and fun) business. |
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| DaleB |
| Nice analysis. Sat. radio has re-introduced the kind of programming that was exciting when FM radio first appeared on the scene. But now it is even more high tech, globally available, and essentially commercial free. It even includes 'talk radio' for those who need that kind of 'daily dose' in their day. |
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| nightguy |
quote:
Originally posted by Blackura
AM and FM stations have been adding commercial and promotional clutter for years. Now, one company has proudly announced cutbacks... but it will barely be noticeable.
They're adding more 30 second commercials where there used to be only 60 seconds... so more spots, but with less time for each advertiser.
Some stations will no doubt cut back the number of spots at 3am and then proudly proclaim "fewer commercials!". Others will lose 1 just minute an hour in off-prime hours and claim the same thing.
Radio stations used to be run by people with a passion for radio. It was done as a community service and also a business. Now after deregulation of the Regan era, it's only about the short term dollars... screw the community. Radio owners have been making money hand over fist for a decade or more, but only now that the stock prices are sinking do they react.
It's way too late to save it. The competition is here with Internet and satellite radio. It's not just about Britney and Whitney. There's lots of variety. There's audio quality. There's a respect for the intelligence of the audience.
What will really put satellite over the top (in my opinion) is when high profile radio personalities jump over. Opie and Anthony are already there. Stern will eventually be there. They're even launching a whole new channel for Bob Edwards.
Internet radio, XM and Sirius are putting a serious (no pun intended) dent in "regular" radio. To the person, everybody I know that has satellite will never go back to regular radio.
It's very sad how a few greedy people have raped what was a great (and fun) business.
The cutbacks will be during all dayparts including drivetime. It will be very noticeable - a night and day difference. Yes, there will be :30's but the total time will be less.
Radio deregulation was during the Clinton era...Telecom '96. The moves are not being made in light of any sinking stock prices. Radio is still very much community oriented. One community has a group of stations involved with over 130 charities and for some they along with listeners are responsible for some of the single largest national donations. Terrestrial radio will be able to do what satellite can't...be local. Sure they can run traffic reports and broadcast pro sports (with huge royalties paid for a product that's mostly used within the local ADI anyway) but what else can they do ?
As far as the variety goes, you and I and people on this board might like it, but to the masses it's confusing. Most people like the "frosting" of what's out there. No it doesn't make sense to us but it's true. Listening is much shorter than it used to be and people have short attention spans.
Most of the country has no idea who Opie and Anthony are; most won't listen to Stern because he does the same thing day in, day out. Who is Bob Edwards ?
Internet radio is pretty much dead. The good ones folded like cheap tents. I have yet to stream a clean signal of anything I want to listen to on my 3 meg service. I have yet to see evidence that XM and Sirius are making a dent. I will again point out that many, many of the subscriptions are rolled into the car price. And quite honestly for the length of time and money spent on marketing by XM, a million is pitiful.
I don't get the greed thing. I can't think of any businesses that haven't changed dramatically in the last 15 years and especially in the last 3. It's become corporate like everything else because somebody saw an opportunity. We are a market driven economy and probably will not change anytime soon. And because XM and Sirius have both gone public, they will need to keep the price up just like good ol' fashioned radio. And there WILL be commercials. Probably the same number that other stations are cutting back to now.
But, I'm just one guy. I could be way off my rocker. :D |
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| Blackura |
And how many radio stations do you own? :)
Up to 1984: The max number of AM, FM and TV stations one owner could own was 7-7-7.
1985: The max number of AM, FM and TV stations one owner could own was upped to 12-12-12 with the door left wide open for more similar reform.
1985: Requirements for non-entertainment programming (meaning public affairs) disappear completely.
1985: Limits on the percentage of commercial becomes a thing of the past.
1987: The Fairness Doctrine goes bye-bye.
1996: Telecommunications Act accelerates the process and ups limits to whatever you can get away with.
Today, entire groups of radio stations operate with not a living soul in the building many hours of the day. Many have no news department at all, many others have just one person for several stations. Sometimes they use different names on different stations.
FYI: Bob Edwards was the host of the popular "Morning Edition" on public radio for many, many years. He was dumped for "not appealing to the desired 25-54 demographic." Further investigation after the fact revealed the opposite. Radio's loss. Satellite's gain.
Don't get me wrong. Radio is still viable... but it's just a shell of what it used to be, and the trends are not good. |
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| Blackura |
quote:
Originally posted by nightguy
It's become corporate like everything else because somebody saw an opportunity. We are a market driven economy and probably will not change anytime soon.
Unfortunately, here's where we agree completely. |
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| DaleB |
I don't think anyone is saying community radio is dead, but I don't think they have fully felt the sting of satellite radio which is still in it's infancy.
They may be able to hang on to a segment of their listeners, especially in more rural areas, but the younger crowd, in particular, wants the 'tunes' and fewer commercials, the better. For that matter, so do I.
Do you really think they care that the station is providing time for charitable fundraising? Beyond 'that's nice'... I doubt it.
I rely more on TV, the internet and the newspaper for weather forecasts. One of the most frustrating things about obtaining weather and traffic reports on terrestial radio is that it is there when you are not listening, and not on when you want it.
Some stations say weather and traffic at 8, 18, and 38 past the hour..seems reasonable. By the time it comes around I am too busy watching traffic, etc to notice it, and often miss it.
I am just presenting a different perspective. I don't know what the final impact of alternative radio will be. Time will tell, and perhaps we will have something that will combine the best of both in the future. None of this is being 'forced' on anyone. |
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| cycler15 |
Looks like XM's subscriber base has grown substantially in the past few months...
"WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XM Satellite Radio , the nation's leading provider of satellite radio with more than 2.1 million subscribers, today announced that Audi, one of the world's leading automobile manufacturers, will offer XM Radio as a factory-installed feature on Audi A8 and Audi TT models for the 2005 model year."
I also found on the internet that Sirius has around 500k subscribers to date. |
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| Blackura |
I think the analogy might be TV vs Cable.
TV was free. There were three big networks, each with approx 33% of the audience. Today with several new networks, cable, satellite, pay per view, premium services the big three have a much smaller share of the TV viewing pie. And TV viewing is competing with what you're doing right now (accessing the web), video games, etc, so the viewership pie is a smaller one too.
Likewise terrestrial radio will have a smaller share of listening with newly available technology such as 100+ channels of Sirius, another 100+ of XM, almost that many of cable radio channels, 1000s of internet streaming services, downloaded mp3s (and Ogg, wma, etc) all will cut further into the listening pie.
Perhaps auto manufacturers will start including thee years of satellite radio service fees too, as some now do with scheduled maintenence. What's left anyway... financing is 0%, rebates are $10,000 in some cases... what other incentives are left? This might be one of them. If it is, fewer people will go back to regular radio.
My apologies also. I should have disclosed in an earlier post that I work in radio and my income depends directly on radio advertising revenue. I've done on-air work in lots of different formats in large medium and small markets for several decades, and sales and management for almost as long. I have a few friends who have jumped from radio to satellite, both on and off the air. So far nobody's even considered jumping back. |
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| nightguy |
quote:
Originally posted by Blackura
I think the analogy might be TV vs Cable.
Absolutely !
quote:
And TV viewing is competing with what you're doing right now (accessing the web), video games, etc, so the viewership pie is a smaller one too..
Right on. I believe the magic word is share !
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My apologies also. I should have disclosed in an earlier post that I work in radio and my income depends directly on radio advertising revenue. I've done on-air work in lots of different formats in large medium and small markets for several decades, and sales and management for almost as long. I have a few friends who have jumped from radio to satellite, both on and off the air. So far nobody's even considered jumping back.
Sweet ! We have a lot to talk about then. Although I doubt my resume is nearly as long as yours.
quote:
Today, entire groups of radio stations operate with not a living soul in the building many hours of the day. Many have no news department at all, many others have just one person for several stations. Sometimes they use different names on different stations.
I know I have probably been brainwashed by some corporate brainwizards but unfortunately that's the reality in small markets. It is amazing how the quality of the product improves although at the expense of breaking news.
One last thing...would you agree that Telecom '96 broke the levy or do you think the rule changes leading up to it were just as important ? Even as a young punk I guess Inever really understood a cap. I know it's easier to say now that we're in the information age, but shouldn't people be asking their own questions regarding the validity of information ? |
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| topgun_tb |
Hey folks, a lot of numbers have been mentioned in here with respect to subscribers of Sirius and XM. Let me say that XM is leading by far in subcribers...currently at about 2.8 million. Here's cool site that offers a lot of info about XM including current subscription numbers.
http://www.xmfan.com/
I have XM in my 'X' and am loving it!
Cheers,
Ed aka 'topgun' |
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| Blackura |
quote:
Originally posted by nightguy
One last thing...would you agree that Telecom '96 broke the levy or do you think the rule changes leading up to it were just as important ? Even as a young punk I guess Inever really understood a cap. I know it's easier to say now that we're in the information age, but shouldn't people be asking their own questions regarding the validity of information ?
You're a young punk in radio? Congrats! So few college grads want to get into radio. I regularly teach (as a guest lecturer) college kids in media classes, and for 9 years not one student has ever raised his/her hand when I asked if anybody wanted to get a job in radio. It's all TV now. There used to be long lists of applicants at radio stations and you really had to be good (or know somebody) to get a job. As a Program Director, I had big boxes of tapes and resumes from wanna-be's. But today you may even hear ads on the radio begging for applicants.
To answer your question, 1985 was the big crack in the dam. 1996 was the resulting flood.
And should people be asking their own questions regarding validity of information? That's a question for Dan Rather. :)
I hope that where you are working, consolidation has not hurt the product or your stations' commitment to the community. Perhaps you have 10 people out covering news stories live and all your stations are staffed live 24/7. Lots of markets are programmed from afar, lots of DJs are pre-recored and emailed in via mp3 from distant markets, etc.
Not that long ago, I even worked at a NY area station where most of the call-ins you heard on the air had southern accents. Ya tink dat New Yawkuz have sudden accents? Fuhgeddaboutit!
Sadly, I think what's really telling is a re-reading of the posts above this one (excepting yours and mine) to count the people who are dropping their XM or Sirius service to go back to AM or FM. I find that's the case in my day to day discussions outside of acuramdx.org too. It would feel like going back to black and white TV.
Also, see Dale B's great comment above about sat being similar to the early days of FM. Several head honcho rock programmers on XM and Sirius have their roots in early FM progressive rock stations. |
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| nightguy |
Oh, I really couldn't count myself as young now but thanks ! :)
I actually made the choice to do radio over TV many years back. I had a tv gig lined up in a tiny market and then got a pt radio offer in a large market. Hmmm. Lug lots of equipment for no money or hang out in bars with less than shy women who did some crazy stuff for prizes. Of course there were more reasons than those. I never looked back and have stayed close to the business. I too have spoken in classes but it's not so much a tv over radio thing as students (lots of non-trads) taking it for liberal arts credit.
I know for a fact not all the stations here are live 24/7 but last I checked they're live at least 18 or 19 hours a day with some syndication on the weekend. That's actually pretty good these days. But that's a pretty good size market. They export to surrounding smaller markets that are tracked 18 or 19 hours each day. But I will say again, the product is 50 times better there. I heard a couple of people who used to work for me that are now in small markets while traveling recently and I don't understand why they never got any better - and maybe got worse. There are truly some cases where I'd rather track a jock in to get through the breaks more smoothly than have a so-so jock putting people on the air.
I guess time will tell on the big shot programmer thing. I hope it's not going to be like consultants were in the 90's. Already I sense a bit of that just listening to comments from a few people who have it (who like it) and reading the lineups on the websites. It's too....something...I can't quite put my finger on it. I already hear live performances all the time on my local stations but that might be uncommon. And I hate most syndicated programming with a passion. Loveline (Adam Carola, Dr. Drew) is probably the single exception despite the fact I'm not in the demo. The rest is filler between the local breaks.
I may try one of the services soon especially if the next vehicle has it built in. Maybe everyone on this thread should get some commission ! I already have a phone in my car to keep me occupied and I just really hate paying for something that is free (at least the stuff I listen to) and that I know will be condensed soon. Yeah ! As it is I pay a buttload for basic cable that I never watch but Mrs. Nightguy won't part with it. |
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| Blackura |
Heard on the news this morning: Howard Stern goes to Sirius when his contract is up (16 months).
Can I predict the future or what? :D |
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| manus1980 |
quote:
Originally posted by Blackura
Heard on the news this morning: Howard Stern goes to Sirius when his contract is up (16 months).
Can I predict the future or what? :D
Heard that news too. Sirius has been whoring that news all day on every station. Went with Sirius almost a year ago because at that time XM didn't have any trance or progressive stations. Was considering possibly switching when my subscription ended because they both now have the progressive and trance. Now that Sirius added the Maxim station along with Howard I might just stick with Sirius. Besides, on XM you have to pay extra for their Playboy station.
I only have 2 compaints about Sirius. The first is that reception is spotty in the city or out in the middle of nowhere. Second, I had a rebate that was supposed to be mailed to me within 8 weeks with my purchase. I had to follow up with them 3X over a 5 month period before they honored the rebate. I know if I had forgotten completly, which I almost did the $75 rebate would have never been mailed. |
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| nightguy |
It IS interesting and we'll see what happens. I don't think anybody was surprised by the move. He was going satellite. Both companies have studios in NY, it just came down to the fact that Clear Channel has a major stake in XM. What surprises me is that a company that has already lost a billion+ is willing to pay big money or as they said in the press release, "make him the cornerstone". If it works, the shareholders will be laughing all the way to the bank.
People from the east coast seem to understand the show a little more than others and maybe that's a big enough audience to make it work. I'll never forget the day that Howard went on the air in a large market I was working in about 6 years ago and he was supposed to dominate the local guy on a competing station within 6 months. The local guy was getting shares only seen in small markets, (18.0-20.0). Stern only lasted about 9 months. I left shortly thereafter. Last I heard the local guy was getting even better ratings after Stern left. To me, the movie was better than anything I ever heard him do on the air.
One complaint often heard about today's radio programming is that it's homogenized without taking into consideration any local flavor. I really don't see how foisting a New York based talent on the whole country is any different. To me, this whole talent movement thing is one big show with oblivious people buying into corporate America on the other end.
2.5 million subscribers, predicted 3.1 by year end (wow, that shot up fast) can't be wrong I guess, but I will refer back to my previous post. How many are paid for ? How many of those are in spec cars still in transit, still owned by the manufacturer, or not even built yet ? How many are fleet vehicles ? How many are partnerships with airlines ? Or any other ventures they haven't announced or marketed yet ? It's weird how they can manipulate the numbers to show what will make stock look more favorable.
Again, I'm just a guy typing on a computer. They have yet to ask me what I think. :) |
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| Blackura |
Nightguy makes lots of good points. Howard is NYC based, and it certainly sounds like it. A good local radio show will always beat an out of town act. We've had the Bob and Tom (syndicated morning radio show) in my market (who I personally think are hilarious) but they barely cracked a 1.0 share vs the various competitions 9's 10's and 11's. Eventually the inevitable format change came and whisked them out of the market.
Acura is offering XM in the new RL and paying the freight for it for a full year. I had thought the deals were usually a month or three, so a full year is upping the ante. I'm sure you're right that there are freebee deals out there to get people hooked. Give away heroin for a few months and people will have a hard time NOT paying you for it when the giveaways end.
Last time you were at a concert, LOTS of people sitting around you were there gratis, especially if the show didn't sell all that well. It's the nature of the business model.
It'll get harder for terrestrial radio to bid for top on-air talent now that the sat systems are bidding in the 100s of millions. That's almost as much as I make! :D And if terrestrial radio loses at least some share to sat, it'll be harder to pay out those big bucks.
I hope radio companies get the message real soon that they can't rely on pre-recorded voice tracking and national music research from outside of local markets or they'll lose the one big advantage they have over sat, net and cable stations. Nightguy is dead right that local beats non-local and good local in-house research beats "outhouse" research every time. |
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| silroc |
well looks like I have to get Sirius now
I need my Stern
I can see why people dislike him- In fact, i used to hate him .
BUt 10 years later , I have to put him on in the morning...
Hi is smarter than people give him credit for... |
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| uboltpb |
I have XM in my TL. I do enjoy it a great deal. Songs that I've heard 100's of times and forget the name of the tune or artist- it's displayed on the receiver. The variety is incredible with all aspects, music, news, comedy, TV . People are surprised when I tell them I listen to TV in the car, but the news is more of an auditory experience than a visual one.
You people who subscribe to the Playboy channel- how does the centerfold look on the radio? :-)
One of the reasons I'm going to buy an '05 MDX is that it has XM built in.
I know the firm that put the XM finance deal together and the $figures that are quoted in some of the other postings are close to the true numbers. They need to get many subscribers to start making a profit. An alliance with the car manufacturer's was the turning point for them. After-market extras tend to look shoddy in my opinion.
Another way that Xm and Sirius "boosts the subscriber numbers" is because of their alliances with some of the rental car companies.
greg |
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| apple904 |
| I just hope that I will be able to listen to the stream that Howard is on by logging in on my computer. Right now, when you listen on line as a subscriber you get just the 75 or so commercial free music streams. If I can get Howard on-line that will be awesome. |
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| nightguy |
quote:
Originally posted by silroc
well looks like I have to get Sirius now
I need my Stern
I can see why people dislike him- In fact, i used to hate him .
BUt 10 years later , I have to put him on in the morning...
Hi is smarter than people give him credit for...
He has a following...no doubt about that. I don't dislike him at all. I think he's great. I honestly wish I could like the show. But I can only take so much 'baba booey' over and over and the fake Jackie laugh. When it's over there's another girl with a Jersey accent taking her clothes off. Boooooring. And he is very smart. He's got people drinking the kool-aid and chanting rally cries for him on the Clear Channel thing.
Somebody suggested to me a while back that the radio indecency stuff was a ploy not just by the broadcasters, but by the FCC as well. After all, government regulation does make strange bedfellows. I blew it off before as I hate conspiracy theories, but after Michael Powell's announcement this week of the website to 'educate' the public about being digital ready by 2006 I'm even less sure the FCC is even considering the public in it's agenda. At the very least I'll need a $200 set top decoder ? And if there are no analog signals, I don't see the prices going down as everyone claims they will. |
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| nightguy |
Saw this in the current (10/11/04) issue of Time:
GPS navigation systems already save us from having to stop at gas stations for directions. But the next version for Acura and Cadillac may save us from having to stop anywhere. Combining electronic navigation with real-time traffic reports from XM satellite radio, the system can offer alternate routes when the usual way home is jammed. It debuts in 20 markets for the 2005 Acura RL and Cadillac CTS. You'll pay a premium over XM's basic subscription rate. The equipment is standard for the Acura model but a $3000 option for the Cadillac. |
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| mogur |
Actually, I believe that is supposed to be $300...
Tom
quote:
Originally posted by nightguy
Saw this in the current (10/11/04) issue of Time:
GPS navigation systems already save us from having to stop at gas stations for directions. But the next version for Acura and Cadillac may save us from having to stop anywhere. Combining electronic navigation with real-time traffic reports from XM satellite radio, the system can offer alternate routes when the usual way home is jammed. It debuts in 20 markets for the 2005 Acura RL and Cadillac CTS. You'll pay a premium over XM's basic subscription rate. The equipment is standard for the Acura model but a $3000 option for the Cadillac.
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| nightguy |
| Boy, Time Warner can't get anything right! |
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