Love em or hate em, there's no doubt that TimeTrax has had a lasting effect on the Satellite Radio industry. Orbitcast got the chance to interview Scott MacLean, the man behind the TimeTrax technology, to find out the juicey bits you've all been dying to know.

I was knee deep in a case of Sam Adams in an early celebration for a Pats victory last night when the Napster To Go commercial came on. Before the commercial could even finish I was cursing up a storm about what a retarded concept 'renting' your music is... when suddenly someone said, "It's just like satellite radio!"

(music stops, crowd silences, women whisk children away)

At the time of the comment, I simply shrugged it off and got distracted by all the action. But the comparison of the Napster To Go service to Satellite Radio is a ridiculous one.

First off, is the convenience factor. With NTG I still need to sit down and take the time to download all the music onto my compatible player. I also need to poke around for the type of music I want to listen to. I'm essentially tied to my computer if I want to update anything. Satellite Radio? I just dial in, and sit back. All the work is done for me.

Ok, what about the control factor? With NTG you have complete control right! Not really. You don't get anymore control than Satellite Radio. Want to burn a CD from the music you just heard? Nope sorry. Subscribers still have to use to use the pay-per-download servide to burn an audio CD. Plus with NTG I don't all the other content like talk/comedy/entertainment. If on a whim I want to listen to comedy, I'd have to go back to my computer and hook in to NTG. So I actually have less control.

And before you naysayers bust in with your Netflix comparison, think for a second. Music = 5 minutes each. Movies = 2 hours. The format is different, the industry is different, and attention span of a listener over a watcher is just a little different. You can't just add up business models and hope they'll stick (though that's exactly what Napster is doing).

So what's the benefit of Napster To Go? Nothing. It's a piece of crap, and damnit I'm offended someone even compared the two. What's your thoughts? Love it? Hate it? Think Napster is the coolest thing ever?

Autobytel Inc.'s Automotive Information Center (AIC) division released new data research reports studying emerging trends in vehicle equipment.

One of the most impressive areas of growth involves satellite radio. Though still not a common "standard" feature, the appearance of satellite radio as an available "option" has more than tripled over the past three years.

In 2005, satellite radio is listed as an option on 38.3 percent of all vehicles available for sale in the U.S.

Very cool.