No Mac support makes it useless to me...

>>No Mac support makes it useless to me...

You and what, about 4% of the computer world?

I have been using this for several days on a number of computers and I haven't had an issue with it yet. It just flat out works for me.

Tight playlists, but it isn't so bad. This is the real deal and XM and Sirius are both going to have their hands full.

Yeah, XM and Sirius are doing so well that another company is going to test the waters. Good luck.

If Sirius and XM hadn't been so stupid with their content deals they would both be doing fine right now.

Slacker IS NOT SATELLITE RADIO! It isn't live, and cannot EVER do live content. It is not a replacement for XM or Sirius.

That being said, the music and options are superior to XM and Sirius. For MUSIC only. If all goes right I may reactivate my Inno for live content and stick with Slacker for music. We'll see....

Hey Mac guy...you don't need the Desktop Radio client to use Slacker. The web player can manage your account and stations, and the portable thing due out soon can be synced via WiFi.

>>Slacker IS NOT SATELLITE RADIO!

I don't see where anyone said that it was. It doesn't NEED to be satellite radio to be a problem for satellite radio. If you think otherwise you are a fool.

The Slacker portable player DOES present very real competition and even if it is cached music people will still go for it.

>>That being said, the music and options are superior to XM and Sirius.

I have been listening to Slacker A LOT, and I would not say that the music on Slacker is superior to either. On par with Sirius (though it seems that Sirius is starting to stretch their playlists out a bit) but playlists are way too short to be superior to XM.

> It doesn't NEED to be satellite radio to be a problem for satellite radio. If you think otherwise you are a fool.

My point is that it CANNOT replace my satellite reciever entirely, just one function of it. It's competition in the way that an MP3 player is competition. But that live content thing is a HUGE part of what XM and Sirius are about. I mean c'mon, didn't 6 million people buy Sirius just to hear Howard Stern live?

> On par with Sirius (though it seems that Sirius is starting to stretch their playlists out a bit) but playlists are way too short to be superior to XM.

That's just it, I've been an XM sub for years and their obsession with "deep" playlists is ruining the service. You would think a channel called TOP TRACKS would play just that, but some of the song selections seem out of left field (not in a good way). Then I hear stuff on Deep Tracks that belongs on Top Tracks, and what happened to all that great old Pink Floyd XM use to play? Why am I hearing a single from their last studio album on fucking DEEP TRACKS instead of Echoes or Careful with That Axe Eugene?

You can't get any clearer as to what these stations are about and yet they just don't seem to get it sometimes.

I have been so frustrated with XM overall lately. There's 70 damn channels and yet I constantly find myself jumping to the decades or other stations in hopes of maybe finding something I enjoy. There isn't ONE station I can leave it on without soon hearing either a song I can't stand or one that seemingly DOESN'T BELONG ON THE DAMN CHANNEL. And maybe for long car trips I could understand the deeper channels, but they way I'm normally driving I like hearing a bunch of tunes I know, with a little "deepness" sprinkled in, no commercials and NO babbling FM-style DJ's. That's where Sirius is a problem - the damn DJ's.

You're right about the library on Slacker (though they do have alot), they simply don't have the amount that XM does. But the ability to never again hear Boston or some other band FM terrestrial radio has killed for me is worth far more than XM's "deep" (and meandering) playlists or having to sit through some twat babbling on.

A portable Slacker would take care of my music requirements, with MP3's for "deep stuff" if needed - and XM for their superior talk programming. That's assuming there's still a Virus channel or the deal with clearchannel doesn't expire without renewal.

I just downloaded it and with playing with it for the 1st hour its very impressive. Also great Sound Quality. Which i love! If they come out with this full blown. There might be 2 units in my car. My XM ( Which i will never give up ) and slacker!

Pretty Impressive.

hey SteveWebb, is there anything about satrad that you actually like? just read your last two posts and man the complaints are endless. why would you listen to a medium you find so repulsive? there are lots of folks out there who absolutly love the way xm music channels are programmed(around 8 mil i think) anyway if there is something that i dont like about...say...fm radio I DONT LISTEN! and i certainly wouldnt waste my valuable time on pro(fm) blogs sayin how much they suck!? do the words "never satisfied" ring a bell...

>>It's competition in the way that an MP3 player is competition. But that live content thing is a HUGE part of what XM and Sirius are about. I mean c'mon, didn't 6 million people buy Sirius just to hear Howard Stern live?

A pest is a pest no?

When it comes to music I could care less if the XM and Sirius music is "live". There is no advantage to it over playing cached music that is downloaded and stored. For the people that subscribe to Sirius and XM for the music only I doubt it makes any difference if the tune is playing from a satellite signal or from flash memory. Just that it is something that they want to hear and that it has no commercials.

As for the rest of your post, I cannot comprehend what it is that you are trying to say.

> hey SteveWebb, is there anything about satrad that you actually like? just read your last two posts and man the complaints are endless. why would you listen to a medium you find so repulsive?

Read it again, I am currently unsubbed from XM (hence - NOT LISTENING) and simply telling the reasons why. Is that not allowing on a damn blog about SATELLITE RADIO? I do like XM's hardware (Inno, mini-tuner) but the music has gone downhill for me, and the sudden censorship move to appease the FCC is a pathetic slap in the face to PAYING customers.

I like Sirius music better overall, but the DJ's are annoying and thier talk content is lacking. You DID see where I gave props to XM's "superior" talk content, did you not?

And I'm certainly NOT complaining about Slacker.

> do the words "never satisfied" ring a bell...

I WAS satisfied, but XM's idiotic moves as of late have left me unsatisfied, is that OK with you? I am satisfied with Slacker.

> There is no advantage to it over playing cached music that is downloaded and stored.

NO SHIT. It's a DISadvantage actually. But how many people are ONLY listening to satellite for music?

> As for the rest of your post, I cannot comprehend what it is that you are trying to say.

Let me break it down for you.

A: I AM ANNOYED WITH XM's MUSIC AS OF LATE. I USED TO LIKE IT MORE.

B: I AM IMPRESSED WITH SLACKER.

C: BECAUSE SLACKER IS MUSIC-ONLY, IT CANNOT REPLACE WHAT I GET WITH SATELLITE.

I've been listening since the minute I read the post here. I have to say it is excellent. I have to say I miss XM live talk content, and I don't have an I POD. The music on this is better than any single XM channel (skip isn't available on XM, nor is "make my own XM channel). I will actually consider the portable unit when it comes out. Still no solution for live talk though... Too bad XM had to screw up.

Haha you faggots talking about enjoying XMs great live content and talk channels, are you serious? You should be getting Sirius for the best talk radio on radio, with Howard Stern. Right now your just getting tons of lovely repeats of Ron & Fez. You've listened to the shitty hacks, now listen to the best.

I don't see how everyone is going ga-ga over this thing. Slacker is just Spinner Radio for the new millennium. Face it, this is just internet radio with a promise of a portable. I've been listening for a few months and the quantity and quality of stations just aren't up to snuff yet. Classic Soul? Not if you're playing Bobby Brown and Atlantic Star. Oldies? Are the Eagles officially considered oldies now? I think not. Four Hip Hop/Rap stations? I'll stick to XM and Sirius and AOL Radio for online listening.

> You should be getting Sirius for the best talk radio on radio, with Howard Stern.

Hey, Shitdick - I FUCKING HAVE SIRIUS. I'm not even talking about XM 202 or Sirius 100. Here's a for example - XM has the MOST LISTENED TO nightly radio show in the country - Coast to Coast AM.

H0.0ward literally has 1/10th (and that's being generous) of this shows audience, and most people are listening to it at 1:00 in the morning on AM radio.

Really puts daddy into perspective now doesn't it?

> You should be getting Sirius for the best talk radio on radio, with Howard Stern.

>Hey, Shitdick - I FUCKING HAVE SIRIUS. I'm not even talking about XM 202 or Sirius 100. Here's a for example - XM has the MOST LISTENED TO nightly radio show in the country - Coast to Coast AM.

H0.0ward literally has 1/10th (and that's being generous) of this shows audience, and most people are listening to it at 1:00 in the morning on AM radio.

Really puts daddy into perspective now doesn't it?

Thumbs up to you! I agree 100%

The best talk radio on radio Howard Stern? No offense but you must be joking. His show is as hack and corny as they come. No real talent there anymore. I enjoyed it at a time when he was on K-Rock but his Sirius show is lame.I'd rather listen to the same Ron & Fez replays over and over again then Stern.That has to be the lamest revolution in history. What he called years of subpar radio looks like radio gold compared to his Sirius garbage.