Welcome to 'Transmitting to Earth'. I'm Charssun and I'll be your host. This blog and podcast is a byproduct of VoyagerRadio.com and is intended to provide the most timely information about this Internet radio station. It is also intended to be a fun and accessible electronic journal with commentary focusing on Internet radio, podcasting and webcasting issues and technologies, music, and some of my other interests. I also offer personal perspective about being an Internet radio broadcaster (and podcaster).
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Cosmos 1 Space Vehicle Falls Back to EarthCosmos 1, the spacecraft, has failed. An experiment in solar sailing, the Cosmos - named in tribute to the late cosmologist Carl Sagan - crashed back to Earth when its booster rocket engine failed shortly after its launch earlier today. The mission was a joint effort between Russians and Americans, intended to test a potential future method of space travel. The mission is not a complete failure, however, as we've learned that Russians and Americans can, in this young millenium, cooperate in rapidly developing a relatively inexpensive spacecraft. One that unfortunately can't stay make space, however... Still, Carl Sagan would be proud, and certainly skeptical  (of everything), and I would venture to guess that he would go forward greatly anticipating the next attempt.Griffin Launches TiVo-like Software for iPod; Programming is LimitedPodcasting has often been likened to TiVo, that popular technology which allows you to digitally record television programs to watch at your own leisure, skipping through commercials if you so desire. Yet as similar as the technologies may seem, there are some key differences. With TiVo, for example, you program a device to actually record live broadcast/cable/satellite programming; with podcasting, you simply download the programs anytime after they are made available on the Internet (for as long as they are available). Griffin Technology has introduced a software application called iFill which works more like TiVo, in that it fills your iPod with digital recordings of live programming. Unlike podcasting, you must actually record the programs as they are being broadcast - or webcast, rather, for as far as I can tell the application exclusively records Internet radio programming, and neither broadcast nor satellite radio programs are thus far available. Still, the quality of the recordings are arguably better than many, if not most, of the recordings you could make of terrestrial or satellite radio programs, both in fidelity and content. This is, of course, a subjective argument, and I have to admit that the content - at least so far - leaves plenty to be desired. For example, the stations listed in iFill's tuner are composed primarily of music stations; the talk radio category is rather sparse. This is because iFill's directory is populated exclusively with Shoutcast stations; none of the podcasts I've come to download and regularly enjoy are listed. This is no particular fault of the application, as it makes no claim at all of being a podcast receiver; it does demonstrate, however, the limits of using this type of technology. Like the listings of Internet radio stations in Apple's iTunes Music Player, many of your favorite stations - such as those Live365 stations you're addicted to - simply aren't going to be listed, and probably none of your favorite podcasts (unless they also offer a Shoutcast stream). Yet if you do enjoy listening to the Internet radio stations iFill's directory offers access to, and you wish you could hear them using your iPod while on your daily ride to work, then you're going to love using this application. It's got an extremely simple interface and it'll fill up your iPod with tons of webcasts while you're sleeping. If you're into podcasts or have another brand of portable audio player, though, you won't find iFill to be quite so useful. Stars Like to Do It, Too (Merge, That Is)Once in awhile (more like once an eon) I mention astronomy news here, whatever catches my attention (or makes it past my spam filters). Like this: two stars, each about half the mass of the Sun, seem to be spinning around each other at an incredibly fast rate, and it is predicted they will soon merge and produce one big giant burst of gravitional waves which will cause all life on Earth to be flattened as if God had run over the entire surface of the planet with his giant steamroller. (Okay, perhaps I'm slightly exaggerating. Though I know absolutely nothing about gravitational waves, my best guess is that they probably wouldn't flatten a hair on a baby's head. So I take back that thing about causing all life on Earth to be flattened. Besides, even if those grav waves could squash us down to our proper Lilliputian stature, from our perspective the modifying event won't be happening that soon since it will occur in about a million years, give or take 500,000 or so. Still, from a cosmic point of view, that's merely the blink of an eye.) Chances are, none of us currently living (in 2005) will be around to witness the stars copulate, which may cause quite a flare up for our future relatives to enjoy (unless, of course, they're viewing the event through super-powerful binoculars after forgetting to place the proper filters over the lens - in which case, their retinas will likely burn, causing blindness and little enjoyment). Luckily, we've been provided with a video of the stars merging, provided by our friends from the future. Enjoy. Besides this blog, a narrative blog called something that happened, and various other projects, I also moderate a discussion forum: Please consider subscribing to engage in a dialogue about all things having to do with Internet radio! |
Send Us Your Music
Artists! Want to be heard on this station? Email your MP3 audio, one file at a time, to our Program Director or mail your CD promo(s) to the following address:
Harold J. JohnsonVoyagerRadio
547 Gayley Avenue #1
Los Angeles, CA 90024 Make certain to let use know whether we may use the audio in our podcast, too!
Download the Podcast
We are officially podcasters now that we have revitalized and reintroduced our downtempo show Tempo of the Down, this time around as a podcast. Now showcasing independent downtempo we've been granted permission to offer for download, Tempo of the Down is our entry into the future of Internet radio.
Head over to our new Podcast area to download the latest session!
