I hate electronics that I don't understand; right now I feel that way 'bout blogging. I think the subculture I did my first assignment on -Radio 4ZZZ-FM announcers- I think they're a bit the same: Plugging away at the music, ignoring the ageing, failing equipment, pretending it's not there. I've heard that community radio is going to be left behind in the d1g1t4l radi0 revoltuion ahead - left to rot rather than directly targeted this technological time round - so, I'm going to find out what Zeddheads think about radio tech and what kind of walloping Zed is in for.
I'll be a while doing that so, in the mean time, here's the Zed website, it works some of the time.
Spktyasoon

OK, here's something already.

This is an interesting ARNET news item about commercial trialling of digital radio sets by Harvey Norman in tandem with Commercial Radio Australia and Digital Radio Australia.
Industry trials began last December and will run over eighteen-month period. Most (?) stations in Sydney and some in Melbourne are broadcasting in digital.
In these trials the Eureka147 platform is being used – and is a likely contender for the industry standard in years to come according to Pure Digital (digital radio vendor) a branch of UK Imagination Technologies. Canohm, local distributor for US based company Sangean is also involved.
The sets are expensive (around $500), they have the ability to link with most other digital devices (including PCs) and the marketers are attempting to familiarise their market with them.
“We want to have a go at this in a big way.” (Robert Costello quoted on ARNET)
Hmm..sounds like the boat’s about to sail. No-one told me though.

The BBC seems to have it sewn up for government broadcasting in the UK. I wonder if it delivers all they promise? I wonder what commercial broadcasting has carved out for itself there?

This vnunet piece, again from the UK, is mostly about online radio but talks about digital radio as well and the crossover of technological applications: Digital receivers for PCs, digital radio via cable TV (oh look! It's virtually useless!). There's a lotta cool, retro DAB receiver designs for the UK here. A lot of them are much cheaper than (the presumably very hideous) concept models just released in Oz. It also mentions some interesting regulatory agreements between US (and UK?) online radio and royalties collection groups and other arrangements made by the BBC to this effect. I wonder what Australia’s doing? Probably ten years behind, as usual.