Television was supposed to kill radio. That didn’t happen and radio continued to prosper. Today, radio is alive and well on the internet.
So, I used to have a Windows XP and recently upgraded to a Snow Leopard. I was broadcasting through Winamp before I switched. Before I thought it was a too complicated to set it up, and that someone should make something a bit more simple but that's besides the point. If you are looking for internet radio software for Windows and Mac, then you are in luck because there is no shortage of solutions out there, regardless of whether you are looking for something really simple or more complex.
All you need to check out thousands of internet radio stations from all over the world is your Mac and an unlimited bandwidth account from your local internet service provider. If the radio stations in iTunes are just not enough to soothe your savage music beast, here are six more ways to bring internet radio to your Mac. From Free To Not So Much How many radio stations can you listen to while your driving your car? Maybe two dozen? ITunes gives you dozens and dozens of internet radio stations for free. What could be better than that? Look, the world’s economy is in a shambles because we are not spending enough money to make it better.
From free to not so free, here are six easy ways to bring more internet radio to your Mac and help stimulate the economy in the process. These Mac apps are easily installed, simple to setup and use, and it truly is a case of you get what you pay for. Think DVR (digital video recorder) for radio. Absolute Radio Player: This simple app is free and streams classic radio from the 80s, 90s, and 00s. Is wired to stations in the U.K. PandaBar: One of my favorites for radio is Pandora, and the best Mac app is. Easy controls, shortcuts for the keyboard, and the famous Like and Dislike buttons.
World Radio: If you don’t mind spending more money, gives you quick access to over 8,000 internet radio stations from dozens of countries. Check out the list of countries where internet radio is available.
Much has been made recently of - the prerecorded audio and video shows that are freely available for download on the Internet and through the iTunes Music Store. We're big fans of podcasts! But there are times when we want to listen to live, streaming music and radio shows. That's when we fire up iTunes and tune into an Internet radio station. You see, there are literally thousands of radio stations broadcasting over the Internet.
Most of these stations are ad-free, and you can tune in without paying a dime. There are a couple different ways to find and listen to radio stations. We'll show you how to do it! Listen to Radio Stations Listed in iTunes You can search for and select radio stations that Apple has listed in iTunes. Here's how:.
Open iTunes. You'll find it on your Dock or in the Applications folder. In the left-hand sidebar, select Radio. Select a music category, and then select a radio station. Remember that radio stations with a higher bit rate will sound better, but streaming them will also take up more.
Your radio station will start playing. Listen to Radio Stations Not Listed in iTunes Here in northwest Oregon, we have some of the best non-commercial public radio stations in the country. The problem is that where we work, we can get away with listening to something (quietly) on our computers, but bringing in an actual radio would be frowned upon. Fortunately, our two favorites started streaming their programs live online, even though they’re not one of the chosen few that Apple has decided to add to iTunes. (iTunes gives you a selection of about a hundred radio channels, but there are literally thousands of others available.) Even though these stations will play just fine through a web browser, we find that it’s a lot more convenient to have them waiting for us in iTunes. That way, we don’t have to load in an extra browser window, we get one-click access to all our favorites, and can use the iTunes equalizer to fine-tune the sound for our surroundings. As long as the station offers streaming in a format that iTunes understands (MP3 is the most common), you can add it as a playlist.
Here’s how:. Open iTunes and create a new Playlist from the File menu. Give it a useful name like “Radio Favorites.”. Open up your web browser and navigate to your station’s web site and find the “listen online” link. Control-click on the link (or use the, if you have one) and select “Copy Link” (the exact phrasing may be different if you are using a browser other than Safari). This will put the URL (web address) into your Clipboard. Return to iTunes, click on the Advanced menu and select Open Stream.
Click in the URL box that appears and paste the address inside. In most cases, the URL will end with “.pls”. The radio station should now appear in the main window. You may have to click on the Play button to start it up. To give the station a permanent home on your playlist, click on the station’s name (in the Names column) then drag and drop it onto the playlist you created in Step 2.
You can do this with as many stations as you like. You’re just adding links to iTunes, so the space they consume is about the same as a browser bookmark. Consider a Donation! Several times a year, most pubic radio stations stage an on-air fundraising drive. You have access to all this great music because other listeners appreciate the station enough to contribute to its support.
In the US, public radio stations get little or no state or federal funding and the bulk of the budget comes from contributions from individual listeners. So please seriously consider making a donation to your favorite stations. Most stations offer a secure web page or an 800-number that makes donating safe and easy.
And make sure you let them know you’re an online listener. The bandwidth they are using to stream their broadcasts does not come cheap and your donation will let them know they’ve made a good investment. Meet Your Macinstructor Ric Getter is a frequent contributor to. He started out working in media in the early 70's when nothing could out-gun a motor drive Nikon and a bandolier of Tri-X film. Life in Silicon Valley paid off in early 1984 when a Mac 128 landed on his desk and he's been in love with the platform from that day on. He has since retreated to Portland, Oregon with his Mac-loving wife where he writes about computers, works in education technology and still obstinately refuses to completely leave the television business.