Ahh, yes, I will jump on the bandwagon and talk about Sirius and XM merging. No, not so I too can get on the top of TechMeme (it’s too late to play that game, if you want to get to the top of TechMeme you’ve got to be early, or you’ve got to say something interesting about the news, like Doc Searls did).
Since I’m late and not interesting, we’ll give up on that game, OK? Heheh.
But, I’m probably one of the only bloggers who’s owned both a Sirius and an XM radio (my new Saturn has XM, my old Ford had Sirius). I can’t tell the difference between the two networks. Well, other than the channels’ numbers are different. So, I don’t see any great loss if these two systems merge.
Oh, great, I just pissed off all the NASCAR, Adam Curry, and Howard Stern fans who’ll write and remind me that those things are only on Sirius. OK, OK.
I love my satellite radio, but that AUX connector for iPods and Zunes on both of our cars has a strong calling too. I agree with Doc that listening to media you chose is a powerful thing. We have thousands of choices (maybe millions) and using an MP3 player we can listen to what we want, when we want it.
That said, I like the serendipity of listening to stuff I wouldn’t otherwise listen to. That, and podcasting won’t be able to compete with live news over CNBC or BBC or CNN.
Oh, on my Saturn I’ve already put 2,100 miles on the thing. Great car. Maryam’s mom likes riding in it better than she likes riding in the BMW (much more leg room in the back and softer ride). Oh, and the parking attendant at San Francisco’s Fairmont paid it a nice compliment. I’ve never gotten a compliment while driving the BMW. Of course, the fact that he probably parks a hundred BMWs in a day might have something to do with the compliment.
Me? Driving the BMW is more fun, but then I remind myself that I can buy two Saturns for the price of one BMW and all of a sudden the Saturn seems a lot better again.
Long and short of it? Neither system has that many subscribers. Most of my friends don’t have satellite radio. I doubt more than a small percentage of you do either. I bet more of you have HDTVs. Translation: this story doesn’t deserve the amount of pixels being killed for it. 🙂
Oh, if this all wasn’t clear: I love my satellite radio and can’t imagine a car without it anymore. But, then, I spend a LOT of time driving lately and I live in a place where radio signals don’t reach very well.
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