Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: Radio

Why Do AM Radios Have an Extra Zero?

Monday, September 26, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Back in the old days, AM Radios had one less digit.

When I was growing up, the most popular station in New York City was 77, WABC. The station is still around today, but when you look at your radio it now reads 770, instead of 77. It's still the same station, broadcasting from the same frequency, but for whatever reason, radio makers have started showing the last digit, which is always zero.

As a tech guy, I'm aware that the radio display reflects the actual frequency of the station as measured in kHz, but since the stations are 10 kHz apart, the last digit is always zero, so there's absolutely no reason for it to be there.

Whatever Happened to Oldies Radio Stations?

Wednesday, April 27, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Have you noticed that most oldies stations rarely play music before the 80's?

Don't get me wrong. I realize the 80's were over 30 years ago, so it makes sense that oldies stations play music from the 80's. The trouble is, today's oldies stations neglect almost everything older than that, and that's a shame.

I guess it's all about dollars and cents. There's probably a bigger audience and more money for stations that play music from the 80's and 90's than from traditional "Oldies" stations that also play music from the 50's, 60's and 70's.

What bothers me most about this is that other than Internet and Satellite Radio, it's almost impossible to find a station that plays oldies.

Can you imagine that? In New York City, the largest radio market in the word, there isn't

... [More]

Continue...Whatever Happened to Oldies Radio Stations?...

Why Apple Radio Should Have a Free Option (With Commercials)

Wednesday, April 13, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Not everyone is willing to pay for radio, especially casual listeners.

When Apple Radio launched, it was just like Pandora and iHeartRadio. It was a free music service that let people create their own custom "Stations" featuring their favorite kinds of music. Since the service was free, there were commercials, just like traditional radio.

For most casual users, the inclusion of a commercial every now and then was completely normal. After all, radio stations have been running commercials for almost 100 years.

However when Apple acquired Beats Music, they decided to change Apple Radio to a subscription model without commercials. This means that casual listeners like me who are unwilling to pay have no other choice but to use a competing service.

The key point is that

... [More]

Continue...Why Apple Radio Should Have a Free Option (With Commercials)...

Re-Live Classic Radio With Amazon Echo

Thursday, August 13, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Wouldn't it be great if you could listen to Abbott and Costello and other classic radio shows?

Yesterday, I wrote about the idea of using the Amazon Echo to play podcasts. This not only opens the door to new broadcasters, but it also has the potential to give people a chance to re-live the Golden Age of Radio.

It's a shame that most of the shows from the Golden Age of Radio haven't been heard in decades. Before TV came along, the biggest names in show business were on the radio, and just about everyone tuned in every day to hear their favorite shows.

Just think of the possible shows... Just imagine asking "Alexa, play..."

Bob Hope
The Lone Ranger
George Burns
Abbott and Costello
Milton Berle
Blondie
Bing Crosby
Batman
The Life of Riley
Buck Rogers
Al Jolson
... [More]

Continue...Re-Live Classic Radio With Amazon Echo...

Sirius and XM Should Offer the Same Channels

Saturday, March 7, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

It's been quite a few years since the Sirius and XM merger was approved, but somehow they still haven't quite... merged.

This one is a mystery to me. Before the "Merger" between Sirius and XM, buyers had to decide which service they liked most. Some of the stations were pretty similar, such as the decades channels, and stations covering the major music categories. That was easy.

But things got ugly when they both raced to get exclusive contracts to differentiate each other. Among other things, XM had Major League Baseball, Opie and Anthony, and Oprah Winfrey. Sirius had Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, NBA Basketball and NFL Football. This meant you had to decide which programming you preferred. To make matters worse, in many cases, you didn't actually have a choice becaus... [More]

Continue...Sirius and XM Should Offer the Same Channels...

Last Station Button on Car Radios, Like a Cable Remote.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Many car radios don't have a button to bring you back to the last station. That stinks.

If you sat in my Jeep and looked at my radio presets, you'll see I repeat the same stations over and over because the radio has a button that takes you to the next preset, but nothing that lets you go back. So for me, with over 18 possible presets, if I pass my station, I have to hit the button 17 times to get back to the one I just left.

To complicate things, if you've got satellite radio, there are hundreds of stations. If you hit a preset, then decide to go back, you may not even remember what station you were on, so you could potentially scroll through nearly 200 stations to get back where you were. By the time you do that, there's a good chance you'll pass it by mistake and start a... [More]

Continue...Last Station Button on Car Radios, Like a Cable Remote....

Apple's iTunes Radio is a Mess. They Need a Community of Music Curators.

Sunday, November 23, 2014 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

WKRP In Cincinnati was a lousy radio station until they brought in Andy Travis, the new Program Director to help them pick better content. iTunes Radio needs people like that, because it's a mess right now.

Full disclosure. I love Pandora Radio. I've used it from the first day it popped up in the iPhone App store mainly because I love music and it does a great job of finding music that fits my mood.

When Apple introduced iTunes Radio, I had high hopes. I picked a few of their hand picked "Stations" and I was impressed by the songs it played. The trouble is, in spite of the huge catalog of music in the iTunes store, the songs it picks are sometimes completely out of the genre I was trying to listen to, and they repeat the same songs within an hour or so. If I wanted to he... [More]

Continue...Apple's iTunes Radio is a Mess. They Need a Community of Music Curators....

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.