So it’s not quite as cool as the idea of “TiVo for radio” makes it sound, but the RadioSHARK from GriffinTechnology is pretty dang nifty nevertheless. There are all kinds of schnazzy little things I’m imagining could be done with this, but I refrain from ruminating about them here due to their somewhat fuzzy legal nature.
Oh, fine. (Manifesto!)
Theoretically, one could combine the RadioSHARK with some weblogging software to do a “Post to Weblog” bookmarklet for radio. I could have my RadioSHARK playing in the background, hear something I like, and bing-bang-boom, have an MP3 on my site of the clip in question. The difficulty of such an idea is increased exponentially by Griffin’s failure to make the RadioSHARK software AppleScriptable, but theoretically it could still be done.
Personally, I’m simply thrilled that I now have a radio tuner piping through my computer speakers that doesn’t require a web browser or whatnot. I now have presets, which is something I’ve always wanted in a regular radio, and I can pause the radio if I need to pop out to the kitchen while listening to NPR.
One thing I haven’t figured out yet – and I actually don’t think is possible – is how to cross-breed the RadioSHARK with AirTunes, thus enabling me to transmit the radio signal to the living room. (It’s a moot point, actually, since there’s already a radio in the living room, but you understand the idea.) Further, I wonder when or if Apple will ever conquer the problem of signal delay and asynchronization, which is (I’m sure) what’s holding up the idea of piping your music through multiple AirPort stations. I can’t wait for that – my friend Jessica Edwards’ parents’ house was wired for sound, with speakers upstairs and down all playing the same station and controllable from the kitchen, and I thought that was about the slickest thing ever. Oh, I’m sure it could be done much simpler and cheaper by just using multiple radios, but hey, this is me.
Also. Whoever figures out how to control iTunes using a Treo 650 and those wireless drivers wins The Big Cookie. Hmm. Now THERE’S a project…
Storyteller, scholar, consultant. Loving son, husband and father. Kindhearted mischief-maker.
I'm the Director of the Games and Simulation program at Miami University in Ohio, where I am also an Assistant Professor in the College of Creative Arts' Emerging Technology in Business and Design department. I'm also the director of Miami's Worldbuilding and Narrative Design Research Laboratory (WNDRLab). I have a Master's in Comparative Media Studies from MIT and a PhD in Media Arts and Practices from the University of Southern California.
In past lives I've been the lead Narrative Producer for Microsoft Studios and cofounder of its Narrative Design team, working on projects like Hololens, Quantum Break and new IP incubation; in a "future of media" think tank for Microsoft's CXO/CTO and its Chief Software Architect; the Creative Director for the University of Southern California's World Building Media Lab and the Technical Director, Creative Director and a Research Fellow for USC's Annenberg Innovation Lab; a Visiting Assistant Professor at Whittier College and director of its Whittier Other Worlds Laboratory (WOWLab); the Communications Director and a researcher for the Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab; a founding member of the Convergence Culture Consortium at MIT (now The Futures of Entertainment); a magazine editor; and a award-winning short film producer. more »
The opinions put forward in this blog are mine alone, and do not reflect the opinions of my employers.
