Listen to Tech Radio in Your Car

by Ricky Spears
Last Update: September 2, 2002

Like a very lot of people in America, I spend a large amount of time in my car. For a long time I struggled to find ways of making this time both productive and enjoyable. Since I wasn't particularly happy with any of the local radio broadcasts, I decided to purchase a portable MP3 player. This opened up a whole new world of mobile productivity and entertainment for me. I began to download computer and technology radio shows and listen to them in my car. Now I almost look forward to my commute and the opportunity to listen to tech radio. I have spent a good deal of time looking for new radio shows and figuring out how to get their broadcasts into my MP3 player. The information below details the equipment and software that I use and how I use it. Hopefully it will save many other people a lot of work so that you can just enjoy the shows.

Note: The information in this document deals with dynamic web sites over which I have no control. I can not guarantee that this document and the information contained in it will remain current and accurate. If information is not accurate, feel free to send me an email (webmaster@rickyspears.com) with a correction and I will post the correction as I have time. Please don't waste my time and yours by simply telling me that something doesn't work or isn't right - take the initiative to send me the correct information. I will recognize those who help with this project. If you are aware of computer and technology radio shows that are not on this list, and have archived or streaming broadcasts, feel free to email me information about those shows and I will try to add them to this page and recognize you for your contribution.

The Equipment

My current MP3 player is an inexpensive Rio600 manufactured by SONICblue Inc. My particular device has 32 megabytes of RAM, which will hold about 3 hours worth of talk radio shows, sometimes more, depending on the audio compression level. The device will also play .WMA file (Windows Meta Audio).

In order to conveniently listen in my car, I use an SF100 SoundFeeder manufactured by Arkon Resources, Inc. This little device plugs into the cigarette lighter socket on my car and then plugs into the audio out jack on my MP3 player and allows me to listen to the MP3 player through my car radio.

My main computer is a Dell Dimension 8200 (1.8 Ghz processor and 512 megs of RAM) running Microsoft Windows XP Professional. I have a broadband connection to the internet through Time-Warner Cable's RoadRunner service. A fast computer and broadband connection will make the process of downloading, recording, and converting radio shows much more pleasant.

The Software

Most of the radio shows that I listen to are available as an MP3 download. However, a few are not available in this format and are only available as an audio stream. For these shows, I use a program called Cybercorder 2000 by Skyhawk Technologies. This sweet little program works much like a television VCR except it is for internet audio streams. I can program it to launch an internet URL at a certain time, and record the stream for a set amount of time. The program will save the recordings as MP3 files, ready to be installed on my player. (As a note, when I first installed the program, the MP3 option was not available. Skyhawk Technologies worked dilligently with me to resolve the problem. I was also using Create WaveStudio at the time and it was rudely blocking the MP3 codec from other programs such as this. Only a top notch customer support team would have worked that hard to resolve this obscure little problem!)

In addition to Cybercorder 2000, I use Windows Media Player and Real Player to play the streaming audio feeds for recording.

The Programs

Andy Graham's Computer Beat
Tech Talk Radio
The Linux Show
Off the Hook
Let's Talk Computers
Technology Bytes
Anchor Desk
Computer America
Into Tomorrow
onLine Tonight
Win2000 Talk
WebTalkGuys
O'Donnell on Computers

Andy Graham's Computer Beat - www.compbeat.com

About the Show: Andy Graham is your host in this live radio talk show about computers and technology. The show features new product reviews, contests, call-in advice, and interviews with industry spokesmen, authors and journalists. Broadcast live on Saturdays at 3:00 PM Central Time. Downloads are around 2 hours long.

Downloading the Shows: On the home page is a link that says, "Download .MP3 of latest show." Right click on this link and choose Save Target As to download the show. There is no archive of previous shows, but the most recent shaw is available for a week until it is replaced by the next show.

TechTalk Radio - www.stratford.edu

About the Show: David Burd and Dr. Richard Shurtz, President of Stratford University, host this radio show about computers and information technology. The show deals with the Internet, computers, and IT trends. Broadcast on WMAL NewsTalk Radio on Saturdays at Noon Eastern Time. Downloads are around 45 minutes long since non Stratford University commercials have been removed from the broadcast.

Downloading the Shows: There is a Select box in the top left hand corner of the page. Choosing a particular month brings up the notes about the show from that particular month. Each show going back through January, 2002 is available in RealAudio and MP3 format. Simply right click on the MP3 link and choose Save Target As to download the show.

The Linux Show - www.thelinuxshow.com

About the Show: Join Jeff Gerhardt, Kevin Hill, Arne Flones, and Doc Searls as they discuss the latest news and events about the Linux Operating System and Open Source software. Broadcast on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM, Central Time. Downloads are around 1 hour long.

Downloading the Shows: On the navigation bar, click on the link that says, Archives. A list of archived shows going back to June of 2002 is available. Clicking on the links will stream the MP3 file, but we want to download them. Move your mouse over a link and look at the status bar. You will see the actual name of the MP3 file. These files reside on the web server in the archives/year/ folder. Thusly, the MP3 file for the June 25th, 2002 show can be found at www.thelinuxshow.com/archives/2002/tls-06-25-2002.mp3. I keep an HTML file on my personal machine that I can easily update with a link to the MP3 file. This allows me to edit that file, view it, and then right click on the link to download and save the MP3 file.

Off The Hook - www.2600.com/offthehook

About the Show: This companion radio show to 2600 magazine serves as a forum for hacker related news and call-in discussion. The show is broadcast live on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM Eastern Time.

Downloading the Shows: When you visit the web site, click on the link on the left hand side that says Old Shows. You will be taken to a page with several select boxes. Older shows are available going all the way back to October of 1988. Once you choose the year and month for the show that you want, click the submit button. The next page displays the links to the actual shows. Right click on the "L" beside MP3 and choose Save Target As to download a particular broadcast in MP3 format.

Let's Talk Computer's - www.lets-talk-computers.com

About the Show: This weekly radio show is hosted by Alan and Sandra Ashendorf. They receive hardware and software product samples from companies for review. On the air they discuss the products with a representative of the manufacturer. The show is pre-recorded and broadcast on a number or radio stations at various times. Downloads are around 30 minutes long.

Downloading the Shows: The main page of this web site gives a brief summary of each show, with the most recent show at the top of the page. Shows are available in both RealAudio and Windows Media Player formats. To download these shows, I do a right click on a link and choose Copy Shortcut. I can then paste this link into Cybercorder 2000 and schedule it record the show.

Technology Bytes - www.geekradio.com

About the Show: Jay Lee and Peter Hughes help people with their computer problems and questions in this weekly call-in radio show. The show is broadcast live on Wednesday evenings at 8:00 PM Central Time. Downloads are around 2 hours long.

Downloading the Shows: An archive of past radio shows exists at www.texan.net/tb.htm. The archive includes shows going back through January of 2001. All the links are in Windows Media Player format. To download these shows, I do a right click on a link and choose Copy Shortcut. I can then paste this link into Cybercorder 2000 and schedule it record the show.

Anchor Desk - www.zdnet.com/anchordesk

About the Show: David Coursey is the host of this daily "tour of the news and ideas that are moving tech" on CNET Radio. The show is broadcast live each weekday at 12:00 PM Pacific Time. Live shows are an hour long, but downloads are are around 40 minutes long.

Downloading the Shows: You will have to do some work for this show. When you visit this page, click on the link to AnchorDesk Radio. This link may not be clearly marked. The page will have brief blurbs about the shows and a link at the end of each one that says, "LISTEN NOW." They seem to keep the most recent 6 or so shows listed. You will have to use Cybercorder 2000 to record the shows in MP3 format, but you can't simply right click the link and coy the shortcut. To get an URL that you can paste into Cybercorder 2000, you will have to view the source code of the page by right clicking on the page and choosing View Source. The daily divisions are easy to see and you will see code similar to the following near the end of each day's synopsis:
<a href="#" onClick="window.open('http://www.cnet.com/radio/radio_load_2.html?showType=ondmd,sid=rdo,asset=0828coursey', 'radioplayer','toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status=no,top=no,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,width=300,height=160, left=200,screenX=200,top=100,screenY=100');" class="f">LISTEN NOW</a>
The URL that you need can be found between the apostrophes in the window.open() function call. Copy this and paste it into Cybercorder 2000 to record the show.

Computer America - www.computeramerica.com

About the Show: Craig Crossman is your host for this nationally syndicated weekly radio show on computers and technology. The show airs on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 PM Eastern Time. Each show is 2 hours long.

Downloading the Shows: Click on the flashing "On Air" icon to visit the Computer America page at Yahoo!Radio. The most recent five shows are available as streaming in RealAudio and Windows Media formats. Right click on a link and choose Copy Shortcut. Then paste this link into Cybercorder 2000 and schedule it to record the show.

Into Tomorrow - www.graveline.com

About the Show: Dave Graveline is your host for this radio show that covers "the latest in Consumer Electronics and Technology." The show is broadcast on Sunday afternoons at 2:00 PM Eastern Time on many radio stations across the country. Shows are 3 hours long. Archived shows are the commercial free Armed Forces version and have been edited to only 1 hour long.

Downloading the Shows: In the lower left hand corner of the home page, click on the link that says, "Archives." There is a row of links with years that take you to a summary page for that year. Each year page lists the titles of each show. Clicking on a show title will bring up pictures of the guests on that particular show. Although RealAudio icons and links begin to appear on shows in November 1998 to the present, they only guarantee that shows are available for the last six months. Beginning with August 18, 2003, there are links to the MP3 version of the show, that you can right click on and choose Save Target As to save the file. For older show, right click on the link that says , "Hear the Show Here" and choose copy shortcut. Paste this link into Cybercorder 2000 to schedule the recording. Since many of the older links no longer work, you may want to do a regular left click to make sure that the show archive still exists on their servers.

onLine Tonight - www.online-tonight.com

About the Show: David Lawrence hosts this radio show that is broadcast each weeknight on CNET radio at 7:00 PM Pacific Time. Each show is 3 hours long, but is downloadable as a single 3 hour show, or individual 15 minute segments.

Downloading the Shows: Information about the most recent shows are listed on the home page, broken up into three one hour long segments. After the description of each segment, there are links that you can right click on to download each fifteen minute segment of the show. At the end of all three hour long segments are links where you can download the entire show. If your MP3 player can't play WMA files, there is a link to Stream the Show. You can right click on this link and choose Copy Shortcut to get an URL that you can paste into Cybercorder 2000 to record the show.

Win2000 Talk - www.win2000talk.com

About the Show: Scott Baetz and Laura DiDio host this show where "you to get the answers to your toughest questions-directly and in-person from well-known Windows gurus and experts on a weekly basis". The site says to listen every Thursday, but no broadcast time is given. This may be when the new show is uploaded. It appears that a new show is posted every other week. Shows are around 45 minutes long.

Downloading the Shows: When you visit the site, the first information you see is a summary about the most recent show. Thee are links to "Listen Now" and "Download Now". When I visited the site for this report, the "Download Now" link was reporting errors. Clicking on the "Listen Now" link will bring up a new window where you can choose to listen or download. Right click on the listen link if your MP3 player can't play WMA files. Paste the target into Cybercorder 2000 to schedule and record the show. If your MP3 player can play WMA files, right click on the download link and choose Save Target As to download the WMA file. An archive of older shows it that bottom of the page, but unfortunately, no dates for the shows are given. More recent shows seem to be at the top of the list.

WebTalkGuys - www.webtalkguys.com

About the Show: "Each show features internet Industry CEO's and new media executive interviews, website tips and listener call-in comments and questions." The show is broadcast live each Saturday morning at 11:00 AM Pacific Time. Each show is 1 hour long, but downloads are around 50 minutes long.

Downloading the Shows: The most recent show is available from the middle of the home page under the "Listen" links. Streaming shows are available in Windows Audio and Real Audio formats. To download the MP3, simply right click on the MP3 link and choose Save Target As. Clicking on the "Archive" link in the top navigation bar will open a new window where you can select a show topic and download that particular show. Unfortunately, this list uses titles only and not dates. However the page that opens when you select a show title does have date information. Some of the older shows are available as MP3 downloads and some are only available by streaming. To download streaming versions, right click the link and choose Copy Shortcut to get an URL that you can paste into Cybercorder 2000.

O'Donnell on Computers - www.everythingcomputers.com/realaudio.htm

About the Show: Bob O'Donnell answers your computer questions in this show that is broadcast throughout Silicon Valley and the entire Northern California Area. The show is broadcast live on Saturday mornings at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. Shows are about 3 hours long.

Downloading the Shows: To get to the audio feeds, click on the Radio icon on the left hand navigation. On the radio page, click on the "Listen to the Program" on the right hand side of the page. You will be taken to the archive page. Archives are available back through March of 1998 in Real Audio format.No episode summaries are available. To download the shows, right click on a link and choose Copy Shortcut. You can then paste this URL into Cybercorder 2000 and schedule the program for recording.