All In One Boat

HD TV is probably infiltrating your known-zone these days. High Definition. It looks great on bigger screens. All stations have to be broadcasting it by February 2009. 42 inch screens are just about to slip below $1,000.

However, there is also HD Radio. Here, HD means Hybrid Digital. (That’s what you get in free enterprise naming …) It promises to bring you FM radio as clear as CD sound, and AM radio as clear as FM. In addition, each current signal (station) can broadcast 2-3 sub channels, along with text information. Thus, on 102.1 the local classical station, I can get Mozart, or Ravel at the same time, clicking between them. And, the LED screen of the radio tells me what is being played.

And, best of all, it is free — unlike the Satellite radio competitors. Not free of ads, of course, but free of monthly charges.

So, I confess, I bought one. Radio Shack has a couple of models and you can find table top and automobile equipment from various vendors. I got a car/home kit from Visteon, called the HDJump.

It isn’t cheap — over $100, perhaps into the $250 range, depending. But so far I like it. The sound is nice and crisp. If the digital is too weak, or doesn’t exist the radio picks up standard Am and FM. If digital comes into range it shifts seamlessly to it.

There’s certainly no hurry as most stations aren’t broadcasting in HD yet, but there are federal mandates to move that way, as well as economic and market reasons for the owners.

It may be too much to ask but given that the channels will be doubling or tripling in the next few years, could we get some reasonable news, commentary, science, history up on the airwaves?

For a look at your area and to see what is being offered HDRadio.com is a good place to start.

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Tech-tip
As some of you know I’ve been making my financial way in the world for about 20 years as a computer consultant to individuals and small businesses. This was not Plan A. However, after my organizing years when my writing didn’t bring me sudden, glorious wealth I had to go with Plan B. It’s not been entirely bad and who knows, if one of the questions at the Pearly Gates has to do with DOS and 1984 computers I might pass through.

I recently began using a service that may interest some of you. It’s called JOTT and is essentially a phone answering service that converts your spoken words into text and then e-mails them to you. I use it only for myself, but there is a scheme by which you can JOTT a team of people. It works this way. I am driving down the highway and have an earthshattering idea for a story I am working on, or “milk” pops into my head and I don’t want to forget to buy it before getting home. I punch a speed dial button on my cell phone; the JOTT number is dialed; JOTT recognizes the number I am calling from and instantly finds my account and says “Who do you want to JOTT?” I say “me.” It says “beep” and I say “get milk.” Or in the case of the earth-shattering idea I say “the clue which solves the mystery depends on figuring out who the angelheaded hipster is in line three of HOWL.” I hang up. Next time I open my e-mail the message is there, typed out, and surprisingly readable. There are a few times when it says [mmrrph -- inaudible] but there is always a link to your voice message, so you can listen to yourself and figure out what the missing word is. Each “beep” is limited to 40 seconds, but you are asked if you want to make another JOTT. I seldom need more than the first one.

If you spend a lot of time away from your writing and note-taking tools this is a fabulous supplement. Plus, it will save you and the rest of us a lot of near misses on the highway as you don’t have to write while driving… So far it’s free. You can put several phone numbers on the account, and several e-mail addresses. Take a look: http://www.jott.com/

I’ll be adding other tech tips from time to time, especially as they impact our political / cultural lives. Next time an evaluation of CNN’s Pipeline — the internet 4 chanel feed.

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