Alternative Internet Radio Stations
Technology brings you an alternative to radio as you have always known it.
Internet radio has many formats and here are tips on how to access these new stations easily and quickly on your PC or mobile device.
Other People Are Reading
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Technology brings you music from yesterday and today
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It's mid-summer and I'm listening to a wide variety of classical Christmas music.
How? I'm listening to Alternative Internet Radio.
The Internet has brought thousands of radio stations to PCs and mobile listening devices around the world. It has also given many local stations the opportunity to reach audiences far beyond their traditional coverage area.
There is a plethora of Web sites designed to carry lists of these alternative radio stations. Most are supported by advertising and offer a wide variety of formats.
Some are user friendly, some are not. Some require the download of a player, while others use the Real Audio or Windows Media Player.
Where to begin
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The bandwidth of your Internet connection is first. 128 Kbps, or kilobytes per second, is specified for downloading Pandora Radio, with a recommended DSL capacity of 150 Kbps. Similar download speeds apply to most other sites.
Don't know your download speed? No Problem. Use one of the many Internet download speed test Web sites; a few are listed below. Be careful though, on many of these speed test Web sites, they may try and sell you a PC scan or virus check software. The speed test is free.
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So many stations, so little time
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A quick check on Internet search engines will show you a long list of sites with links to thousands of Internet stations. Many are local stations with their programming now being streamed around the world. Others provide commercial-free programming with ads to support them. The problem here is the sheer number of stations available. It's a daunting task to navigate your way through the sites. Some favorites for ease of use include Pandora.com, Shoutcast.com, Live365.com and GotRadio.com.
Easy to find and user-friendly
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Pandora is user friendly and fast, and is easy to use if you're not technically adept. With Pandora and others, you register one time with the site and choose your favorite genre or artist. Grandpa Jones Country Bluegrass to Snoop Dog. Type in the name of the artist or song and your radio station will begin playing songs by your favorite artist and similar artists.
Live365 advertises thousands of stations arranged by genre. All Things Pagan Radio to Class of 54 FM. (The Class of 54 listened to AM radio since there was little FM available at that time.) No matter. They have it now and it's available in 1,000 varieties.
Shoutcast gives you a choice of stations with exotic names like French Kiss FM and Radio Paradise.
GotRadio offers "Your Radio On Demand," and arranges music by genre. Today's Hits to Alternative Attic.
Your kind of music any time
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Traditional, over-the-air radio stations may be limited to a specific format but you are not. The variety of music available is endless.
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