930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: emmy on August 08, 2003, 10:02:00 am
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I think this has come up before, but I wasn't paying attention. Do any of you guys have XM Radio? Do you recommend it?
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You have no idea what you've just started my friend....paige works for them and she really REALLY loves her job.
Actually, I don't have it in my car but a lot of my clients have it installed in theirs. For the most part they say they don't know how they lived without it.
Look into Sirius too before you decide.
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I want to work for XM radio..... :(
Paige, any openings in that Emerald City of a company of yours?
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before you all polish up those resumes, Ive had two friends who got laid off there, after being worked 12 hours a day and denied leave first of course...
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XM Satellite Radio Shares Plunge
Fri Aug 8, 8:12 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The stock of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. fell sharply Thursday after the satellite-radio broadcaster posted a wider second-quarter loss, citing asset depreciation.
The Washington-based company lost $161.9 million, or $1.38 a share, for the quarter, compared with a loss of $117.2 million, or $1.38 a share, a year ago.
Though the quarterly loss per share was unchanged from a year ago, the figure is wider than the $1.25-a-share loss predicted by analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.
Revenue rose to $18.3 million from $3.8 million.
Shares of XM Satellite fell $2.75, or 21 percent, to close at $10.52 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
XM Satellite said its loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the quarter widened to $95.8 million, compared with a loss of $78.7 million a year earlier.
The second-quarter loss was expected due to a rapidly ramping growth business, XM Satellite said. The company said it expects to reach break-even cash flow in late 2004.
The service added 209,178 subscribers during the quarter, for a total of 692,253. Subscribers pay $9.99 a month for access to 100 radio channels.
Separately Thursday, General Motors Corp. said it had built 500,000 cars equipped with XM Satellite receivers.
A competitor to XM Satellite, Sirius Satellite Radio, Wednesday said it ended the last quarter with 105,000 subscribers, short of the predictions of some analysts. Its shares ended down 18 cents, or 10 percent, at $1.53 on the Nasdaq.
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Have it, love it. have the delphi receiver installed in the car, move it to home every night.
the XM-live station is the best -- live concerts from way back when to the present, and all things from the smiths to pat benetar to bob marley.
the boombox sucks, though. why don't they put a cd player or, at least, a line-in plug?
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XM is perhaps the greatest thing since fire, the wheel, the internet... definitely better than penicillin (how often do you need that, really?)
It is *incredible* Where else can you hear most of the bands that come through the 930 club and black cat? Most of the posters here would probably dig 29, U-Pop (euro weenie chart hits including all the obscure english soccer music), 43 XMU -- indie/college, 44 Fred -- classic alternative... there's even an alt-countryish type channel....
More info can be found at www.xmfan.com (http://www.xmfan.com)
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Originally posted by J'Mal:
XM is perhaps the greatest thing since fire, the wheel, the internet... definitely better than penicillin (how often do you need that, really?)
It is *incredible* Where else can you hear most of the bands that come through the 930 club and black cat? Most of the posters here would probably dig 29, U-Pop (euro weenie chart hits including all the obscure english soccer music), 43 XMU -- indie/college, 44 Fred -- classic alternative... there's even an alt-countryish type channel....
More info can be found at www.xmfan.com (http://www.xmfan.com)
Do you work on commission J'Mal?
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No, but I've probably sold about a dozen SkyFi's. People who play with it for a few minutes get this look on their face, this ....understanding.... that this is a necessary product.
If you don't have a SkyFi, get one. If there's something wrong with you and you don't like it, return it. I believe XM also refunds/pro-rates unused service. But if you're reading this board, you probably like music, and it is doubtful you'd be returning it.
Imagine having at least five or ten really good things to listen to on the radio at any one time. And all the stuff that is annoying about regular radio is gone. Not there.
BTW not to start a flame war with sirius users but there's a reason why XM has something like 90% of the market. Sirius has more talk, less music, and they are very hits-oriented and not nearly as deep. They also just hired this FM radio consultant who looks like he's gonna tighten up the playlists even more and just make it a carbon copy of the crap on FM radio. Get the real thing.
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Does XM/Sirius have ads on at all...and I mean 'any at all'?
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Ads:
Both services carry ads on their talk/news channels. Some of these are syndicated and the talkers need a break once in a while. Some of the ad space on these channels is taken up by PSAs or by home-grown filler material (this day in history, etc.)
Sirius is completely ad free on their 60 music channels. XM has a few ads half of their 70 music channels. If you go to their website you can see which ones. By few, I mean, one or two minutes per hour. Most XM subs will tell you the ads are a non-issue, and the vastly superior XM programming service, which also happens to be less expensive, more than makes up for that. When you consider the additional music channels, XM actually delivers more music.
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Ads = getting none of mankies money.
If I'm going to pay for radio then I expect NO ads. I was going to look into it but you've just helped me make my mind up...thanks.
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You definitely started something.. :)
XM is great. really, it is. it has a lot of versatility (car, home, boombox) and all things considered, it isn't that costly.
i love my job pretty much because of the people that work there and the laid back and fun atmosphere.... but, as mentioned, the hours are long for the program directors and others. a friend said it's the most demanding job he's ever had, but also the most rewarding. with 100 channels of music and talk/sports, there really is something for everyone. and the commercials issue shouldn't even be brought up. many are commercial free; the channels that aren't have only 1-2 minutes an hour. (compared with 20 on fm stations)
sirius doesn't measure up just yet to xm..although i don't think it's horrible. fewer channels and the fact that they copied xm (well, not really but xm was first)kind of turns me off.
everyone should look into it, the more listeners the better. also, you could hear me on the air :) although i'm sure no one cares about that.
www.xmradio.com (http://www.xmradio.com) (all of the information you need, employment opportunites included)
www.xmfan.com (http://www.xmfan.com) (message board for feedback and chatting)
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Originally posted by paige:
and the commercials issue shouldn't even be brought up. many are commercial free; the channels that aren't have only 1-2 minutes an hour. (compared with 20 on fm stations)
until they sell more ads that is!
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Originally posted by mankie:
until they sell more ads that is!
go home, mankie!
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Originally posted by paige:
You definitely started something.. :)
XM is great. really, it is. it has a lot of versatility (car, home, boombox) and all things considered, it isn't that costly.
i love my job pretty much because of the people that work there and the laid back and fun atmosphere.... but, as mentioned, the hours are long for the program directors and others. a friend said it's the most demanding job he's ever had, but also the most rewarding. with 100 channels of music and talk/sports, there really is something for everyone. and the commercials issue shouldn't even be brought up. many are commercial free; the channels that aren't have only 1-2 minutes an hour. (compared with 20 on fm stations)
sirius doesn't measure up just yet to xm..although i don't think it's horrible. fewer channels and the fact that they copied xm (well, not really but xm was first)kind of turns me off.
everyone should look into it, the more listeners the better. also, you could hear me on the air :) although i'm sure no one cares about that.
www.xmradio.com (http://www.xmradio.com) (all of the information you need, employment opportunites included)
www.xmfan.com (http://www.xmfan.com) (message board for feedback and chatting)
Hey what about jobs? Judging from the earlier article, more lay-offs on the way?
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Originally posted by paige:
Originally posted by mankie:
until they sell more ads that is!
go home with me, mankie! [/b]
Paige!!! ;)
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Originally posted by redsock:
Hey what about jobs? Judging from the earlier article, more lay-offs on the way?
i hope not... that's what we were thinking when we listened to that conference call yesterday. however, i don't think that is the immediate plan. you could just start out as a lowly ingestor and work your way up (ingestion - ripping audio from cd's and turning it into digital files for the activated system. really really tedious and really really boring.. also really really necessary)
oh mankie, take me away!! :p
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Originally posted by paige:
oh mankie, take me!! :p [/b]
Who's yer daddy!
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oh dear, I would DIE for an XM. being poor sucks :(
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One minute of commercials per hour on SOME of the channels to get great programming sure beats commercial-free christina aguilera all day long. Also hate to disappoint you mankie but sirius does not have an equivalent for U-Pop.
As for the market, XM is a somewhat controversial stock. Yesterday's selloff was a ridiculous over-reaction to standard insurance negotiating tactics. Full disclosure: I've got a huge position in it and I slept well last night, as unpleasant as it was during the day.
I've visited XM a few times for various reasons and it sure seems like a wonderful place to work.
Paige -- who are you on the air?
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Originally posted by J'Mal:
As for the market, XM is a somewhat controversial stock. Yesterday's selloff was a ridiculous over-reaction to standard insurance negotiating tactics. Full disclosure: I've got a huge position in it and I slept well last night, as unpleasant as it was during the day.
It recovered 13% today. Now would be a good time to buy shares.
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Originally posted by Member 656:
Originally posted by J'Mal:
As for the market, XM is a somewhat controversial stock. Yesterday's selloff was a ridiculous over-reaction to standard insurance negotiating tactics. Full disclosure: I've got a huge position in it and I slept well last night, as unpleasant as it was during the day.
It recovered 13% today. Now would be a good time to buy shares. [/b]
Wouldn't if have been better to buy shares BEFORE the 13% recovery?
Also, let me expand on one of my comments for J'mal....I'm not favoring Sirius over XM or vice versa....I just have a problem with paying for a service that is getting ad revenue at the same time. I listen to public radio sometimes to get the news, and the car talk blokes of course, but have never sent any money during one of their membership drives simply because they pretend they don't have ads, but I hear this all the time, ...'this portion of the show brought to you by a grant from schnurglebergers, providing widgets to the IT industry'... What's that if it's not an ad?
I pay for my cd's and happily play those in my car...better selection than any radio station could come up with, as your personal cd collection would be the same for you.
No biggie, just a pet peeve of mine.
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Mankie, XM doesn't have sponsored programs like "brought to you by" anywhere. The commercial free channels are commercial free.
If you buy a newspaper or a magazine or cable TV, you are definitely "paying for ads." Relative to other media, the ads on XM are symbolic. Believe me, after the crap radio you've become accustomed to, it is difficult to imagine just how ad-free XM really is. They're not stupid, they know nobody will pay for the same crap that's on the air right now.
Also, I beg to differ about the depth of selection on XM v. that of your CD collection. It couldn't be more opposite than you imagine. As I'm sure Paige would confirm for you, XM is committed to having every single CD ever released in its system, and I believe they're up to something like 25 or 30 terrabytes -- well over 2 million songs in their library not including a big room full of CDs. Whatever obscure request you can imagine, they will probably play it for you in very short order. (Also unlike crap FM).
With your CDs you are already familiar with everything. XM does what radio may once have done a long time ago, and is supposed to do: it introduces you to new music. Because the selection is so vast, there is very little repetition, except for maybe 20 on 20, which is designed to play the top 20 as voted on constantly.
I have definitely been buying fewer CDs since getting XM, but the ones I do buy are usually things I've heard on XM that I would not have necessarily heard anywhere else without some serious internet exploration (my previous way of learning about new music).
Finally, as for catching the bottom in the stock before it shot back up, that's a tricky thing to do. Most people who aren't glued to the screen and don't have a feel for technical analysis aren't going to pick such sweet spots. The absurd selloff did confirm very solid support at 10, a previous support level from which the stock bounced hard on massive volume. This is as good a time as any to buy.
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Originally posted by J'Mal:
Also, I beg to differ about the depth of selection on XM v. that of your CD collection. It couldn't be more opposite than you imagine. As I'm sure Paige would confirm for you, XM is committed to having every single CD ever released in its system, and I believe they're up to something like 25 or 30 terrabytes -- well over 2 million songs in their library not including a big room full of CDs. Whatever obscure request you can imagine, they will probably play it for you in very short order. (Also unlike crap FM).
With your CDs you are already familiar with everything. XM does what radio may once have done a long time ago, and is supposed to do: it introduces you to new music. Because the selection is so vast, there is very little repetition, except for maybe 20 on 20, which is designed to play the top 20 as voted on constantly.
Two things:
1. I am on channel 42 (Liquid Metal) from noon-2ish with Manny.
2. XM uses this database called Dalet. It literally has at least one sony by ANY band, obscure or not. this is because they actually do stand behind their claim of diversity and variety on every single channel. the music library is this crazy room that holds everything. if there aren't 2 million songs, i think there are more. and because each channel doesn't play the same things you are used to hearing, your ears are exposed to new music all the time. which isn't a bad thing. ;)
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yeah i have it and love it.....they do tend to repeat a lot of songs though (nothing has bad as regular radio)...but for example, XMU is still playing some of hte same songs I heard when I subscribed a year ago...several times. still though, well worth the investment.
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if i had to do a drive in commute every day, this would be mandatory on my car purchase. no doubt about it.
anyone read though about the satellite problems? apparently boeing did a crap job building the satellites and now the insurance xm has isn't paying out because the faulty equipment. it was in the post the other day. let me see if i can find it and i'll post.
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here we go:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31533-2003Aug7.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31533-2003Aug7.html)
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Originally posted by lily1:
if i had to do a drive in commute every day, this would be mandatory on my car purchase. no doubt about it.
lily, you CAN get it in your house too :p
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Considering that radio around here sucks except for WRNR and WMDT in Towson it's a great concept and a good stock to own.
I bought it back in March and think by next year it should be in the $18 - $20 range. That insurance news is just a minor glitch.
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I just got back from a road trip to Cleveland. XM radio successfully entertained me for 16 hours of round trip driving this weekend. I'd highly reccomend it...only problem is that every once in a while a big truck'll drive up next to you and the signal is lost...and that always happens right in the middle of a song that you are jamming out to.
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Originally posted by MaLo:
I just got back from a road trip to Cleveland. XM radio successfully entered me for 16 hours of round trip driving this weekend. I'd highly reccomend it...only problem is that every once in a while a big truck'll drive up next to you and the signal is lost...and that always happens right in the middle of a song that you are jamming out to.
all the truckers have xm radios it seems. every day they call liquid metal just to talk. weird.
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The satellite thing is a non-issue. All satellites have to be replaced eventually. XM has to replace their two a bit earlier than planned due to Boeing's screw up, which is what satellite insurance is for.
XM has the bucks to launch #3, planned for the end of next year, and could easily raise the cash to launch #4, not needed until 2007 or 2008, even without the insurance payments.
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i know, but i'm hardly home long enough to enjoy it. now, if they made it in a walkman version, that'd be great! i spend more time on metro than i do in my own house! but out of curiosity, how much does a boombox cost? its still the $10 rate, yes?
Originally posted by paige:
lily, you CAN get it in your house too :p [/QB][/QUOTE]
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Originally posted by sniper10:
Considering that radio around here sucks except for WRNR and WMDT in Towson it's a great concept and a good stock to own.
I bought it back in March and think by next year it should be in the $18 - $20 range. That insurance news is just a minor glitch.
*cough* WMUC 88.1 fm college park.
and mankie, even college stations have to do psa. So shove it.
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Lily, if you're never in the car and never in the house, are you often.... in front of a computer?
You should consider the XM PCR. Satellite radio for your computer. Plugs in through USB and you use your mouse to select channels, can see what's on all 100 channels on the screen, etc., but because it is a satellite signal -- NO INTERNET is being used by it. You get the sound through your computer speakers or soundcard or whatever else you want to rig up. It's $70 (plus the service, of course):
http://www.xmradio.com/xmpcr/ (http://www.xmradio.com/xmpcr/)
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get this, i work for an internet company, but we are not allowed soundcards at work! whacked, i tell ya!
i'm thinking i'll save up and buy the boombox for my bedroom since the computer is in the alcove and the stereo in the living room.
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why not move the stereo to the bedroom since you never listen to it anyway? the home adapter for your stereo is cheaper than the boombox and you'll probably get better sound...
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you've got a point about the sound quality but the stereo needs to stay in the living room as it won't fit in the bedroom with its current setup. damn odd shelving system i have. this is when i wish i owned my place and i could just rewire the joint and fix this problem all together!
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i think J'Mal knows more about xm than i do. :p
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Originally posted by paige:
i think J'Mal knows more about xm than i do. :p
You're just the talent. :p
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I will say that as much as I love xm, the website sucks. we had to cancel service on a stolen SkyFi and then restart it once it was replaced -- took about 2 days to do this. Why can't this be done on the web?!?!
and for those lemming a walkman xm, i think i'll wait until it's progressed beyond the current standard (http://store.yahoo.com/xmfanstore/skwkit.html) :
<img src="http://images.xmfan.com/skyfiback.JPG" alt=" - " />
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A true walkman is coming probably early next year. The new "Roady," a car only unit, is already walkman-sized. They just need to add power to that sucker and it's good to go.
<img src="http://www.xmradio.com/images/photo_gallery_detail_images/large/roady_in_hand_lg.jpg" alt=" - " />
<img src="http://www.xmradio.com/images/photo_gallery_detail_images/large/roady_features_lg.jpg" alt=" - " />