Sirius-esque headphones? Too bad they were around BEFORE Sirius had theirs available.

Don't know who photoshopped the Sirius interface on the Zune, but if it has a satellite reciever at all it would likely be XM.

Why?

A: Microsoft is already partnered with XM, there are tie-ins all over the place - like right in Windows Media Player for example. Though it's plausable Sirius could once again ignore profitability and somehow give MS a wad of cash from it's magical money-pot. But does MS need it?

B: XM is still quite aways ahead of Sirius technologically in terms of reciever size, heat-generation, power-consumtion, etc. They showed a prototype months ago of the entire reciever in a package about the size of two stacked quarters.

"I'd enter the camps that offer more functionality (at this moment) and sound quality that could please audiophiles. They being Creative or iriver, although I question iriver. Their latest offering have been rather weak."

I've been quite happy with Archos products. They are clearing out their current-gen hardware via Dish Network and PocketDish to make way for their new models. $150 for an 3G iPod-sized 20Gig unit with USB -hosting (dump photos, dock and share with other USB MP3 players) and DVD-res video-playback (w/TV-out built-in) isn't bad at all. If half of what has been leaked makes it in to the new ones (Removable battery, WiFi, High-Def Divx, MPEG2, H.264, possibly even touch-screens and Internet/email on some models) one of the new Archos models will be mine as well.

> Had nothing but trouble with my Archos Gmini. Archos you are dead to me!

What kind of "trouble"? I'm on my third generation of Archos products and I've loved every one of them. They've slowly worked the OS bugs out and improved their fit-and-finish as well. Other than the Lion battery starting to crap out after a year+ of heavy use, my Gmini 400 is as sharp as the day I bought it.

Their lead in being ahead of the curve has dwindled as of late, they need a device in the Gmini400/iPod form-factor with a bigger screen, better battery life (removable too) and also WiFi capabilites. And they need to do it at a better price and earlier than Apple, as they've been consistently doing for many years. The PMP market is expanding though, they have many competitors now.

Long live Archos, (underground) king of PMP's and MP3 players! Down with forced corporate-friendly proprietary software.....

> Dude, O&A only brought 35,000 new subs to XM

This is the first I've EVER seen this stat. And if it was after being off the air for two years, those numbers are actually not that bad.

> XM found them to be so successful that XM is whoring them out to CBS stations to recoup their ill-spent money.

No, CBS is so desperate they are going to satellite providers for content. OandA get access to their old shows and now do a longer show. Plus, they have access to bigger name guests on the CBS side whos agents won't let then anywhere NEAR uncensored radio. Not to mention more promotion, billboards, etc. My local Best Buy actually has a huge OandA standup display.

> Maybe those 35,000 feel a little duped paying for whaat they can now get for free.

Terrestrial listeners not only have to deal with more commercials (while XM subs get material) but they do not get the 2-3 hour exclusive XM show (they've been going about 2.5). They CANNOT get this for free, and once becoming a fan very well may want to make the jump to sat. That's why XM has done this, it's going to mean more subs for them. Not to mention the other upcoming shows on XM 202.

Let's look at how much coverage OandA have vs Howie, shall we?

OandA
XM - 6.5 million subs
Directv - 14 million
7 terrestrial stations (for now)- potential for hundreds of thousands of listeners
Plus thousands streaming though xmradio.com

Howie
Sirius - 4 million
Not on Dish Network
No terrestrial
No streaming

And they broadcast from Howies old studio!

As a testament to the power of OandA fans, when Directv tried to make their XM stations music only, it took less than a week for them to change that:

"The uproar from fans, pleading with us to put Opie & Anthony back on the air, was deafening to say the least," said Dan Fawcett, executive vice president, Programming Acquisition, DIRECTV, Inc. "And though our original intent was to focus our XM service on more music, we now understand the passionate following that Opie & Anthony have and we're happy to bring them back on board in an expanded format."

RAMONE! O and A are kicking Howies washed-up ass!

Also, don't forget all Archos devices will dock in nearly any computer (even ones running Windows 98) and simply show up as an external harddrive. As long as you stick to MP3's ("Plays for Sure" requires XP I believe) you will never need proprietary software. That's a HUGE selling point, imo. If Apple wants me to even consider one of their products they need to make it standardized like Archos and other manufacturers. Give ME the choice to use the software that I want to use.

>61.Both Sirius and XM would seem to have a similar
>number of tuners. I don't know where the comments >about XM having more and better hardware arecoming
>from, but that doesn't appear to be the case.

I don't kow about "more" hardware, but it's certainly smaller and less expensive. Like I said, I got the roadie XT (XM's smallest player) for FREE with three months paid. And Sirius has no portable reciever on the market yet, just an MP3 recorder. XM has 3 true portables, with a very small portable reciever on the way with a built-in recorder. They are clearly, unarguably ahead hardware-wise. They also have the whole chipset down to tiny card. They are planning to make recievers have a standard slot that the card can be moved to and from, therefore foregoing the need for multimple subscriptions for every piece of hardware you have.

> 62. Who the hell are Opus and Anthony?Soundslikea
> couple of Jealous school girls.

They have been in radio for over 12 years, though not with the national exposure Stern has enjoyed. They are enjoyed currently in far, far more homes and cars than Stern will likely hope to EVER be on satellite. First off you have XM's 6 million subscribers to Sirius's 3.3 million, but the approximately 15 million Directv users also get them on channel 896. Dish carries Sirius music but no Stern.

Just to recap -
Jealous school girls - 21+ million potential listeners

Stern - 3.3 million.

Oh and don't forget the hundreds of thousands of people streaming XM online, there's no legit way to do that with Stern.

As far as coverage and network goes, obviously there will be examples where one is better than another in specific areas. But it's generaly accepted that due to XM having hundreds more terrestrial repeaters than Sirius the national coverage on XM is superior.

> For all the people claiming XM has superior
> hardware/technology, where is the XM satellite
> radio/mp3 player? Sirius has been selling one for
> months.

Woo Hoo, big deal. An RIAA-crippled MP3 recorder that docks into a HOME reciever. Even though the press gets it wrong, the unit has no reciever in it - because it would end up being huge. The first true portable Sirius unit was just announced and it looks like XM hardware from a year and a half ago. Have you seen how they have the whole XM hardware package down to a few chips that's literally the size of a few quarters stacked together?

Enjoy Stern. But your hardware still sucks.

> But I guess that has more to do with the fact
> that they are a cheap imitation of Stern show
> ideas from 5-10 years ago.

That's a funny claim, seeing as TODAY on Stern's show they played a bit produced by OandA's guys that aired 9 months ago on XM. Yes, one of the Pat O'Brien remixes Stern played was OandA's, and it isn't the first time he's done it.

There's no arguing that XM's hardware is at least a year ahead of Sirius, if not more. With XM I was able to score a roadie xt (their smallest unit, slightly smaller than a cassette tape) for free with 3 months pre-paid. And XM has thousands of terrestrial repeaters, and is generally accepted as having the superior coverage. XM also manages channel compression a little better so the music channels don't sound quite as bad as Sirius. I also get Sirius music through my Dish Network reciever, and will say that XM's claim of having a bigger, deeper playlist seems accurate to me. Bottom line, if you don't care about Stern of NFL - your money is better spent at XM.

I also take exception to the mainstream news media reports on subscription numbers. One paper today had the sub numbers at Stern's announcement as 1.1 million, not 600,000. Plus they are counting any new activations (and with Sirius they'll even count the cancelled subs too....) of people who bought a new car with it, how can you assume they're there for Stern?

Anyway, if I need my shock jock fill on XM I've got OandA, and mininova has stern torrents of todays show. No need to deal with Sirius's junk hardware to enjoy it, I mean have you seen the Pioneer Inno?