I wonder if the manufacturers of these radios are thinking about accessibility of the extra digital info they'll be displaying? At 11:01 AM 4/17/02 -0400, you wrote: >from the April 12th USA Today > >Radio close to increased digital transmissions > >By David Lieberman, USA TODAY > >LAS VEGAS - AM and FM radio are finally ready for the digital revolution, >according to broadcasters who've been waiting a decade to jump in. > >Toward the end of this year, big-city stations reaching about half of all >listeners are expected to supplement their current analog signals with >digital >transmissions. > >For consumers who buy digital radios, available early next year, AM >programming should sound as sharp as FM - and FM will approach CD clarity. > >"Static, hiss and pops all go away," says iBiquity Digital CEO Bob Struble, >whose company just unveiled its technology to lead the radio industry's >digital >charge. > >"You're talking about a diametrical upgrade in audio quality." > >IBiquity's digital radio was the most talked about new offering shown at the >National Association of Broadcasters convention here this week. > >"This could revitalize AM radio," says Radio World news editor Leslie >Stimson. "A lot of AM stations have been forced into adopting talk formats" >because >of audio quality inferior to FM. > >Broadcasters are intrigued with iBiquity's promise to help station owners go >digital in less than a year using the airwaves they already control. > >"It will be an orderly transition," says NAB chief Edward Fritts. "We know >the world is going digital. For radio to sit back and not have an avenue to >step >forward would be a tragedy." > >The plan won a key, but qualified, endorsement this week from the National >Radio Systems Committee, the broadcast and consumer electronics industries' >standards >group. It blessed iBiquity's technology for FM stations to use beginning in >November. > >It said AM stations should use it only during daytime until more tests >determine whether it would create night interference. > >IBiquity has spent $100 million on the business, Struble says, and expects >clear reception among station owners. > >Financial backers include top station owners Viacom, Radio One and Clear >Channel, as well as Lucent and Gannett (publisher of USA TODAY). "The radio >industry >set us up," he says. > >New signal equipment will cost a station from $27,000 to $215,000, depending >on its size and signal strength, plus a license fee for iBiquity's software. >The company will begin by going after stations in New York, Chicago, Los >Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Miami. > >Consumers who want to receive the clearer signals will initially pay about >$300 for a high-end radio that receives existing analog and digital signals. >Other, less costly, digital-only radios are expected to run about $100 more >than comparable analog units. > >And some will include new features. For example, motorists will be able to >push a button on the radio to instantly retrieve the latest information >about >traffic conditions, weather, sports and stocks. When music's playing, the >radio will display the song title and artist. > >Kenwood, Alpine, Harman/Kardon and JVC have said that they'll make the >radios. > >Retailers such as Crutchfield, Good Guys, Tweeter and Ultimate Electronics >have said they'd sell them. > > >VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List. >To join or leave the list, send a message to >[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type >"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations. > VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at >http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List. To join or leave the list, send a message to [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations. VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html