This is true to a point. A laptop running Windows 7 / 8 / OS X / various current Linux flavors gets updated often.
Windows XP laptops do not, yet for many folks they work well enough for their needs. Windows NT / 2000? Probably not upgradable as-is; you'd have to install a new(er) OS, and the hardware might not be robust enough to handle that new OS. Remember when we all felt 640k of RAM would be enough? That's the parallel with the installed base of Internet radios; they aren't as agile as newer devices, and -- perhaps in a testament to the quality of their construction -- didn't fail before this new risk of obsolesence. Back when these devices came out, they were agile enough, now they aren't. At some point, smartphones running Android KitKat will be in the same boat. And it is, indeed, "deja vu all over again"... To end this lamentation on a positive note... The good news is that there are other streaming radio stations that offer the BBC (WS, not Radio 4) 24/7 via MP3 (primarily), and one could use timer-activated stream capturing software to grab the stuff they want to listen to later, and then run a UPnP server that most of these legacy Internet radios could see. So, if you're motivated enough, you can create your own "Listen Again" library. RC On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 5:47 PM, Scott Royall <roy...@conchbbs.com> wrote: >> >> >> >> What about the various appliances for playing MP3 audio from the 'Net? >> Well, I have a counter-question to offer. Why do people keep buying >> software-based devices from manufacturers who cannot or will not easily >> update those things? This laptop gets software updates with almost alarming >> frequency. Same goes for your smartphone or whatever you're reading this >> email on. I guess you were unaware that HLS has been in Android since >> version 3.0. (Sorry, it was news to me also.) The bottom line is that we are >> in a softworld these days where the media transport can, and does, change. >> You have no worries as long as your content consumption device is equally >> agile. >> _______________________________________________ Swprograms mailing list Swprograms@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/swprograms To unsubscribe: Send an E-mail to swprograms-requ...@hard-core-dx.com?subject=unsubscribe, or visit the URL shown above.