XM or Sirius?

Discuss.

Also, best bets for portable MP3 player and site for small number of not onerously DRM’d MP3 purchases, like the once in a while “I haven’t heard that in years I love that song” kind of thing?

1. Sirius.
   They are kicking XM’s ass right now in sales and subscribers. And if its something your intereted in if you send me the money for 6 months at $6.99 a month I can get you a free radio and you can keep the 6.99 a month rate you just have to send me the money instead of paying directly.  But for the price of the first 6 months the free radio is well worth it.
   The kids got Ipod Nano’s while they were here. The 1 gig ones were only $135 from Newegg.com. They are easy to use and really neat.  You can also buy songs right from Itunes for .99 a song.  They charge by plugging into your usb port on the computer. I think they hold about 150 songs.  I don’t have exp with any others though.

   Posted by wayne  on  09/19  at  04:14 PM  from  Ohio

2. Having used both, I’d say that which is better depends on what you like.  I think Sirius is a little better in the ambient/techno area, but XM is better in having a wide variety.  I don’t care about football or baseball, so I can’t say which is better there.  I also don’t care for Howard Stern, so that’s not an advantage of Sirius for me (it’s actually a bit of a disadvantage ).

   Technically, I think XM has an edge in signal coverage due to the way their satellites are configured in comparison to Sirius.  I don’t remember if Sirius uses any terresterial repeaters, but XM uses them in major metro areas so that you’re able to go into parking garages and the like without losing signal.  If you’re using it at home, though, you need to investigate where you’re going to put the antenna, as Sirius requires line of sight to the North and XM generally requires it to the South (at least at my lattitude, yours might be different being in the NE).

   See here for my issues getting Sirus set up: http://www.aubreyturner.org/index.php?/orglog/orbital_frustration/

   I’ll also second the iPod (Nano or regular) for a good MP3 player.  It’s capable of playing “standard” non-DRM’d MP3’s as well as DRM’d tracks from the iTunes Music Store.

   I’m not sure about a good non-DRM’d MP3 download service, though.  AudioLunchbox.com and eMusic.com both have non-DRM’d MP3’s available, but they both seem to be a bit non-mainstream.  For mainstream artists, I suspect iTMS would have a better selection.  The iTunes DRM model is OK, as you can play your selections on your iPod and up to 5 computers (if I recall correctly).  You can also manage which computers are authorized (i.e. if you replace a PC, etc).

   FYI--You might want to fix the “About” box in the upper right corner of the comments page.  It’s still got the “dummy latin” filler copy.

   Posted by Aubrey Turner  on  09/19  at  08:33 PM  from  Keller,TX

3. BTW.  Both XM and Sirius have radios that can not only record from the radio but can also hold and play MP3’s and wave files.
   They cost a bit more but your killing 2 birds with one stone.

   Posted by wayne  on  09/19  at  10:54 PM  from  Ohio

4. I have Sirius.  Very happy.  Howard Stern is funnier than ever.

   Posted by sama  on  09/20  at  09:19 AM  from  Waltham
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