And this idea was music to the ears of Mac users
Share with others:
Until recently, Mac computer users have had difficulty getting music and programs from Sirius Satellite Radio to play on their computers.
But that problem has been solved, thanks to a sophisticated program developed by a Greensburg man who didn't own his first computer until five years ago.
Built for Windows, Sirius has made Mac users jump through technical hoops to be able to listen to satellite radio online.
In the past week, however, tech blogs all over the Web have been buzzing about the arrival of SiriusMac, which couples Sirius Satellite Radio with the Macintosh operating system.
Previously, Mac users could only listen to Sirius by downloading a Windows application -- and if those Apple ads tell us nothing else, it's that Mac and Windows users don't like to mix. With SiriusMac, Mac users can stream Sirius radio straight to their computers.
The solution comes from an unlikely source. The man behind the Mac is Barry Walters, an ITT Technical Institute student. Mr. Walters is not your typical computer geek. The 26-year-old got his first computer only five years ago, when he traded his neighbor a set of speakers for an old PC.
Initially, Mr. Walters learned his way around computers by doing things himself. "Every computer problem I had, I never went to get it fixed, I always studied it on my own," he said. "I got so into it, I wanted to go to school and get a certificate."
Eight months ago, Mr. Walters got his first Mac. "It was something new to learn," he explained. "We were taught Windows in class, but nobody taught Mac."
Eight months may not seem like enough time for a new computer user to learn to program. But, said Bill Gano, one of Mr. Walters' instructors at ITT Tech, "Barry is the exception. He is able to pick up on programming very quickly."
"The biggest advantage is that Macintosh is fairly simple to program for," he said.
While Macintosh may be simple to program for, SiriusMac is not exactly a simple program -- on a scale from 1 to 10, Mr. Gano rated it a 7 or 8 in terms of difficulty.
Developing the program became a full-time job -- it took Mr. Walters three months, often working 10-hour days. Of his motivation for creating the program, Mr. Walters said, "I just got frustrated. It was a pain ... for Mac users."
Sirius Satellite Radio's Web site works by streaming music through a Web browser using a Windows Media Player plug-in. Because Macs have trouble with Windows Media, users previously had to download Flip4Mac, which allowed the Windows Media files to play through QuickTime, a Mac application.
Sound complicated? It is. That's why SiriusMac, which bypasses the need for Flip4Mac, has been so warmly received by the Mac world.
The program is also aesthetically appealing, since the application looks almost exactly like a Sirius satellite receiver, presets and all. And it's handy: It features an online guide to what's playing on every station, and users can set alerts for favorite artists.
"It's getting closer to feeling like an actual radio that users want to reach out and touch," said Mr. Walters. "That's what I'm aiming toward."
What's more, the download of SiriusMac is free, although users still need to have a Sirius subscription. Mr. Walters said that people can send in donations, but he has only gotten "a couple dollars here and there."
The money may not be pouring in, but feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Already, the program has popped up on Apple's Web site as the fifth most downloaded program. It's been written about on several tech blogs, from Geek Speak -- the Detroit News tech blog -- to Chronicles of a Developer, a daily blog from software engineer Giancarlo Gomez, of Miramar, Fla.
"This is infinitely simpler than browser streaming which is a royal pain for Macs," wrote Jonathan Greene, author of a blog called atmaspheric endeavors.
With four months left until he receives a certificate in computer network systems from ITT Tech, Mr. Walters plans to continue improving his program. He is working on a second version to take to the annual Macworld Expo, he said, and the next step is to adapt the program to the Windows operating system.
"We typically don't think of taking a program and importing it to Windows," said Mr. Gano. In fact, with most programs, it's the other way around. But, said Mr. Gano, since the only way Sirius subscribers can listen on a PC is via a Sirius Web page, there are "design considerations."
Mr. Walters will not stop at Windows. "I want to make it available to everything that can get on the Internet -- cell phones, PSP, little handheld devices ..."
a worrisome day for traders around the world
First Published July 27, 2007 11:12 pm
