Strange New World: Tech Picks of the Week

June 5, 2008 — -- This week we take a look at how traditional over-the-air radio is actually not being left behind in today high-tech world. We also track Microsoft's latest move in a continued attempt to diversify and get an early look at the latest game from Sims guru Wil Wright.

We would like to interrupt this regularly scheduled column with a test of the radio emergency innovation system ... Nothing like a little declining market share to force the old radio dog to learn new tricks, but that's what's happening. Real innovation seems to be coming to radio.

The industry actually is being smart about its new HD Radio services. Remember there is no analog give back in radio like in TV. So radio operators are free to develop new products just for digital, since their analog services are not affected.

For example, the industry is working on a deal with ConEdison of New York to use digital radio bandwidth as a means for the utility company to broadcast to users when is the most efficient time to run their appliances and other electrical tools during the day. David J. Field, president and CEO of Entercom, says the industry reselling the bandwidth to ConEd provides a means to communicate with customers without installing a fresh network.

And radio is being eyed by cellular operators as a means of complying with emergency broadcast signal regulation. Cell ops are on the hook from the Feds to have an emergency notification system in place. And Jeffrey H. Smulyan, chairman of Emmis Communications, said the radio industry is working closely with operators to put analog radio tuners in all domestic cell phones. The plan is that these units will allow users to access the radio emergency broadcast system, which has proved more durable during emergencies than cell networks.

We're not saying over-the-air radio is turning into all WiFi or Web 2.0 or anything. Radio is still very much radio: The artillery of the digital age. Yes, things move, but slowly and with great crashing and booming.