Digital Radio

I got out of bed far too early this morning. I needed to be in Martin Place by about five o’clock for the official launch of digital radio in Australia. I woke at roughly 4:15 am, stayed in the shower until I was properly awake, and then caught a cab into town.

Martin Place was fairly quiet at that hour. Well, quiet aside from a swarm of radio station marketing people, plus a handful of producers and announcers. From what I could see, I was likely the only radio station manager foolish enough to be there; the rest were sensibly still home in bed.

The only non-radio folk around at five this morning were the garbos and a few blokes in suits. “Do you think they’re going to work or coming from the bars?” I asked a colleague after overhearing a couple of them chatting on our way through.

Overall, it was a reasonably enjoyable morning, with a large crowd of people attending, and a genuine sense of camaraderie in the air. Even though we’re all rivals in some way shape or form, many of us have worked together in the past, and there was a good feeling in catching up with people you only ever see occasionally.

As for digital radio itself, the potential is pretty amazing. There are already a few new stations on air, even if much of the content is stuff you could otherwise find online, and more are bound to launch over the next six to twelve months.

Although I have access to one at work, I haven’t actually bought a digital radio for home yet. Personally, I think receivers are still too expensive, and I’m prepared to wait for the next generation—only a few months away—which will also incorporate internet radio by tapping into home wireless networks. In the lounge room, I already have my computer hooked up to the sound system, so I can stream good-quality audio over the net whenever I want. I am keen to get something for the bedroom, though, which is where I do a fair bit of listening

In the midst of a couple of busy days, I came home for a couple of hours to break things up and even managed to catch an hour or so of sleep on the couch. I headed back to work at about 3:00 pm and knocked out a few more tasks.

Heading home tonight, I was struck by a lovely moment on Sydney buses. You don’t often hear about drivers being particularly kind and considerate, so I wanted to share this story of a bloke asking for directions at Railway Square. Rather than just telling the passenger he was at the wrong stop, the driver simply said, “Grab a seat and I’ll drop you off on the way.” How cool is that?