BY KURT HANSON
It took risking life and limb, driving an unfamiliar rental car through a dark Silicon Valley thunderstorm, but I managed to travel to the Kerbango offices in Cupertino, CA last Friday to meet the founders of the firm and get a close-up view of an actual Kerbango stand-alone Internet radio -- and it was worth it.

The pictures you may have seen last week in USA Today and Newsweek and RAIN just don't do it justice. It's a solid, cool-looking device, but in addition, it's fast, responsive, and sounds great.

My first and strongest impression was surprise about the size of the radio -- it's only about seven inches tall! Last week's press photos were apparently "glamour shots" taken with a wide-angle lens that it made it look spectacularly beautiful but also deceptively large. In truth, it's about the size of a kitchen radio (or a slightly-larger-than-average clock radio). Mark Auerbach, Kerbango's head of marketing, noted that it will fit comfortably on a nightstand.

To use it, you simply dial a tuning knob to select the station you want to listen to. (As reported previously, no PC is required, although an Internet connection is.) There are actually, as you can see above and at right, two big blue knobs; in keeping with your intuition, the left dial controls power and volume and the right dial is for tuning.

Once you turn it on, you scroll through a list of formats (as shown at right) until you hit the format you want (e.g., "Music"); then you hit the "Select" button (in green at right above the dial). Turning the knob then scrolls you through a list of submenus (e.g., various music formats like "Alternative"); again, you hit "Select" when you get see your desired choice.

At that point, the Kerbango display gives you list of stations that, once again, you scroll through by turning the tuning knob. (See photo at left.) Each is accompanied by a "Signal strength" graphic reflecting various aspects of the quality of the audio stream.

Note that the stations are not arranged alphabetically; part of the Kerbango business model is to charge stations a fee for the top positions. (This is the model used by many search engines nowdays.)

Although commitments from manufacturers have not yet been formally announced, the radio is expected to sell for $300 and be available in stores this spring.

Kerbango was founded by former top executives from Apple Computer and Power Computing including Jon Fitch, CEO, and Jim Gable, President. (Pictured, left to right.) They have been joined by former execs from OnRadio including John Felt, VP/Marketing, and Dean Sakai, a Kerbango Advisory Board member.

What do you think? Will consumers go for this device? Contribute your feedback here.

As I wrote last week, I've left Chicago for a West Coast road trip to visit Internet radio companies on behalf of RAIN -- and simulatenously as an experiment to see if I can write and upload this newsletter from the road.

Well, as it turns out, if you're reading this item, I'm apparently having trouble. I went to Fry's Electronics here in L.A. on Sunday and bought many dollars worth of new Sony products (including the way-cool "Music Clip" MP3 player shown at right), because I'm brand-loyal to Sony, and then I get back to my hotel room -- and my Sony VAIO laptop isn't working!

In Japan, interestingly, as I understand it, Sony doesn't have a very good reputation. Their products are perceived as stylish but unable to stand up to the rigors of real-world usage. That theory would explain the three broken Sony MiniDisc players, the broken Sony cell phone, the broken Sony digital camera, and the broken Sony clock radio that I have back home. (You'd think I'd learn, wouldn't you?)

So if you're reading this on Monday afternoon, I'm apparently still having errors that are preventing me from uploading everything I want to. And if you're still reading this on Wednesday or Thursday, then I'm having big problems. Sorry.



The Gavin Seminar to be held in San Francisco later this week has a full day of web-related sessions scheduled. The day is called "Music Programming on the Net" and it's scheduled for this Wednesday. (Click Gavin logo at upper right for registration info.) Here's the agenda for that day:

11:30 a.m. "Making Music Compelling on the Net: What Does the Consumer Really, Really Want?" Face it: there are thousands of music Websites on the Internet-and more sprouting up every week. Which of these have the ability to brand themselves and build the critical mass that it takes to survive? What does it take to build a brand on the Net…and how do you use that brand to drive eyeballs to your site? Most important: how many of these Websites are actually concerned with what the consumer really wants? Moderated by AfterPlay Entertainment's Les Garland, with Nickelodeon Online's Fred Seibert, ArtistDirect's Steve Rennie, and KIISfmi's Michael Steele

1:00 p.m. "What Does All This Mean to the Artist?" As we all know, new technology is allowing artists to produce and distribute their music directly over the Internet -- in many cases bypassing the traditional record label. But as the Web rapidly evolves, some issues are emerging that may reshape the relationship between the artist and the label. Among these: Will the Internet allow the artist to work more on his or her own terms…and still get paid appropriately? With so many artists trying to break through on the Web, can established artists -- as well as talented new performers -- break through the clutter and get their music "out there?" Moderated by garageband.com's Tom Zito with tonos.com's Carole Bayer Sager, garageband.com's Jerry Harrison, beatnik.com's Thomas Dolby Robertson, and PatroNet's Todd Rundgren.

2:30 p.m. "Music on the Net: Which Business Models Will Win?" Every day another half dozen Internet start-ups claim to be "the ultimate portal on the Web," providing the best in musical content and downloads. Whatever the claim, the real questions are these: How will they survive? What revenue models have strength and focus to push them past the second round of venture capital? This session will take a look at the different potential business models that will successfully support the promotion, sales, and distribution of music over the Internet. Moderated by Microsoft's Brad Brunell, with Get Media's Robert Goldman, Launch Media's Ted Mico, Liquid Audio's Stephen Page, SonicNet.com's Brad Porteus, Live 365.com's Peter Rothman, Choice Radio's Val Starr, and myplay.com's Paula Batson.

4:00 p.m. "So You've Got as Website…Now What?" Your radio station probably set up its Website several years ago because everybody was saying it was a smart thing to do. But where has it gotten you? Can you make money from it? Does it have compelling content? Do you stream your audio…and does that help you on the street? This session is designed to help you, the programmer, understand what you can do to make your Website work, while keeping it from being just another tool for the sales department. Moderated by All Access's Joel Denver with WTMX/Chicago's Barry James, WJLB/Detroit's Michael Saunders, KLLC/San Francisco's Louis Kaplan, and mysteriously-between-gigs-at-the-moment Sean Demery.



Reprinted from Friday's edition:

"Irvine, CA-based WWW.com, which bills itself as "the world's largest Internet broadcast network," announced last week that it has signed an agreement with the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) regarding royalties on performances of their copyrighted music..."

Actually, I now have lots of exclusive details on this agreement. Look for more on this subject tomorrow, if all goes well, in RAIN. If you have a station Webcast that plays music, this will be of itnerest to you.




A woman named Shirley, from Beverly Hills, one day had a heart attack and was taken to Cedars Sinai hospital. While on the operating table, she had a near-death experience. She saw God and asked, "Is this it?" God said, "No, you have another 30 to 40 years to live." Upon her recovery, she decided to stay in the hospital and have collagen shots, cheek implants, a face lift, liposuction, and breast augmentation. She even had someone dye her hair. She figured since she had another 30 to 40 years, she might as well make the most of it. She walked out of Cedars Sinai lobby after the last operation and was killed by an ambulance speeding up to the hospital. She arrived in front of God and said, "I thought you said I had another 30 to 40 years!" God replied, "Shirley? I didn't recognize you!"

A man runs into the vet's office carrying his dog, screaming for help. The vet rushes him back to an examination room and has him put his dog down on the examination table. The vet examines the still, limp body and after a few moments, tells the man that his dog, regrettably, is dead. The man, clearly agitated and not willing to accept this, demands a second opinion. The vet goes into the back room and comes out with a cat and puts the cat down next to the dog's body. The cat sniffs the body, walks from head to tail, poking and sniffing the dog's body and finally looks at the vet and meows. The vet looks at the man and says, "I'm sorry, but the cat thinks that you're dog is dead, too." The man is still unwilling to accept that his dog is dead. So the vet brings in a black lab, the lab sniffs the body, walks from head to tail, and finally looks at the vet and barks. The vet looks at the man and says, "I'm sorry, but the lab thinks your dog is dead too." The man, finally resigned to the diagnosis, thanks the vet and asks how much he owes. The vet answers, "$650." "$650 to tell me my dog is dead?" exclaims the man. "Well," the vet replies, "I would only have charged you $50 for my initial diagnosis. The additional $600 was for the cat scan and lab tests."

If I ever fail to get this publication uploaded on time because I sprained my ankle or something playing basketball or tennis or something, I've got a great headline ready to go: "RAIN suspended on account of game:"

Looking for the "RAIN Guide to Internet Audio?" Click the "News Archives" link at the top left of this page and go to any issue from the middle of last week for the latest version.

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