WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives
Audio archives of spoken word broadcasts from Community Radio WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill (weru.org)
A weekly feature on electronic technology as it affects everyday life with Jim Campbell. Broadcast on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, ME every Thursday at 7:30 AM.
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
When you hear that a particular radio station is “Number 1 in listeners”
just what that claim is based upon? The answer is Arbitron ratings, and had been for years. But there are some real problems with the way Arbitron has determined listenership in the past and so the company has rolled out a new mechanized device called the Portable People Meter. Alas, the way this new technology has been deployed seems to have problems of its own…
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
First a little trivia: at five minutes and six second after 4 a.m. On July 8, 2009, the time will be (in the U.S. convention for representing time)
04:05:06 07/08/09. This will never happen again in our lifetimes.
Meanwhile, if you are thinking of taking a trip to the UK, it might be wise to be really careful not to get arrested, even for picking flowers, lest your DNA wind up in the world’s biggest DNA database and stay there practically forever.
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
According to Hitlist, 98% of web users use just four search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSNLive, and ask.com. What about those other 2% of search engines available on the web? Today, we look at a few that might be just the ticket for some kinds of searches. Take a look at:
ixQuick – www.ixQuick.com – if privacy is important to you Hakia – www.hakia.com – which promises not only accurate but reliable results Indeed – www.indeed.com – focused only on job openings JobsInMaine – www.jobsinme.com – listing Maine job openings
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
Topic: Ever wanted to ask a specific question on the Internet and get a specific answer instead of a list of a gazillion links? Your time may be at hand!
Take a peek at www.wolframalpha.com or http://start.csail.mit.edu and put in some natural language questions and see what you think.
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
A little spring catch-up today: a court case that may change your relationship with web site owners you patronize, and the unsurprising news that the supposedly secure cordless phone you’ve been using is not so secure after all.
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
There’s lots of music available for download on the web – but free, legally cleared music is another matter. Today we look at two recent sites that are providing access to free and legal music. The free Music Archive (www.freemusicarchive.org) works directly with contemporary artists to provide music under some rights reserved licenses. Musopen (www.musopen.com), on the other hand, provides access to performances of classical music that are in the public domain, and provides a way fro people to join together to commission new performances of specific classical pieces that will be placed in the public domain forever.
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
During this last month of WERU’s 20th Anniversary year, we’re digging into old editions from the Electronic Cottage vault that seem to us to be just as relevant today as they were when they were first broadcast, and on this last broadcast on this last day of WERU’s 20th anniversary year, we hope you’ll forgive us for waxing a bit philosophical, with the help of Arthur C. Clarke and J. K. Rowling, in this edition first broadcast back in August of 2007.
Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
During this last month of WERU’s 20th Anniversary year, we’re digging into old editions from the Electronic Cottage vault that seem to us to be just as relevant today as they were when they were first broadcast. This edition from June of 2008 may even be more relevant today. It discusses the federal Real ID Act, a law that would essentially establish a national ID card for the first time in American history. Maine was the first state to pass a law saying that the state would not participate in the federal Real ID Act. That law is still on the books but when push came to shove last year, under pressure from the Department of Homeland Security, the governor and a bare majority of legislators passed two laws that bring the Real ID Act to Maine despite the Maine law saying the state would not participate. Now there is a bill in the Maine legislature, LD 1357, that would repeal Maine’s Real ID law. (Note that there is currently no effort underway to collect signatures for a people’s veto as mentioned in this edition from the archives.)