Andrew Oakley wrote:
On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 12:52:02 -0500, "JLewis"
wrote:

People always try and hold on to 'old technology' - myself included...I
personally think the BBC was wise to pull the plug when it did, instead of
sinking more money into a sinking ship...

Shortwave, Ham Radio, CB, etc. (all of which I still use and enjoy) - are
just buggy whips - soon to be outdated and displaced - except for the few
who cling to them for their own personal satisfaction - not for real
communication.

YMMV

This is a logically good argument, but it falls short when portability
comes into play.

The whole reason why radio (per se; not specifically shortwave)
remains so popular despite TV and the Internet is because you can take
a portable radio with you wherever you go; into the garden, in your
car, in the bathroom, on holiday, in a tent, in a caravan (trailer),
in a motorhome...

I can't do this with a computer. Firstly a laptop costs twenty or more
times more money than a radio, secondly the battery life is
considerably less, but mostly there just isn't universal affordable
wifi or mobile broadband yet.

I used to be able to take a small shortwave whip-antenna radio on
holiday to America and listen to the BBC back home. Now I can't.

Now either I have to carry around thirty metres of random wire and
some very detailed frequency charts, or I have to lug my laptop which
can't stay away from the mains electricty for more than 3 hours and
requires me to subscribe to expensive mobile internet connections (or
worse, expose my security to the prospect of hijacking someone else's
open network).

I can't overstate how ****ed off I am about this. The BBC made their
overseas radio services difficult, expensive and non-portable. I miss
my radio.

And to top it all, my TV licence, paying the BBC, has gone up again!
If it wasn't for Doctor Who I'd be picketting Bush House.

--
Andrew Oakley andrew/atsymbol/aoakley/stop/com

Agreed. Though portable satellite receivers are certainly possible.
XM even has a model, though I prefer Sirius.

As for the new Dr. Who -- as someone who was not a fan of the original
series at all, it was a pleasant shock when a friend came over with a
captured video from a couple episodes. Brilliant.