Computer
Does listening to the internet work?
Listening to the radio by way of the net is one of those odd spin-offs of computing that appears to make no sense, but has become popular by stealth. It's a bit like text messaging from your phone, which originally seemed a silly idea.
Today, several thousand radio stations stream their broadcasts over the web. This means they can be heard live anywhere in the world without static, fading or interference, using a computer connected to the internet by broadband, and some speakers.
Alongside the identical internet versions of the "real-life" radio stations, which is what the BBC and almost all commercial stations offer, there are internet-only stations, which are mostly music and very much youth-orientated.
You don't even need a computer to pick up internet broadcasting. There are devices on the market - mini-computers which look like portable radios - that log on to your wireless broadband connection and list all the radio channels alphabetically by country and genre. One of the best and most prolific makers of these sets is a Cotswolds company, Acoustic Energy (www.acoustic-energy.co.uk).
Is internet radio as good as FM or digital?
No, the sound quality is usually poorer than conventional radio, but not half as bad as if you tried to listen to a station in Calgary or Auckland with a normal radio and aerial. Sometimes you get annoying little breaks in the middle of a broadcast, because it's still an emerging technology. However, such quibbles are far outweighed by the fact that you can listen to stations halfway across the world (for good lists of available broadcasters, see mediauk.com and web-radio.fm).
The second, immense advantage is that better net broadcasters , most notably the BBC, archive all their programmes, meaning that you are no longer restricted to catching a programme when it goes out. The BBC (bbc.co.uk) now has millions of hours of old programmes - everything from the same day's World at One to documentaries from years ago - to choose from.
Does a computer need any special programs to do it?
Yes it does, but it's probably got them already, and if it doesn't, downloading the right software is generally free, fast and painless. The two main programs you will need are Windows Media Player, which comes automatically with Windows, and RealPlayer, which is free from real.com
So can I listen to Radio 5 sports commentaries while I'm abroad?
Largely, yes, but the lawyers, meddling as usual, have conspired to restrict the internet broadcast of some events - notably Premiership football matches - in the UK.
What about getting TV on the internet?
It can be done, but it's not good enough to be worth the effort. However, within a few years the internet will be the main way we receive TV on conventional sets, let alone computers. The entire country will have fibre-optic cables first to bump broadband speeds up by 10 or 20-fold. TV aerials and satellite dishes will, before very long, be antiques.
What about other ways of getting radio stations on your computer?
There is another way of getting radio (and TV) on your computer that doens't even require the internet. There is a gaggle of sub-matchbox-sized devices that plug on one side into one of your computer's USB ports (the oblong sockets) and on the other to an aerial. Called DVB-T sticks, they pull in most of the Freeview TV and radio stations and a few dozen TV channels.
The radio quality is a little better than on the internet and the TV is practically watchable. These little widgets also make it possible to record TV and radio on to your computer - Google them for the best prices and you'll find dozens. They work best if you have a strong TV signal in your area.