Aladdin Tuner 3.0
Company: Aladdin Systems
Estimated Price: $24.95
(free trial download available)
http://www.aladdinsys.com/tuner/macindex.html
For a complete description of this product, visit the Aladdin URL. What follows is a subjective report based on personal usage. If you have a fast Internet connection and a recent computer, you will have a better overall experience with Aladdin Tuner. User comments on versiontracker.com are not favorable, and you may want to read them to supplement our coverage.
I am not wild about the current state-of-the-art of Internet streaming media, but I love the concept: click on a link and listen/watch live radio/television from all over the world. In a future Nemo Memo, I will offer an in-depth summary of my experiences with RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, and a few others. Aladdin Tuner is a window-to-the-world of online streaming media, and the Tuner requires such a player in order to deliver content.
My copy of the software arrived via a brief highspeed online download. Installation was quick and effortless. In a few moments I was using the built-in map to locate and select radio and TV stations from a large quantity of domestic and international locations.
The Aladdin Tuner Menu Bar’s Edit/Preferences offer a few supplementary skins, or views, of the main Tuner window. I chose the Palm Tuner for its clean and simple design. The Window Menu contains options for ways to use the tuner, and for different types of streaming and local media. The Help Menu appears to be useless.
Instead, the iSupport Menu is your conduit to Aladdin’s network of support, downloads, and a whole bunch more. I suggest you spend some time determining how you will use the functions built into the Window and iSupport Menus.
The fun begins when you select the World Browser map, which can zoom to any part of the world, in the left half of the Tuner’s primary display area. Once you select a country, state, or province, the right panel lists available stations, by format (news, sports, rock, classical, and several more). QUESTION: why doesn’t the scroll bar respond either to the arrows or navigational keys on my iMac’s keyboard?
Oops. We have a problem. Not all the station or web links are active, but that is typical of streaming media, from my prior experience. Not to worry: use the stations that work, and skip the others, with no hard feelings. RealPlayer appears to be the most resourceful, so I’m using it as my default player. Let me know if you disagree.
I enjoy using the map to place me visually in different regions, and I’m getting used to the non-scrolling list of stations. A person can only watch and listen to so much streaming TV and radio during any given day, so it pays to be choosy. Most of these media sources can be located via other means, but Aladdin Tuner brings them to you in a convenient package.
For me, being able to think “Chicago = WFMT for classical music” or “England = BBC Radio 4 for sophisticated talk” or “France = LCI Live for French television” is a delight. Add the Tuner’s other features and it’s easy to recommend you consider downloading and evaluating it prior to purchase. Aladdin Systems has had a few inferior products over the years, but not many. I look forward to using an improved and expanded Aladdin Tuner with my iMac/SprintBroadband connection.
IMO, this application is best suited to listeners of mainstream music and talk Internet radio who appreciate the Tuner’s straightforward simplicity. For them, MyMac.com rates it:
MacMice Rating: 3 out of 5
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