A thread in The Hive got me thinking (again) about satellite radio.

My take is that this is one of those products/services that I simply and personally cannot justify the ROI for.

I can always listen to songs I have ripped from the CDs I have.

In any order.

There is a move to digital terrestrial AM/FM radio.

Hate to be the Grand Lord of The Obvious, but you know these guys always politick about the specs.

They have been planning this move for the past several years, and, by so doing, allowed satellite radio to not only gain traction, but surpass them in mindshare.

Terrestrial radio has gotten so bland that it is un-listenable at home where you have a myriad selection of (entertainment) choices.

If you have satellite TV or digital cable, there is also a very diverse selection of radio stations you can listen to rather than the pedestrian fare on radio.

For free, I might add.

While I love sports talk radio, I cannot stand to listen to regular talk radio, so there isn't any value there for me as well.

Furthermore, unlike the early '80s, where radio stations like WBLS and 92KTU in NYC actually did live remixes of songs, the current DJs, if you want to smear the profession, and call them that, just play songs with absolutely ludicrous and useless banter.

Satellite radio is more of the same, albeit without the banter.

Moreover, you can get most new cars with audio/MP3 input jacks, or retrofit your current rig with an FM transmitter as I did.

Finally, while there is an FCC-mandated date for the unification of these satellite radio broadcasts, the fluidity of that date requires one to either make a choice of which service to use, or both.

Personally, I'll be flambéed before I install both a Betamax and a VHS radio system in my rig.