Normal Radio
I chose a typical transistor to experience the old way of listening to music. No, I didn’t go and buy one-I’m too lazy for that. A little bit of hunting around the house and I found my father’s old Philips transistor. Asked him if the antique piece was still working and he gave me an earful (I guess he is still very fond of it). It had cost him Rs 300 at the time, but I got it free! I also had to purchase two pencil cells for Rs.15.
I tuned to a popular FM channel using the dial. After listening to static for a few seconds, I finally got to listen to “Kajra Re…” from Bunty Aur Babli. Indeed, it was a neat little radio in good condition. As soon as the Radio Jockey started his talk, I changed the channel. I listened to Dido for a while after that.
I could carry the transistor wherever I wanted. It gave me 100 per cent ease of mobility.
Using the same old transistor I can listen to all the music I want except for international radio stations. The radio can play non-stop till the battery drains out.
Total Time Taken: 10 minutes
Total Cost: Rs 15
Internet radio 
This time I am using a PC-something I’m familiar with! I have a computer with an Internet connection. All I needed was the right software (Windows Media Player or something similar) that would let me stream radio through the Internet. As for listening to the music, I used the speakers at home and headphones at work.
I used the Windows Media Player (version 9) and selected the Radio Tuner option to access Internet Radio. There were a number of stations on the featured list such as CocoRadio.com, Krock-Echo, MSNBC and more to choose from-in other words, any global radio channel! But don’t expect local channels here. However, once I was on the site, the music did not play continuously, since the player had to buffer the music to my hard disk.
The computer being stationary-I couldn’t have any music when I was on the go. So thumbs down to the PC when it comes to portability.
I am not excessively fond of listening to music in this ‘pause-resume’ manner! But then I had no choice here!
Total Time Taken: 20 minutes
Total Cost: Rs 0
And The Winner Is…
The handy portable transistor-some things are just better the old way. While the transistor may not play your favourite collection, it is certainly more hassle-free when compared to a computer. Songs do sound better on Internet radio, but the transistor offers mobility.
Moreover, with the transistor you don’t have to worry about a slow or no Internet connection or even a power failure for that matter. Music is a form of relaxation and one would like this aural form of recreation to be as convenient and hassle-free as possible.