Radio Edit

Tired of hearing the same Clear Channel playlists at work? Slacker.com, founded by Austinite Celite Milbrandt, combines characteristics of the iPod shuffle and satellite radio, allowing users to create personalized and sharable stations by selecting artists ranging from Stevie Ray Vaughan and Willie Nelson to Scratch Acid and Shearwater to play at random along with preprogrammed similar artists. The desktop version of the advertisement-funded program, which debuted at SXSW 07, still has a few kinks but is currently available for free download. Distinguishing itself from other like-minded programs like Pandora, Slacker will soon introduce a line of portable radio players and satellite car kits, allowing customers to take their custom stations wherever they may roam.

This article appears in August 31 • 2007.

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