Internet Radio Made Simple

The Internet is a vast expanse of awesomeness if you're a music fan. Putting aside the fact that little-known bands can now share and distribute their music with ease, and buying new music is as easy as switching channels on the TV, there's also the global reach of Internet radio. Whereas we once had to rely on shortwave receivers to listen to stations that originated across the ocean, now we can simply access the station's online feed (assuming it offers one).

The only problem is that there are tens of thousands of stations, and it's not always easy to figure out which stations are worth checking out. Enter the Aluratek Internet radio jukebox, a small USB device that looks like a flash drive but acts like a global radio tuner. The device--which fits neatly into your computer's USB port--offers access to more than 13,000 Internet radio stations in more than 150 countries. Once plugged in, you can search for stations by continent, country, state, or genre, letting you switch between Swedish hip-hop, Afro-Cuban jazz, and Vietnamese folk music all in the space of a few seconds. All in all, it's a pretty handy little device.

And yes, we know that iTunes and a few other media players do basically the same thing for free. However, there are times when iTunes isn't practical, like when you're at work on a locked machine, or when you're using a friend's iTunes-less computer. Plus, the Aluratek jukebox is plug 'n' play, so you can get started immediately.