Live Streaming and Internet TV

Yeah, we were mistaken, too. Livestreaming has nothing to do with crystal clear or cold mountain streams-at least, not initially-and everything to do with the awesome use of the Internet to get live music, radio, talk shows, and a whole host of other video and audio materials coming live to your computer. You can even watch internet tv streaming live to you all day everyday. See, when somebody talks about streaming audio, you just have to envision that clear mountain stream as something more like a string of bits and bytes, flashing along fiber optic cables from some internet provider under your front door to your modem and out of your speakers. Rock, jazz, boogie, blues, hip-hop, electronica-this technology allows you to listen to all sorts of music.
Livestreaming is a service that is provided by music radio stations to allow you to get your fill of their music even if you don't have a radio handy. Lots of doctors' offices are turning to this route, in some cases, to blast that elevator music into the waiting room that we're all so fond of. Rather than invest in a stereo, they just free up a little memory on one of the computers, hook it up to some speakers and let the sweet sounds of smooth Sunday afternoon (or, if you're lucky, something a little more upbeat) sail into your hears while you wait to get poked and prodded and pinched.
This technological advancement is extremely advantageous for all sorts of businesses. You'll notice that most places you go have music playing. Jamba Juice, McDonald's, and other food chains have everything from hard rock to tropical beats soaring across the room to the tune of whirling blenders and milkshake machines. Again, it sure makes it cheaper to invest in livestreaming rather than to invest in CDs.
So maybe that's where you are: you're a small business owner, envisioning that mountain scene we described before and knowing how blissful it would be to be able to take part in it on one of those dream vacations you let your mind mull over on occasion. You are seriously starting to look forward to that big break when you can take a break-well, let livestreaming help you out along the way. Using livestreaming as a way to help your customers ease into the scene of your small business, whether you run a barbershop, quilting store, or ice cream parlor, will let them get comfy with some favorite tunes and even the relevant news.
Streaming radio is pretty easy to find now; as we said, most radio stations offer it. In fact, it's something similar to streaming radio that is what gets used for your radio application on your iPhone or Blackberry (okay, maybe your neighbor's iPhone or Blackberry, and not yours; we know that they aren't quite universal). In addition, some Internet radio stations exist only because of this streaming technology; instead of broadcasting over they airwaves, they too work only through the network of the web. So even if you were a bit thrown at first by your mental image and ours, don't worry: you can still find that sweet spot. Let the streaming take you there.