How to record Internet radio

From Jim Coates, tech columnist at the Chicago Tribune:

Q. I would like to catch a one-hour radio program in my computer or on a CD for later listening. It's a station out of California (I'm in Wilmette) that I can only pick up via my computer. But it's broadcast when I am in the car picking up kids and groceries. Is there a way I can tune in on the computer and set it to save the program for me? I have Windows XP and a CD-RW drive.

A. There are many software products that cover this growing demand as Internet radio takes hold. Folks realize that a computer can do a better job recording--not to mention saving tape storage space and ending the hassle of fast-forwarding and rewinding cassettes.

The best-known software for recording Internet-based radio broadcasts is Replay Radio, a $30 program that currently offers TiVo-type radio recording of nearly 1,000 specific shows and around 1,300 Web accessible radio stations. I'm betting your favorite show is among them, P.A. To find out, you can download a free limited demo at www.replay-radio.com.

This works great if you're only interested in hearing a show, as opposed to turning streaming music into MP3 file collections for use on mobile digital players. A large and growing number of commercially peddled programs handle that MP3-from-streaming audio but most of them are a bit weak on the scheduling aspect.

Applian Technologies Inc., maker of the Replay Radio program, also offers a more expensive ($50) program that can create MP3 files of streaming music cuts and usually tag each with song name, artist, etc., just as Napster and iTunes do.

Audio MP3 Recorder ($15), a much less expensive program that I use, lets the user click an icon and turn streaming audio into MP3 files on the fly. It's at www.mp3-recorder.biz.