What's the difference between AOL Radio for Mac and iTunes' radio channels? The radio stations in AOL Radio are the actual XM Radio channels or radio channels programmed by AOL, not just Internet broadcasts from on-air radio channels. By programming our own channels, we can offer you unique channels not found on the FM dial. This means you can be listening to the "All Dave Matthews" channel and then switch over to "VideoGameScores" for you gamers. AOL also offers channels from Spinner.com and our in-house "Sessions @ AOL."



If you have a free AIM account or you subscribe to Apple's .Mac service, you can use AOL Radio in seconds after downloading. No need to register for a separate AOL account to use AOL Radio. But if you are a AOL Member (paid subscription), you will get additional XM Radio channels.

Basics for AOL Radio for Mac
AOL Radio for Mac has 3 basic windows. Just grab the window stretcher located at the bottom right corner and you can resize the screen. You will notice that it snaps to the predefined window profiles.

Minimized:


Minimized with Channel Preset Buttons:



Full View with Station Listing, Search and Channel Presets:

You can set the 5 presets by just dragging and dropping the channel from the Station List to the button. We will then save the presets on our server so if you use multiple Macs (say one at work and one at home), your presets will be available at both locations.

We've also included a familiar search box at the top right of the station listing so you can find an interesting music channel quickly.

What's new with AOL Radio for Mac?

AOL Radio Alarm Clock
Yes, we've added a timer so you can use AOL Radio on your MacBook as an alarm clock. So the next time you're on vacation, use your Mac instead of the hotel's wakeup call service (who wants to be jarred out of bed?) The sleep and wakeup timers can be found in the AOL Radio for Mac's preferences.


AOL Radio Screen Saver
You can have AOL Radio install a screen saver into your Mac OS X System Preferences. Once you've listened to 50 songs (it needs to build a library of album art), the screen saver will kick in. You can now visualize your current channels when you're not at your computer but listening to music.

Support for High-Latency Connections
In other words, we support those AOL Radio listeners who have satellite broadband Internet access. The streams won't disconnect if you subscribe to one of the satellite Internet providers.

Thanks!
Lee Givens, Jr.
AOL Mac Product Lead