Rogue Amoeba discontinues Pulsar, citing Sirius XM issues →
A shame:
Pulsar has always existed at the mercy of SiriusXM, and their recent actions make it clear that they wish to lock out all third-party players. We enjoyed both making and using Pulsar, and we’ll be very disappointed to see it go. It is clear, however, that SiriusXM wants you to do all your listening through their web-based players.
I’ve been a Sirius XM subscriber since Howard Stern announced his move there in late 2004 (when it was just Sirius, before the merger with XM), and I’ve tried many standalone radios, car radios, and software players. The worst way to listen to Sirius is their website player. And the second-worst way is their iPhone app.
But their moves to lock out third-party players aren’t a surprise, for the same reason their iPhone app and website are so awful: Sirius XM fundamentally doesn’t understand or value technology, and they truly suck at it. The company is run by old-media guys with their heads up their asses, and it shows.
Sirius XM could have been what we all listen to on our computers and phones all day, like Pandora and Spotify. Instead, it’s such a pain in the ass and works so poorly with technology that most of its subscribers probably only listen in cars that came with Sirius radios, and only until their free 1-year subscriptions expire.