Yahoo! Launch - A Review

So I got the high-speed access thing, right? I've mentioned that, have I? Well, for those who tuned-in late. So I was surfing around today because I wanted to find at least one radio station I can just leave on in the background while I work and the cable station just ain't cutting it.

Like all the other "premium" channels (think: HBO, Showtime, all the movie channels in general), the Music Choice cable "radio" station gets a playlist and wears it the hell out over the course of like 2-3 months; they change their "favorites" quarterly, basically. Now, if it's a good set, then it's okay, but when it's crap (like it is currently), then it's a real pain. I mean, I'll turn it on when there's nothing on TV - which is far more frequent than it should be for $75 a month - but when they're playing the same old shit I've heard 49072358 times and don't like to begin with, what's the point?

So I headed over to Yahoo! Launch and checked them out.

For starters, they don't have a very good selection of general "genre" stations. They cover all the bases, but stay on the soft side of everything. The hardest band they have in their Metal category (that I noticed) is In Flames. Don't get me wrong, In Flames is pretty "hard" for whatever that's worth, but even when they grind, they're more melodic than heavy, and that just doesn't cut it for me. The other "heavy metal" or "hard rock" choices are like Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, etc. - basically what mainstream pop stations consider "heavy" and/or "metal," when they really aren't much of either. Regardless of the fact that I like these bands, they are not what I consider heavy metal; when someone says "heavy metal," Stone Temple Pilots is not the first band that comes to mind, and is not at all what I mean, you dig?

The cool thing about Launch is that you can customize your station. The bad thing, again, is the choices you are given. In fact, in this customization process, they don't even list any metal bands - not even the aforementioned In Flames! - they don't even have a Metal category for this process, just a Rock category. So I get to choose from "favorite" bands like Stone Temple Pilots and so forth - I mean, they don't even list classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin or ZZ Top, etc. - and the program is supposed to tailor-fit what you hear accordingly.

So I chose, I think, Foo Fighters, STP, Metallica, etc. and the first song that comes up is Avenged Sevenfold! Nothing against Avenged Sevenfold or their fans, but not exactly my cup o tea and certainly not too similar to my choices - not exactly dissimilar, but not what I was going for and without more choices, I don't think Launch can customize a playlist that keeps me from hitting fast-forward on just about every other song. Also, Launch does not work with Firefox for Windows! That really sucks.

Overall, I'd give Yahoo! Launch a 6 out of 10, but it's the first one I've looked at, so I may have to adjust it later. It's alright - possibly one of the better ones out there, I don't know - just not good enough.

Up next is my ISP's offerings, as well as whatever extensions I find for Firefox.

Also, Viacom just signed a deal to make MTV videos available online through several sites, including DailyMotion, GoFish, Comcast's portal, and more. Viacom owns MTV. Details are sketchy at this point, but they will probably offer whatever is in heavy rotation and most likely will develop a platform allowing you to choose videos from their library, develop a favorites list/playlist, and customize a random "channel," like Launch.