Remember radio? You know, that little box with the knobs and dials on it that lets you listen to music or talk shows? You might still have one in your car. But odds are you listen to radio over the internet when you're at the office. On the go, you might download some radio programs as podcasts.

But what if there's no podcast for your favorite show? That's where RaimaRadio comes in. There are a number of applications that let you save internet radio streams as MP3 files. But RaimaRadio is free. And it includes a handy scheduling utility which is perfect for recording the morning newscast to take with you on the go.

The application really shines when it comes to music streams. It reads the metadata of program streams and attempts to download and display appropriate cover art for the song that's being played. Oh yeah, and since everything's digital, you can record multiple radio streams simultaneously. Try that with your old AM/FM radio's tape cassette deck.

[via gHacks]

New royalty rates affecting online radio stations are set to take effect Sunday. But SoundExchange, the group responsible for collecting those royalties now says it will not enforce the new rates.

The news came out of a Congressional hearing on Thursday, and follows months of heated discussions. Webcasters say the new rates are high enough to put almost every internet radio station out of business. A coalition of webcasters held a day of silence protest last month, and Congress is considering legislation that would change the way rates are calculated.

SoundExchange says it will not enforce the new fees until a new agreement can be reached that would let stations like Pandora, Last.fm, and Radio Paradise remain on the air.

Next month internet radio stations will have to begin paying new royalty rates that will be high enough in some cases to put the webcasters out of business. Of course, the implementation date has been pushed back a few times, and Congress is considering legislation that could help out the internet radio stations.

But advocates for independent radio are making their voices heard -- by shutting off their mics. On June 26th, a number of online radio stations, including Live365, AccuRadio, KCRW.com, and Radio Paradise are participating in a day of silence.

There's always a risk associated in this sort of silent protest. On the one hand, you're showing what the world will be like if internet radio is shut down (at least in the US). On the other, what if an internet station goes silent and no one's around to not hear it? Does it not make a sound?