Contributed by Chris Leto

You can open a “Pandora’s Box” of customized music on your computer by creating your own “radio stations” and setting your “dial” at pandora.com
You may be familiar with the ancient myth of Pandora. Zeus gave her a beautiful box, but forbid her to open it. Consequently, she couldn’t resist the temptation and opened it immediately. In doing this she unknowingly released countless plagues and horrors to ravage the earth.
I think you will be pleased to know that the “Pandora” I am referring to is pretty harmless in comparison.

Pandora.com is a website which allows you access to internet radio stations. You can enter your favorite artist, or song, and a radio station is created before your very eyes. This is an awesome website because it’s free to sign up and use. Also it doesn’t only include new artists, but the old classics as well. If your all time favorite musical talent is Billie Holiday, you simply click on the box that asks if you would like to “Create a New Station,” then you enter “Billie Holiday.” In my test run of this particular musician, the website first plays the song “On the Sunny Side of the Street” sung by Ms. Holiday, and then follows it with Etta James’ “Solitude,” a song which reflects elements of Billie Holiday’s musical style.

This website works just like a radio station in that you can’t pick the song that will play, and though you can skip through a song that you aren’t enjoying, you cannot reverse and play a song that has already been listened to. You can create multiple stations which are saved on your computer automatically for future listening. Though it may sound complicated, the website walks you through it step-by-step making it pretty easy to use.

This is a great way to find new music that will fit your taste without buying a CD or downloading it from a music sharing website. It’s also nice if you like to have music playing while you are doing everyday chores around the house, or while you are relaxing and eating bon-bons.
Living in Austin provides a multitude of opportunities to go out and see live music every once and a while. If you are interested in that sort of thing, I recommend the website Austin360.com. This site is great, because not only does it provide information on live music, but also allows you to search for movie times, browse the classified adds, read restaurant reviews, and find out more about the latest Arts and Cultural events. If you love to take advantage of what this beautiful city has to offer, then I really recommend this website as a tool.

If you don’t want to bother with internet radio, and don’t really get out to see live music, It’s easy to buy new and old music on the internet for listening at home. Amazon.com provides new, used and collectable CD’s while on Ebay.com you can purchase old records, and new CDs depending on the current selection.

The folks at Seniornet can help you learn to use the internet more comprehensively. There are classes and seminars on ebay, emailing, and even just becoming familiar with using the internet. I believe “surfing” the internet is what they call it. Visit Seniornetaustin.org for information on classes.