Everyone has that one difficult person close to them that they are stuck on for a Christmas gift ideas. Maybe they have everything they need and truly need nothing else. But perhaps they love a specific kind of music. Maybe they might enjoy the work of a particular personality who happens to have a home on Sirius like Martha Stewart or Howard Stern.

Sirius Radio makes the absolute perfect holiday gift for anyone. Many people who hear about Sirius will blow off the possibility of joining this great revolution with many excuses. “They won’t have any music I like”, is the most common one I hear. Yet I can easily turn that around by throwing a curve ball. Usually goes like this, “but you can hear different varieties of classical that terrestrial radio not often plays!” People are always surprised when they read a channel list that details the great entertainment available.

My Dad for instance, is very specific about the type of music he enjoys. He loves much of what Sirius has to offer but it seems like it is not enough. The Roadhouse and the music through the 40′2 and 70’s stations will make him smile, but what kind of channel would convince him of the value of Sirius?

My answer is going to be Bluegrass Junction, Sirius 65. He will not believe that the world can have an entire station devoted to this great brand of music.

Besides Howard Stern, I was sold on the idea of a Heavy Metal station and a Classic Metal and Hard Rock Station, these being Liquid Metal and The Boneyard respectively.

Even if talk radio or sports radio does not do it for people, most in the world like one kind of music. Sirius is a gift that your family member or friend will be eternally grateful for. The subscription worth every penny and pays for itself in no time flat!

The Sirius Stratus 6 offers every channel package currently available from Sirius XM Radio without any extra bells-and-whistles, even including options such as the popular The Best of XM selection.

To maintain a low price the Sirius Stratus 6 offers few frills and has no colours included on the display. It does host a blue backlit screen, up to ten favourite channel savings, One-Touch Jump traffic/weather and an universal docking feature (for use in automobiles, etc.).

[Via Orbitcast]

Tour de France 2009 has now come to a conclusion and, as always, Sirius XM Radio was right alongside the events in order to provide listeners with comprehensive coverage of all the action.

A daily podcast was made available from the regular co-host of Lance Armstrong’s Sunday night Sirius show, Mark Higgens, as it went live on the satellite network. While Armstrong took to the Tour de France circuit, Higgens provided hour-by-hour commentary and observations, allowing fans to check in on the events as they occurred live across the ocean.

Higgens and Sirius Radio broadcast coverage of Tour de France 2009 from July 2nd through until July 24th.

[Via TdF Blog]

For Sirius Radio users the question of dropped signals can be of enormous importance but often it’s difficult to determine what the reason for poor reception actually is.

While many users have blamed the position of the sun for their obscured signals this may actually be of far less importance than the programming of the Sirius constellation and the movement of the satellites.

The “figure eight” orbit employed by Sirius Radio is effective in lowering infrastructure costs and providing better reception in mountainous regions but signal reception may suffer during certain areas of time. Now however, with the recent launch of a new geostationary satellite, signal strength may be set to greatly improve.

[Via Digital Home Forums]

Toronto newspaper The Globe and Mail reported on the Bank of Nova Scotia’s prediction that fiscal 2009 will produce the lowest automobile sales in the last thirteen years.

Considering that the single largest source of revenue for Sirius and XM Radio services is generated from the automotive industry, satellite looks likely to continue undergoing significant financial trouble until at least next year.

[Via Digital Home Forums]

The albums short listed for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize are Metric’s Fantasies, Elliot Brood’s Mountain Meadows, F**ked Up’s The Chemistry of Common Life, Great Lake Swimmer’s Lost Channels, K’Naan’s Troubadour, Joel Plaskett’s Three, Hey Rosetta!’s Into Your Lungs (and around in your heart and on through your blood), Malajube’s Labyrinthes, Chad VanGaalen’s Soft Airplane and Patrick Watson’s Wooden Arms.

Sirius Canada provided unprecedented coverage of the event through CBC Radio 3 (channel 86) live from the scene.

[Via Sirius Press]

Sirius Radio celebrated last Wednesday’s celebration of Canada Day through a special line-up of programming aimed at rejoicing in some of the best music our nation has to offer.

First on the list was coverage of Toronto performances by local favourites, Constantines and Chad van Gaalen on CBC Radio 3 (channel 86), broadcast live from the Harbour Front show.

Also programmed for the day was another Canada Day live show by Julie Doiron, David Jalbert, Marie-Pierre Arthur and Beast in Ottawa, played on Energie 2 (channel 89).

To round out the send-up of northern music, Iceberg 85 aired a retrospective from famous Canadian musicians including The Trews, Joel Plaskett, Mobile and more.

[Via Sirius Press]

Volkswagen and Sirius Radio have teamed up to provide one of the best deals on used cars sales and satellite radio service yet offered with a brand new deal recently launched by the companies.

VW has announced to press that it is now providing a complementary 3-month trial of the Sirius Everything package with the purchase of any 2007 (or newer), Certified Pre-Loved models.

Most of these models come equipped with a Sirius satellite receiver regardless (although it’s worth checking if your favourite model comes with a standard receiver or not) and it just seems good business sense to provide such a promotion in light of the Acura, Honda and GM partnership with XM Radio.

[Via Orbitcast]

Host Chris Tessaro will detail each leg of the prestigious event, providing commentary on high-profile players and the results of every bracelet winner at the 2009 WSOP. Poker fans will enjoy unprecedented access to the tournament series as Tessaro covers every aspect of the WSOP and discusses up to the minute results on satellite radio.

Tessaro is well known for his writing and television appearances in the poker world and co-hosts the Hardcore Poker Show with Rob Pizzo on Sirius Radio.

[Via Hardcore Poker Show]

Perhaps the most interesting rumour to come out of the satellite radio industry in the last few days concerns the very probably notion that shockjock extraordinaire, Howard Stern, may be returning to broadcast radio in 2010.

Media commentator Rich Lieberman reported the story on SFGate, claiming to have heard the information from inside sources in New York City. Lieberman substantiates his claim by citing the troubled financial situation of Sirius XM Radio and the lure of wealthier terrestrial broadcasters.

In any case, we’ll have to wait and see what the following year holds for the future of Howard Stern and his role as superstar representative of Sirius Radio.

[Via Orbitcast]