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[img src="" caption="" credit="" alt=""]Slacker, the new digital music service that boasts execs from iRiver, MusicMatch and Rio, has possibly the coolest name of any startup launched this year. On the web, Slacker.com is a radio service like Pandora or Last.fm that lets you favorite certain tracks, ban them from your station and customize your listening to your heart's desire. It looks sweet, too.
The channels are programmed by DJs, and you can choose whether to have a DJ interrupting the stream or not. The free service is ad supported (visual ads, not audio), while you can pay $7.50/month to go ad free. It feels like a web-based version of iTunes, and a downloadable player is also available.
But that's not all, because Slacker is a complete solution: they're also rolling out a wi-fi enabled portable device to accompany it, meaning it will sync wirelessly with your preferences on Slacker.com. The player won't ship until the summer, but when it does, you'll be able to purchase tracks for $1. It sounds, in fact, like a potentially strong iTunes rival. The angle, however, is different: it's more like "radio to go".
Alas, the Slacker web player unveiled today just won't play. I tried it on every combo I could think of - Mac/Safari, Mac/Firefox, PC/Firefox, PC/Internet Explorer (with an Active X control) - and not a single track will stream. Hopefully you'll have more luck with this service, which definitely seems to be taking a snooze during its first outing.