If you're tired of listening to MP3s and are looking for a more unique entertainment experience over the Web, live streaming may be the thing for you. An interesting source for Webcasts and chat rooms is Yack.com (http://est.yack.com). Whether you want to hear a live concert, take part in an interview with a recording artist, or explore a non-music-related subject (such as Technology or Health and Family), Yack.com provides a well-stocked repository of streaming content. At the time of this writing, the list of broadcasts included concerts by jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton and rapper Redman and a chat with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.

Besides broadcasting one-time events, Yack.com includes weekly events such as a forum for drummers, called Talking Drums, and even a show hosted by John Lydon (aka the Sex Pistol's Johnny Rotten). All you need is RealNetworks' RealPlayer, Microsoft's Windows Media Player, or Apple's QuickTime 4- each is available free.

According to Yack.com, the minimum system requirements for streaming media on a PC are a 80486DX/66 MHz machine running Windows 3.1 (or later) or NT. Mac users will need a PowerPC with Mac OS 7.6.1 or later. On both platforms, you'll need 8 MB of RAM and a connection speed of 14.4 Kbps to use RealAudio, and 16 MB of RAM and a speed of 28.8 Kbps for RealVideo.