Clark recently bought an Internet clock radio for his wife Lane's birthday…and she was underwhelmed to say the least. At first glance, the gadget Clark bought her for $100 looked like a very boring and traditional clock radio.

But a smile came over her face as soon as she plugged it in and the device picked up the wifi connection in their home. Lane now has access to 11,000 radio stations from around the world for FREE. That includes virtually any commercial station in the United States, plus every format of music from the most obscure to the most mainstream with hundreds of choices in each category.

No wonder satellite giant Sirius XM -- a paid subscription service -- is suffering. Internet radio is the future of radio. Within the next 18 months, Internet radios will be in cars and offer the same kind of access to motorists for free. Of course, you may pay a connection fee for the wifi, but the programming itself will be free.

Clark thinks Internet radio devices have one substantial advantage over simply listening to a free radio stream on your computer: You don't have to be tech-savvy or computer-minded to use an Internet radio.