--- Begin Message --- <x-rich>hi there,

as many of you are just starting to wind down from net.radio days (and i guess start preparing for art servers unlimited, in london), its been invigorating to watch the flow of traffic on Xchange start to take on an increasingly pragmatic flavour. these little paroxysms of activity are always heartening to see, because i can't help feeling that they are often succeeded by positive collaborative exchanges. if the reports from net.radio days are anything to go by, these future exchanges have been well informed by the meeting in berlin.

to accentuate some of the issues introduced here regarding building structures for net.radio content, and to point to some of the perceptions discussed at the conference, i thought i'd present the list with an idea r a d i o q u a l i a introduced at net radio days a couple of days ago. self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio offers a simple opportunity for many of the participants of Xchange to take part in an ongoing collaborative automated net.radio program. the structure and interface has been developed by r a d i o q u a l i a, and we will very soon start seeking contributions from net.audio practitioners around the world. in this first stage of the project, the idea is to offer the manifold participants of Xchange and other net.audio forums a context to be able to play with the notion of automatically collated audio content.

self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio has developed out of a recognition of the need to continue to develop contexts for collaboration between net.radio entities. this seems to have been particularly highlighted at net.radio days, where different cultural understandings of the notion "public media" have opened up opportunities for further collaborative exploration. net.radio projects are representative of networks outside regulative control, providing access and visibility for indigenous cultures as well as opportunities for cross-cultural collaboration.

at anxious junctures such as net.radio days and the forthcoming art servers unlimited forum at the ICA in London in July this year, issues which threaten the accessibility of what is still, to differing degrees, a public space are able to be dissected. these forums provide platforms for interrogating assumptions about public space and the hierarchies of interaction, through audience confrontation and participation. in instances like these, net.radio has been able to provide an auspicious illustration of the collaborative and networking potential of online working communities.

self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio aims to continue the dialogue between the net.radio entities represented at forums such as net.radio days , and extend the dialogue further into cyberspace to encompass more casual internet users. self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio not only allows for the further solidification of this grassroots subculture through the creation of a shared evolving program, but allows for the expansion of net.radio into the webpages of any web user interested in establishing a net.radio station.

it will be interesting to see how ideas like these and the others discussed here by micz, zina and others will manifest to create a forum where we can experiment with the outer edges of what real audio was designed to facilitate.

honor
r a d i o q u a l i a hq






self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio

self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio (.ser) is an online automated ram project designed to bring together net.audio participants from around the world in a collaborative net.radio program. .ser involves casting the audio net for net casting audio. Combining collaborative audiometric performances with networked audio streams and pre-encoded audio files, .ser creates an automated ram.radio conduit, interlocking Real Audio users from around the net.radio orb.

self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio muses on the concept of "netcasting" by using the metaphor of the 'net' as a capturing device for many different exponents of internet broadcasting, gathering together divergent forums into a centralised, yet simultaneously dispersed net.radio program.

self.e x t r a c t i n g.radio is an ongoing self-generating playlist, which compiles Real Audio tracks and live audio streams implemented by sound artists and netcasters from around the world. The sound files, both live and pre-encoded are presented on .ser and are accessible to anyone who has a Real Player.

A key aspect of .ser is its emphasis on public access within the netcasting environment. To capitalise on .ser's potential to empower new users of internet based broadcast media, .ser allows for any web user to add audio files to the .ser ram file, through an automated web interface. It places the means to establish a radio entity in the hands of anyone with a computer and access to the internet. Each prospective participant of .ser can place an HTML file within their own website, thus activating their annex of the .ser community.

.ser will have no one central website. It will exist within other web users own web pages, a comment on the rapid diffusion of online broadcast media. It will become a intrinsic part of its hosts' web based activities.

.ser also includes a CDROM. There are two files on the CDROM, compressed in self-extracting archives (one for PC users and one for MacOS users). Once extracted the user will be presented with the following files within a single folder:

* 1 .ser folder with the .ser index.html document and the .ser logo.jpg (.ser logo)
* 1 .ser. image file (logo for linking from webpages)
* 1 Real Player installer
* 1 Real Encoder installer
* 1 READ ME instruction file

To start a net.radio station, .ser users have to take the files obtained from the .ser CDROM or from r a d i o q u a l i a directly, and:
1) ftp the .ser folder (with the index.html and logo.jpg files within) into your website
2) link your .ser index file to your own homepage index file, via the .jpg logo image

Voila! A radio station.

Each .ser webpage is linked to the .ser playlist (ram file). The .ser ram file contains a list of real audio file locations from around the world. The order of the specified files can be randomised twice daily through an automated Perl script. Hence everytime the ram file is opened the user will experience a new audio mix. These mixes can include either live streams or pre-encoded real audio files.

The .ser homepage also includes a text field, submit button, and accompanying instructions. Any user can enter the URL of a pre-encoded Real Audio file, or live stream, into this text field and submit the file for inclusion in the .ser program. The URL will then be submitted to the .ser Perl script automation engine. The .ser engine will automatically check the validity of the URL and if it is valid, add the URL to the .ser ram file.

Any amount of material can be added to the program.




r a d i o q u a l i a


((o))

f r e q u e n c y s h i f t i n g p a r a d i g m s
i n s t r e a m i n g a u d i o


radioqualia@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.va.com.au/radioqualia


supported by virtual artists (VA)
http://www.va.com.au



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</x-rich>
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