It infuriates me.

I used to keep up with you geeks, Shaun, and the gang, but this interface discourages participation and listening.

First, the entire page is blank unless you allow javascript. That is the first strike.

In order to listen to a stream, I should not have to open up my browser to javascript exploits.
Just a simple link to the stream so I can play it in whatever player I prefer to use would be the way to do this.

Instead, I have to enable scripts to read the page, and then I get the embedded player starting up.

I don't ever want the page to play pre-recorded mp3s or past shows.

If I want to hear them, I will download them, and use my preferred player to do so.

And I don't see where the "listen live" links are. Last time I did manage to get a live feed, it was not in a format which I could play in winamp or mplayer.
I should not have to keep a browser open on the page to hear the show.

The old LVRocks broadcast did it right; a nice big "click this and listen live!" and is would spawn an instance of whatever player I had previously selected to play the stream. None of this cutesy javascript or Flash players that only "web developers" love.

The default needs to keep the audio off until the user turns it on. The default audio play needs to not exist; the user should have to select what gets played. And there needs to be clear links to differentiate "click here to listen live" and "click here to hear the old stuff."

If it is there, it is not as plain as it should be.

And from the faq;



Why? So my browser can be infected with Microsoft's defective by design player?

Sorry to hear about your disappointment however we have no control of how that particular site is run so any complaints should be forwarded to their administrators.

If you are so concerned about bugs, spyware, malware, viruses etc might I suggest that you use a better internet browser like Firefox. As always keep your anti-spyware and anti-virus files up to date and you should have no worries about infections.

I believe that the reason they need to have WMP installed is for the codecs but don't hold me to that. I would contact their tech support or administrators to find out the reasoning.

Yeah, I definitely understand where you are coming from with these complaints. The auto play feature is annoying, but that can't be deactivated. The major diference for us comparing S2D to Blogtalk though, is that the S2D platform costs several hundred dollars a month, wheras blogtalk is free. Also, while the sound quality is much better at S2D, it has to be done in a studio, whereas blogtalk can be done with all participants on a cell phone, and using their own sound files. Also, BlogTalk allows up to 5 callers on the air at one time.

There are other platforms that offer similar services, but at the moment, BTR is the best compromise for the cost. We definitely miss having you participate live, or in a chat room with us though DM. Another option is that you could call in because when you are on hold, you can hear the show. But of course that is a long distance call, which kind of sucks. I'll keep the things you mentioned in mind though, as we are looking at options.

Actually, I am running Firefox, with several blocking extensions, which makes sites which depend heavily upon scripts problematic.

I have found that I can open the live stream in alternative players, it just takes a few more mouse clicks.

Kenn, have you played with using VNC, or some other FOSS to stream on your own equipment?

If the live streaming audience doesn't over-tax bandwidth, it might be a viable option.
The mp3 delayed listening would not be affected.