When I upgraded from Jaunty to Karmic, I was horrified to find that Amarok no longer included an entry for Shoutcast. While visiting this site (or web-surfing), I listen to classical music over internet radio. This used to involve pulling up Shoutcast in Amarok and clicking on my classical stream of choice. Now, Shoutcast with its plethora of streams isn't there!
The technical solution is, in fact, simple: Start a web browser (I use Firefox); Navigate to Shoutcast; and Start a stream using a commercial player (I use Realplayer).
But that is not the point. Rumors imply that Shoutcast changed their license to one that somebody (the Amarok project?) found to be incompatible with their interpretation of FOSS ethical standards. Real Networks, has no ethical standards, of course. They're a corporation (Ha, ha only serious, ask the man who used to own one). Personally, I'm used to putting up with advertisements in order to listen to the radio, watch TV, read a magazine or the newspaper. It's the American way!
Moreover, I don't think that's the whole story, because among the "cool streams" that are included with the new Amarok is "Mostly Classical" from Sky-FM, which broadcasts ads. They also broadcast blah music, so this is not as acceptable to me as listening to Otto's Classical or Baroque on Shoutcast.
Does anyone know the details of this story? What did Shoutcast add to their license? Is the removal of Shoutcast from Amarok, exclusive to *buntu? Is it exclusive to Amarok, or have other Open Source media players followed suit? Is a compromise possible? Enquiring minds want to know.
The technical solution is, in fact, simple: Start a web browser (I use Firefox); Navigate to Shoutcast; and Start a stream using a commercial player (I use Realplayer).
But that is not the point. Rumors imply that Shoutcast changed their license to one that somebody (the Amarok project?) found to be incompatible with their interpretation of FOSS ethical standards. Real Networks, has no ethical standards, of course. They're a corporation (Ha, ha only serious, ask the man who used to own one). Personally, I'm used to putting up with advertisements in order to listen to the radio, watch TV, read a magazine or the newspaper. It's the American way!
Moreover, I don't think that's the whole story, because among the "cool streams" that are included with the new Amarok is "Mostly Classical" from Sky-FM, which broadcasts ads. They also broadcast blah music, so this is not as acceptable to me as listening to Otto's Classical or Baroque on Shoutcast.
Does anyone know the details of this story? What did Shoutcast add to their license? Is the removal of Shoutcast from Amarok, exclusive to *buntu? Is it exclusive to Amarok, or have other Open Source media players followed suit? Is a compromise possible? Enquiring minds want to know.
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