Posted on 6/30/2002


"Streamer - pirate radio for the digital age

I'm publishing this in response to the closing of Audiogalaxy and the imminent closure of many net radio stations at the hands of the RIAA and CARP. This can't be closed. I never did like bullies.

Streamer is an internet radio program that allows anyone to broadcast streaming mp3 music, to an unlimited number of listeners, from an internet connection as humble as a 56k modem, and with the broadcasting pc being fairly untraceable.

It works by relaying the mp3 data stream from one listener to the next, forming a branching tree with the broadcasting pc at the base. This is different to the normal method where all the listeners connect to a central server, and it means you don't need lots of server bandwidth. There is also no limit to the number of listeners, since each new one provides more relay bandwidth to the network.

It's also fairly untraceable because each streamer 'host' doesn't reveal any information about whether it is actually the transmitter or not, or where it is getting it's signal from. And I plan to make it completely untraceable for broadcasters who wish. Tax that CARP!. I hope you get the idea.

This is a beta version, work in progress. There's no clever network optimisation yet, or stuff to handle when listeners leave without disconnecting other downstream listeners. You are likely to get disconnections for large audiences. It definitely works ok for half a dozen or so people though, all using 56k modems. Enough to play your tunes to your mates :-)"

Download streamer.zip

Check for updates regularly please, it doesn't happen automatically yet.

Original Article:
http://www.chaotica.u-net.com/page/streamer.htm