[access-uk] Your Chance to Try Out the new ACB Radio Player!
- From: chairman@xxxxxxxxx
- To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 15:14:55 +0000
From: "Darren Paskell" <darren@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 02:52:19 -0000
Dear All,
I am writing to invite you to try out the New ACB Radio Player software,
developed in-house by ACB Radio Staff. If all goes well, this software will
be on the new ACB Radio Promotional CDs which could be in your hands from
next year's Convention.
Before we get into the details of just what the player is, how it works,
and
what you need to do to get started, it's worth pointing out that this
software is still very much under development. As such, you should only
proceed to giving it a go if you feel comfortable with normal every-day
operations of your computer, and possess that little bit of wreckless
enthusiasm for pushing the boundaries of your computing experience just
that
little bit further than is required <smile>. If you want something which
you
know will work, then relax safe in the knowledge that some brilliant new
gear will be in your hands very soon, and rest assured you'll hear about it
when it's out there. But if you are willing to try something new, no matter
what the consequences might be, then read on!
Essentially, the ACB Radio Player is similar to the popup radio players
offered by companies such as the BBC, on their web sites. It allows you to
pick the ACB Radio channel you wish to hear appropriate for your internet
connection, and adjust its volume, and all from your web browser. What
makes
the ACB Radio Player stand out from the crowd however, is its unique
ability
to tell you where abouts you are in the player's interface, without having
to have a screen reader installed and running. Below, I have included the
readme file for the player, with a little more information. Read on to find
out how you can download the player, and let us know how you're getting on.
Thank you very much for your help!
Yours,
Darren
Readme for the ACB Radio Player
Monday 21 November 2005
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. System Requirements
2.1. Using the Player with Mozilla Firefox
3. How it works
4. Known Issues
5. Your feedback
* 1. Introduction
The ACB Radio Player is a set of dynamic web pages which will allow you to
listen to ACB Radio in your existing web browser. It is hoped that the
Player will end up on the next version of the ACB Radio promotional CD, and
will launch automatically when the disk is inserted into a computer. It is
designed so that it is possible to navigate among the few controls on the
web page without a screen reader.
* 2. System Requirements
A PC running a modern standards-capable browser. The software should work
out of the box with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, Netscape
7.1,
or Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or greater.
Windows Media Player 7.1 or greater is a required component, as it is a
hidden instance of this software which is being used to stream the ACB
Radio
Content. Due to this limitation, the player is currently therefore only
compatible on a Windows platform, although support for other platforms can
be added in the future, without the need to distribute new promotional CDs.
* 2.1 Using the player with Mozilla Firefox
In order to use the Player with Mozilla Firefox, you'll need to download
the
ActiveX Plug-in from:
http://www.iol.ie/~locka/mozilla/plugin.htm#download
Download the appropriate version of the plug-in for your version of
Firefox.
Note: I am just about able to run the 1.0.7 version of the plug-in with the
latest version of Firefox 1.5, which at the time of this writing is still
in
development. So, if you're feeling remarkably adventurous, try the 1.0.7
version with the latest Firefox 1.5 Release Candidate at your own risk.
* 3. How it Works
There are essentially two components to the player. The first set is the
self-voicing MP3 files and launch page, which you'll first need to download
from here:
http://www.acbradio.org/player/player.zip
Extract the zip file to its own folder on your hard disk.
To run the player, open the file called "start.htm" in your web browser.
The browser will then redirect you to a copy of the player web page, stored
on the ACB Radio web server. This step is necessary so that the software
can
be updated seemlessly in the future, as required.
* 4. Known Issues
You may experience difficulty with the redirection, as the method used is
scripted, in order that the start.htm page can inform the main player page
on the server of the location on your hard disk where the self-voicing
files
are stored. The player will only access these files from your hard disk,
and
as such no form of personal data will be made available to ACB Radio, or
any
third party. The Player will not store any of the data it generates to work
with your computer.
Instructions on how to deal with the information Bar in Microsoft Internet
Exlorer 6.0 SP2 are given on the "start.htm" page.
Once the main player has loaded, turn off your screen reader's web page
navigation features and just use the tab key to move among the controls.
The
first control is a combo box where you can choose what type of internet
connection you have. The next box is where you choose the stream you want
to
hear. Finally, there are a series of buttons to allow you to play and stop
the stream, as well as adjust the volume of the stream, and deactivate
thAlthough the player has been tested in Firefox, this work is still very
much under development. In fact, the whole player is still a work in
progress, and as such ACB Radio cannot accept liability for any damage
caused to your computing experience as a result r trying out this software.
* 5. Your Feedback
We need to hear from you! If you're reading this, why not tell us that
you've read it, and that you're giving this thing a try?
We'd far rather hear from you, than not, no matter what you have to say.
even if it's just a quick note to say Hi, send it in!
Get writing to:
player@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
There is also a beta discussion list, where you can share your experiences
with other testers, and ACB Radio staff. To join, send a blank E-mail
message to:
player-beta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxx
And to post, address your messages to:
player-beta@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Good luck, and have fun!
Darren Paskell
ACB Radio Player Developer
This list is a service of ACB Radio, on the web at http://www.acbradio.org
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All the best
from:
Colin R. Howard.
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