Internet Talk Radio, bits of information

[afs@localhost]

[This is a message, I got from Carl Malamud.

	Andreas Schachtner
]

------- Forwarded Message


I was kind of hoping to defer an announcement on this project until IETF
week, but the publicity mill is moving fast enough that a note seems more
appropriate now.

On March 31, I'm launching a new service on the Internet called Internet
Talk Radio.  Internet Talk Radio is a "radio" metaphor: professionally
produced radio programs that show up on the net as audio files.  You
can multicast them, or you can simply FTP the files and play.  All I'm
doing is producing the information and you are free to distribute at
will using the protocol of your choice and to change the encoding format
of the data to suit your computing platform.

Distribution starts from UUNET and fans out to regional networks in an 
attempt to try and avoid excessive duplicate transfers.  If you're a local
net, you should contact your service provider.  If you're a service provider,
send mail to info@localhost and I'll send you back instructions.  If you're
in Europe, mcsun at EUnet will be the initial spool point.  If you're in
Japan, WIDE and IIJ will do distribution.  If you're a Alternet customer,
you'll simply anonymous FTP from UUNET.  We are not using the MBONE, although
the networks that constitute the MBONE is certainly welcome to use that
distribution medium if they feel that it is appropriate.

The first show is "Geek of the Week" (;-), an interview show with members
of the community.  The program will be around a half-hour (e.g., 15 Mbytes
in standard PCM, 8000 sample, 8 bit, mu-law encoding).  The program is
sponsored by Sun Microsystems and O'Reilly & Associates.  Before the ugly
spectre of AUP violations flames up .... we use a National Public Radio-style
ack scheme consisting of just a couple of sentences.  Indications from at
least two of the large government networks are that we are compliant with
their Appropriate Use Policies.

No need to do anything now ... the service doesn't start until March 31.  I
will give a 30-minute talk at the IETF on April 1 to explain this new
service and to answer questions.  I figured since the New York Times is
running an article on this, its probably appropriate to at least get some
preliminary information out to the net.

Send Inquiries to: info@localhost

Carl Malamud
Internet Talk Radio
"Flame of the Internet"