Received an e-mail from Dane the other day with the news that BeOSRadio is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Not only that but it's getting a name change, from BeOSRadio to Fair Harbor Radio. Check past the break for the full press release.

 

While it has evolved over the past decade, the Internet radio station BeOSRADIO has retained much of the same spirit and approach as it had when it first started broadcasting.

It was in August of 2000 that Dane Scott, who was writing daily reports about BeOS audio for the leBUZZ web site, speculated about the potential of using BeOS to do radio broadcasting. That speculation led to early versions of a little program called BeOS Radio Scripter (BRS for short) which acted as a controller for Marco Nelissen's famous "SoundPlay" audio player.  Leveraging a streaming server already built into SoundPlay, Dane went live over Live365 with "BeOSRADIO" shortly afterward, on November 7th, 2000, broadcasting music created by members of the BeOS community.

BeOSRADIO aired music created by BeOS users, BeOS news stories (read by British BeOS user Neil Morris), reports from BUGS Be User Groups, promos for various BeOS-based services, and ran contests and other promotions to help bolster the Be Operating System.  Meanwhile, the station continued to serve as a proving and testing ground for new prototypes of BRS, which by the end of 2000 had been renamed TuneTracker. TuneTracker continues to grow and develop to this day, and is now used by hundreds of stations all across the world.  The program is already Haiku compatible, and when Haiku's media capabilities have matured a bit more, it will be offered on that platform.

The content of BeOSRADIO has evolved over time. The "BeOS Community" focus is gone, but in its place is a special hybrid music format that is very "BeOS-like"  in its high state of refinement, and it's rather revolutionary format.  Described on the air as "Stimulating Easy Listening Music," BeOSRADIO targets people who want music that is relaxing but also intellectually stimulating. In keeping with its "extreme variety" tradition, BeOSRADIO still broadcasts music from a number of different styles, including Jazz, Ethnic, Classical, Ambient, and Acoustic.  The music is supplemented with commentaries by Dane Scott, and, consistent with the station's history, brief news at the top and bottom of every hour.  An all-Ambient show runs every Saturday night from 6-12 PM Central Time, U.S.  Faith Online with Dr. David Selness runs on Sunday mornings.

The biggest change?  The name!  The BeOSRADIO domain came up for renewal about a month ago, and Dane thought found himself in a quandary.  "Should he stick with "BeOSRADIO?"  Should the station become "HaikuRadio" even though there isn't that

much to report about it yet?  Or should he change the name to something that's symbolic of what the station has become?"  In the end, after much consideration, he chose the latter option, changing the name and web domain to "Fair Harbor Radio," signifying that the station's music is a peaceful refuge. http://www.fairharborradio.com.

To reinforce the new image, Dane's "talksets" are played over the sound of a quiet harbor, with gulls, gentle waves, and a bell buoy audible in the background.

Keeping with a ten year tradition, Fair Harbor Radio will broadcast 24/7 Christmas music from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve.  Right near Christmas, Fair Harbor Radio will feature concerts and Christmas readings. Dane's "Nightlight Christmas Special" will be broadcast Christmas Eve.