Forums / Support / Usenet radio glitches...

Usenet radio glitches...

by TedB @
Just initial observations:

Added newsgroups via rightclick and they appear in the list... but not back on main panel, the original ones I deleted are still there, new ones not in dropdown. How do I refresh the dropdown newsgroups list? I only added to initial server, not 2nd one, and deletion didn't ask me which server to delete from?

Dropdown groups list on main panel can be edited? Why? Ain't gonna do me no good is it?

Program loops on preset group (which I think exists on my server) the 1990s one, and flashes "found 0 files".... or if it works, like the 80's, then "end of results reached" - this also happens to use substantial bytes and 40-45% of my 3.0 HT processor...!!! It should give up after a few tries maybe, then refresh only once every few minutes maybe?

Clever concept, but I think it's a little "expensive" on bandwidth (esp for dialup or slow DSL) and should not automatically download all MP3s in the group unless I actually select them for playing, just the headers of the complete ones, then download them with look-forward caching method.... or at least ask me if I'm interested in these files...

Also as a downloading tool, am I right in thinking it sorts by filename? So how would I find the MP3s that belong in a selected CD? I hate downloading a bunch of files and finding them to be incorrectly posted in the wrong group, or from an artist who I hate... Not sure how to identify these though...sometimes the album name is in the header, but not in the filename, sometimes but rarely it is properly formatted in the Artist-album-track-name.mp3 format.... let me know what you think and if this helps...:)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1655 @

Added newsgroups via rightclick and they appear in the list... but not back on main panel, the original ones I deleted are still there, new ones not in dropdown. How do I refresh the dropdown newsgroups list? I only added to initial server, not 2nd one, and deletion didn't ask me which server to delete from?


The dropdown list failing to refresh is a bug. I'll fix that.

What you see in the group list editor are virtual groups. Double-click one and you'll see the actual server/newsgroups. You can select those and delete whichever you want. By the way, the .urlst files in My Documents/Usenet Radio/Lists are XML files so you can view them in notepad to see the structure.

Dropdown groups list on main panel can be edited? Why? Ain't gonna do me no good is it?


I'll look into that.

Program loops on preset group (which I think exists on my server) the 1990s one, and flashes "found 0 files".... or if it works, like the 80's, then "end of results reached" - this also happens to use substantial bytes and 40-45% of my 3.0 HT processor...!!! It should give up after a few tries maybe, then refresh only once every few minutes maybe?


Yeah, the logic isn't quite right yet. It shouldn't be looping like that. This is a known problem and in the next build there will be a limit to the number of retries. If I have time, I'll work on the logic as well.

Clever concept, but I think it's a little "expensive" on bandwidth (esp for dialup or slow DSL) and should not automatically download all MP3s in the group unless I actually select them for playing, just the headers of the complete ones, then download them with look-forward caching method.... or at least ask me if I'm interested in these files...


Unless something is messed up, it should always have 10 files downloaded ahead of the currently one and then only download another when there are fewer than 10. Originally it was set to 3. I could change that back or possibly make it an option.

Also as a downloading tool, am I right in thinking it sorts by filename? So how would I find the MP3s that belong in a selected CD? I hate downloading a bunch of files and finding them to be incorrectly posted in the wrong group, or from an artist who I hate... Not sure how to identify these though...sometimes the album name is in the header, but not in the filename, sometimes but rarely it is properly formatted in the Artist-album-track-name.mp3 format....


It generally downloads in the order the files were posted except when it goes back for older headers when it downloads all recent ones. As far as selecting what you want... you don't. The goal is simplicity no matter what the cost in flexibility and control. BB is for power.

Other known bugs: For some reason, BBT and temp files aren't deleted from the parts folder. Also the log is always on. The Delete button in the server editor can cause a crash (already fixed in upcoming build).

let me know what you think and if this helps...:)

It helps a lot. Thanks!
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1656 @

:cool: , I like the concept, just not sure about some aspects. I see this useful as a radio I can listen to in the background, but also find and download new music I've not come across before to add to my collection.... someone tell me I'm off key here or comment on what they want from it, please !!!!

What I'd like to see is the ability to select for "permanent download" to a tag- or filename-based directory structure, some of the songs I've just listened to (and like and want to copy to my Neo frinstance) as opposed to the rest of the junk in the group which should be deleted 24 hrs later..... and maybe to deselect twits who post garbage, certain albums or artists or genres I don't have any interest in, etc. etc. within the limitations of the tag stored in the mp3....

I always kinda balk at posting bugs and negative stuff in public forum in case it puts people off, (like maybe Microsoft should consider this ;) ) but if they have the brains they'll see the advantage of having such fast response and active development of a product, even before it's openly released....

Good job, keep going :D
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1657 @

You have some good feature ideas and they might be added to a future build, but for now I need to see how much power people will tolerate before being scared off. A significant number of people won't buy Binary Boy because they say it's too complicated. Usenet Radio is designed to be as simple as possible, even at the cost of power, to appeal to these more casual users.

I always kinda balk at posting bugs and negative stuff in public forum in case it puts people off, (like maybe Microsoft should consider this ;) ) but if they have the brains they'll see the advantage of having such fast response and active development of a product, even before it's openly released....


Overall I think it's a positive. It's better than no one knowing the software even exists.

Good job, keep going :D


Thanks. I will!
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1658 @

Guess that makes sense cause anything to do with newsgroups IS complicated unless all you do is read the text messages (which is what it was all intended for.... we're all just using kinda "undocumented features" aren't we?)

I have a buddy in NJ who has problems using Outlook Express to download files.... say no more. Then he couldn't grasp the concept of incompletes and PARs and sometimes not having enough parts and having to get more by going to another server.....sheesssh... I gave up trying to explain after the first hour on the phone... just not worth it.

If ease of use is a limiting factor, you might want to consider the old "Advanced/Simple mode" settings checkbox in there somewhere, and then turn off half the menus based on that.... but wait, there's nothing to turn off!!!!

Nah, forget it, you have a niche product that I think is great, stable and does the job it's designed for better than most others (which I found not worth the learnng curve) just settle for that. If they say it's too complicated, send them a copy of newsbin, and check back in a week or so to ask if it blew up their harddrive..:D

If simplicity is the key with radio, I'd say you'd need to popup a wizard that asked them for their server name and username/pw the first time it starts and verifies they can connect, then download the entire list of NGs then filter out anything with bin&mp3 and then load them into a single huge list of headers. Refresh the list every ten minutes or so in the background to get rid of files that have fallen off and add new ones, and just play the list for ever, with VCR like controls in the tray to allow pause, skip and rewind, and fast save to My Music directory. The filename could appear when hovering over the vcr controls, right click for menu/exit... No GUI needed. That's all folks :cool:

Then advanced mode could allow playing by group, by filename, bulk downloads by album etc., which is probably what the advanced users would want...

What you think? ;)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1661 @

Although it doesn't verify the connection, a wizard will pop up if it can't import settings from Binary Boy. Instead of downloading a master list, it installs a prefiltered one automatically.

Regarding the tray idea... when would the controls be displayed? When the mouse hovers over an icon? That might be more confusing than the current design. People might run the program and then not know where it is.
 

TedB's reply to BinaryBoy #1662 @

Well, I think you have two options... just like with Winamp and some other MP3 players... or cook your own.

I don't know if it's possible cause I'm not a programmer but... I'd be tempted to say best would be to have 3 tiny icons in the tray, left, right arrows and pause. Everything else would happen upon right button click in this area. Hovering the mouse over this area would display the filename.

Or do like a floating mini toolbar like STP player (one of my favorites) does, that way it stays in the tray and can be paused instantly, and plonk the mechanics of the program wherever I want the toolbar, preferably out of the way on my 2nd monitor.... Hmm, guess that means you have to save position and support 2 monitors huh? ;)
 

BinaryBoy's reply to TedB #1663 @

The floating toolbar would probably be easiest to use and most practical. There could probably be a "minimize to mini toolbar" option or something like that so it's easy to switch.