[vorbis] New Member seeks advice.

[Graham Mitchell]

> I better understand the concept of freeware now and I also am beginning to
> more deeply appreciate the fact that others know much more about this than
> I do. The wares may in fact be be free but practical implementation and
> application may not be.

One comment: there is a difference between "freeware" and "free software".  
"Freeware" refers to software that is freely available at no monetary cost.  
Thus the "free" refers to price; the Latin term is "gratis".

"Free software", on the other hand, refers to software where users have the 
freedom to examine and modify the source code if they so desire.  Thus the 
"free" refers to freedom; the Latin term is "libre".

The bumper-sticker version of this is usually phrased: "free" as in "free 
speech", not as in "free beer".

Confusing the issue is that while it is allowable to charge for "free 
software", in practice not many do.  And many users are attracted to free 
software because of its low cost and don't give a rip about freedom.

Another slight difference is in "free software" vs. "open source software".  
Both are essentially the same from an end-use perspective, but have different 
reasons for their existence.

"Free software" is about freedom more than any other concerns.  This 
philosophy comes from the Free Software Foundation and Richard Stallman, and 
is best explained here:
        http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

"Open source software" is more about the business and quality benefits of 
being able to modify source code.  It's explained here:
        http://www.opensource.org/docs/definition_plain.php

You certainly hit the nail on the head, though, in discerning that just 
because you can obtain the software for free, doesn't mean your endeavor will 
be without cost.  And not the least of the hidden costs is your time: as I've 
read it before, "free software is only free if your time is worth nothing."

> If I must absorb the Speex learning curve I have been presented with, it
> seems prohibitive at best for my current needs.

Projects like Ogg Vorbis and Speex are still primarily used by "expert users".  
That is, by folks who are generally comfortable downloading and compiling 
their own software and doing basic troubleshooting if the installation 
doesn't work right away.

Certainly their use is possible by non-technical users, but sometimes it's 
difficult to find the information you need when you can't figure it our 
yourself.

Of course, since the ultimate goal is world domination or somesuch, making the 
tools easier and easier for novices to get up and running is a goal of the 
Ogg community.  It's just that the community is a bit too small and the most 
skilled users are too busy with other technical issues to spend as much time 
making things easy for the relatively inexperienced user.

And that's a chicken-and-egg problem, since there's not always a perceived 
need to make things super easy, since "most of our users are technical enough 
to figure things out for themselves".  And of course, without things being 
easy, our only users will always be just those who can get themselves over 
the hump with minimal hand-holding.

Anyway, enough diatribe.

> 4. Does my PC become the server of the files I want to make available?

It could, but most people don't go that route.  Most people pay a web hosting 
provider, and put the content on the server they provide.

Of course, if your content is "sensitive" (which it sounds like it may be), 
you may have to host your own content to prevent a court injunction or 
whatever demanding that your provider shut you down.  Or maybe a better 
option would be hosting overseas, out of the range of U.S. laws.

Your original question was about streaming; I'd like to point out that you 
don't actually have to get "streaming" working to allow people to listen to 
audio stored on your webserver.  If the bitrate is low enough, most users can 
simply start downloading the file and listen to it as it's downloading.  And 
for speech content, it should be relatively easy to get the bitrate down 
without affecting the perceived quality very much.

Almost every program that allows you to play Ogg Vorbis files also allows you 
to open and play a file stored on a webserver nearly as easily as opening a 
local file.  Probably ditto for Speex. And this is without the webserver 
trying to do any "streaming".


-- 
Graham Mitchell - computer science teacher, Leander High School
"Come thou no more for ransom, gentle herald.  They shall have none, I
swear, but these my joints, which if they have as I will leave 'em them,
shall yield them little."                             - Henry the Fifth

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