Regarding the Online Version of this Book

Over the years I have tried to give back as much to the icecast community as they gave to me. The information contained in this book has seen different incarnations throughout this time. This book is based on a HowTo document I created a few years ago and hosted on my web site, http://www.gnuware.com/icecast/. When I first began using icecast reliable documentation was difficult to find. I attempted to gather together all my experiences together and those of others in an easy-to-read format. I wrote up all my results in XML and used DocBook to export the data to HTML. Simply stated, I wanted to share the success I had had with icecast and encourage others to adopt it for their own use.

Later, I published an article in the June 2003 edition of SysAdmin magazine on icecast streaming options. It is still available at the following URL: http://www.unixreview.com/documents/s=8274/ur0306i/. This article generated much email and interest. I was contracted by a number of radio stations to assist in setting up their own Internet streaming solution.

Like many others who ended up turning their documentation into a published manuscript, I will attempt to keep my icecast page up to date and current with the latest releases. This book is designed to be a dynamic forum for those wishing to read or consult icecast information. For those of you now reading this text and who wish to stay current with the latest trends, please consult my site for any updated information. I also attempt to provide the latest source code as found on the icecast page.

With that said, read on. I hope you will enjoy setting up and running icecast and all the many related audio programs. I have benefited greatly learning and using icecast and I hope you will too.

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