Streamers - 28

Streamers is a great program. I can set it up to run in the middle of the night and have radio programs to listen to the next day at the office (my office doesn't allow us to do internet streams). It works really well, but I found it a little difficult to set up. When I first installed the program, the timed recordings worked, but the files didn't convert into mp3 format automatically. I tinkered with the programs I had installed on my computer and where they were located and re-installed the program, and now it works beautifully. (I <i>think</i> my problem was that I had Streamers in a folder within the applications folder, and not in the applications folder itself.) I use the RealOne version, as the Real Player 10 version didn't work--apparently there are still a few bugs that need to be worked out.

Also, I found it a little hard to find the original wiretap program. The version on Ambrosia's website is now Wiretap Pro -- now, they have it set up so that you can keep using the free features (aiff recording) if you don't pay, but you get a pop-up message. This version is not compatible with Streamers. However, the original wiretap is still out there, but it would be really helpful if the Streamers page offered a link to it.

Overall, I heartily recommend this program. NOTE: I do not use the scheduling feature, so I cannot comment on that section of the program.

The way I packaged up the latest version might lead to problems. In order for iCal to find Streamers (and so for scheduled recordings to work), Streamers (the app itself - not the folder containing the app) needs to be dragged to the Applications folder. So when you download, open the folder containing the version of Streamers you want (for RealPlayer 10 or RealPlayer 9) and drag the Streamers app to your Applications folder. I'll probably package the next version differently to avoid this wrinkle.