- How does the iRate server choose the tracks?
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When the user requests a track it will sends all the user's ratings to the server and the server chooses tracks based on these ratings. The server uses the following methods to choose the tracks:
- Initial - when the user first joins a standard set of tracks are downloaded.
- Correlation - the user's preferences are correlated with each other user's preferences. This correlation gives a weighting factor for each user's ratings. A track is chosen using the weighted average ratings.
- Random - this just chooses a completely random track from the database. 1 time in 20. Random is also used to top up if the other methods don't choose a track.
The response from the server contains a list of tracks containing the Artist, Track Name and URL for the track. The client application downloads the track via HTTP from the given URL.
- How do I get iRate to download continuously?
- In the settings menu, select Auto Download.
- Why doesn't iRate use genres?
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The philosophy of iRate is to allow people to listen to music and rate it 'without prejudice'. Users are expected to rate tracks on their own merit based on how much they would like to listen to the track.
- What ratings should I use?
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Concentrate on your local play list and let the server do it's thing. Rate the tracks based on what you want to hear. Don't try to second guess the server because the server algorithm may change from time to time.
- What should I do about bugs or feature requests?
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Sourceforge has excellent bug tracking and feature request systems. First check if your bug or feature is already in the database, if not then feel free to add it. Using the bug tracking system saves us a lot of work so your suggestion is less likely to be forgotten if it's in the bug database.
- Why doesn't it play music I like?
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You have to rate tracks for it to be able to find music that you like. It may take a while before it figures out the users with the closest tastes to you. It will always give you some randomly selected music so that the system can get ratings for new tracks. If you've downloaded a lot of music then you may run out of recommendations and therefore get random selections.
- Where does the music come from?
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A bunch of web sites host tracks and make them available for http download. Anything I can find on the Internet which appears to be a ligitimate site offering free downloads.
- Are the artists getting ripped off?
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No. The artists have chosen to make their music available. Record companies have to pay to get music onto the radio and iRate performs the same function as radio, if you like their music then perhaps you'll buy the album or go to their concert.
- Why isn't there a plugin for XMMS or WinAmp?
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There's no way to write a play list plugin for either application. This means that it would be impossible to do it properly at this stage. For KDE users there is a plugin for Noatun called KiRateRadio.
- Why isn't there a plugin for iTunes?
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Most of the developers use platforms where iTunes isnt available. Our Mac and Windows developers are too busy working on platform specific stuff.
- I can't use Java WebStart. Can I still use iRate Radio?
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Some Java versions do not support Webstart. There is a possible work around. If you try it, please let us know if you encounter any problems.
- Download irate-0.5.zip from the SourceForge page.
- Extract to a location of your choosing. Remember to maintain the directory structure.
- If you are using a 64-bit GNU/Linux operating system, replace swt.jar inside the lib/swt-linux directory with SWT version 3.3
- Double-click on the .jar file that matches your operating system. Note: Some applications steal the .jar file association, and double-click won't work. If so, from the command line, switch to the appropriate directory and run "java -jar irate-client-swt-linux.jar" (without the quotes).
- What if I have a question which isn't answered in the FAQ?
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Check out the following resources:
Your question may have already been answered or you can post a new question.
- How do I access the iRate server?
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You may freely access my server server.irateradio.org port 2278. This is the default server for the client. It will automatically create an account for you when you contact the server.
The iRate server stores your track ratings. I will respect your privacy by not selling or otherwise passing this information on to anyone else.
My server is an Athlon 1800XP based machine with 512 MB of RAM running Debian Sarge with a fat 512/128 kbit ADSL conection.
Setting up your own server is not recommended however if you wish to do so then please contact me at ajones@clear.net.nz.
- What are the licensing terms for iRate?
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iRate client and server are free software. They are both available under the GNU General Public License version 2.
"The licenses for most software are designed to take away your freedom to share and change it. By contrast, the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change free software--to make sure the software is free for all its users."
The text of the license is available here.
- How can I help?
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If you'd like to help out, here are some resources to get you started:
