Back around 1996, I started working on a directory to provide unbiased information about the dialup Internet choices that were available as non-geeky people started to become aware of the Internet, and focused on information for people who decided that AOL wasn’t for them and wanted a real Internet provider.
In 1998, FindAnISP.com became the place for that directory on its own server. It continued until 2001 as a hobby – a non-profit service I did in the spare time to help people. In 2002, I quit my “real job” to run FindAnISP.com full time. By 2004, it was apparent that DSL and Cable TV were becoming widely deployed and dialup Internet access had no future – so I started StreamingRadioGuide as a hobby funded by the income from FindAnISP.com. That revenue stream pays for the server which co-hosts SRGuide.
The last source of income to FindAnISP.com has come to an end, which means that FindAnISP.com will be going away (probably before year end). It has had negligible maintenance for the last 5 years or so as I’ve been building the streaming radio guide.
It would be prudent to bookmark stations that you listen to a lot (not using SRGuide links) “just in case”. The server has funding in place for several years, but we live in uncertain times. Maintaining the streaming directory is likely to decrease in priority to other things my time and energy needs to be focused on.
Thank you very much.
I thank you also. It’ll be a sad day if it happens.
Thanks for your work, I will miss this place on the web, I’ve spent a lot of time here. I am suprised that such a resource couldn’t support itself as an advertising spot. Am I so unusual, I would have suspected it atracted a lot of traffic. I would certainly support your sponsers.
It’s FindAnISP.com that is going away. SRGuide isn’t, but it might become less well maintained….
In a few days from now, I probably will put the server in “lockdown mode” for a while, so it doesn’t require my constant monitoring to remove problematic content….
I’ve spent the last 35 years serially converting hobbies into businesses; once with the business failing, sometimes with them being successful and selling them off to others, with no end to the process in sight. Perhaps we also share an ongoing story of medical problems being an unpredictable distraction. Assuming RSG gradually winds down, I’ll certainly miss what has now become “Echos of Silence”. The noted lack of responses to your messages is, in fact, probably a compliment. Your succinct messages usually say all there is to say, and usually nothing further needed to be added. The best I can do, to repay you for your efforts, will be to continue providing useful contributions to others. Good luck, to you, where ever your path into the future takes you.
In 1998 I moved out of metro Atlanta to a rural area that *still* is not served by cable or DSL even though I’m only 10 miles outside a city of 100,000 people. I needed VPN to do engineering work for my customers across their corporate firewalls. Satellite internet with its long ping times was unsatisfactory for that. FindAnISP.com became my principle resource in finding dial-up ISPs that still offered dual channel ISDN. About 2 years ago wireless broadband became available (with a 5GB/month limit) and I unplugged the ISDN modem for the last time.
My frequent visits to FindAnISP.com to see if anything “new” was available lead me to SRGuide.com and I’ve been a happy camper ever since. Streaming radio is wonderful, particularly when you’re too far out from the AM talk stations to receive their signals clearly. Art, thanks much for making a positive difference!
So you’re the one who was still using ISDN! :)
Would be sad to see SRG go … your website is wonderful and is a blessing in my life.
Thank you for all your efforts. I read and appreciate many of your comments and posts. Your polls make me think and smile!