1) Roll your cursor around in the photo banner area. That makes various options appear and disappear.
2) Before you Sign Up or SIGN IN, you can play "Free Stuff" or 30 seconds of anything for free. You can add sample items to the playlist "Free Stuff," but you can't make or save a new playlist unless you register for an account and SIGN IN.
3) After you SIGN IN, if you don't have an Access Plan, you can play 30 seconds of anything plus "Free Stuff." You can build and save playlists, but you can only hear the first 30 seconds of any selection.
4) If you have Prepaid Access Time (Prepaid Minutes), once you SIGN IN your Access Time will be used for all streaming. So be sure to listen to samples before you SIGN IN. After SIGN IN, any listening will decrement your prepaid time, including play of the continuous stream Radio Channel.
The service works by streaming audio to you "on demand." The system automatically adjusts to broadband and dial-up connections. You can listen anywhere you have an internet connection. Our streaming format is AAC+ (mp4), delivered by our Flash Media Servers. Music streams at 128 kbps, 64 kbps, or 28 kbps: the system automatically sends the best audio quality for your internet connectivity.
Hardware: You need a computer connected to the internet. It doesn't matter if it's a Mac or a PC running Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Unix or Linux.*
Software: You need a current version of a common web broswer--either Internet Explorer 7 or later, Firefox, or Safari. Many users also get wonderful performance via Google Chrome browser. You need Flash Media Player version 9 or later. If you don't have Flash Media Player or the version you have needs to be updated, your web browser will notify you or will download it direct and free of charge from the Adobe website.**
Settings: Your web browser must be set to accept cookies and pop up blocker must be off. The alternative to accepting cookies or turning pop up blocker off is to include our URLs, hos.com and entriq.net, as trusted sites or exceptions in the Privacy, Security, and/or Content areas of your browser. See the TECH SUPPORT section of our HELP page for how to configure the settings for your web browser.
*We support Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, Macs with OS X 10.2 or later, and Linux (RHEL3 or 4). We do not support Windows 2000, Millenium Edition or Windows 98 or 95; though you might get the service to work with those operating systems, we cannot provide technical support or advice for you. The same is true for non-supported web browsers including Opera, Netscape, etc.
**The minimum Adobe Flash Player required for our site is v9.0.115.0. If Adobe's automatic detection and update of your Adobe Flash Player fails, please visit this url, and follow the directions to take the download it offers or to download a version of Adobe Flash Player specifically for your computer's operating system and web browser:
To offer free service we have to attract listeners to our paid services. Registration allows you to try our programming and allows us to track usage patterns and communicate occasionally with our free listeners with news and service offers. Registration also enables us to save your FAVORITES and personal PLAYLISTS. You must be registered and signed in to use those features.
There is a SIGN UP link at the top right of the screen. To register, click SIGN UP, enter your email address under "New User" and click Login. You don't need to register or SIGN IN to view anything on the site, use the search function, or play samples and demos. You must SIGN UP and then be SIGNED IN to play complete streams, or use PLAYLISTS or FAVORITES.
Click SIGN IN, then click "I forgot my password" in the SIGN IN window. Follow the instructions, and look for an email message from service@hos.com. If it doesn't come soon, check your spam filter. If you've registered a fake or outdated email address, contact us for assistance. Include your name, registered email address, current email address, and a brief description of the problem.
If the system won't accept your password but you're sure you're typing in the right one, click "I forgot my password" anyway. Something has slipped a digit somewhere, and this will enable you to refresh your password by using the same one again. After clicking "I forgot my password," follow the instructions, and look for an email message from service@hos.com. If it doesn't come soon, check your spam filter. If you've registered a fake or outdated email address, contact us at help@hos.com for assistance. Include your name, registered email address, current email address, and a brief description of the problem.
There are two ways to play music:
1) Click on any light green PLAY icon or triangle on the site -- next to a radio PROGRAM, next to an ALBUM, or next to the title of an album TRACK. This sends the selection directly to the player.
2) Click ADD to add the selection (radio PROGRAM, ALBUM, or TRACK) to your Active Playlist. Once an item is added to a playlist, you can click and drag it to change the order of play.
There are various devices and methods that allow you to send audio from your computer or music player to your home stereo.
- The original "old school" way is to connect a stereo "mini-to-RCA" audio cable from the sound output of your computer or music player (sometimes marked with a headphones icon) to the Auxiliary input of your stereo system. This works very well when your computer is near your stereo system, and is easy and inexpensive.
You might also consider a USB-to-RCA audio adapter such as the Behringer UCA202. This plugs into any computer USB port and has RCA outputs for connecting cables directly to a stereo; it also has an optical output if your stereo has that capability.
- The latest entry is for Apple's Airplay-enabled devices -- iPhones (3GS+ only), iPads, and iPod Touches running iOS 4.2 or later. Apple explains it all here:
Using AirPlay http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4437
Of course an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch with a dock for your home stereo and the HOS iPhone app works great. You can also use this method for Sonos, which now supports an iDock for their box!
- A USB wireless transmitter is a small, inexpensive two-part device requiring no software and little set-up. One part of the device plugs into a USB port on your computer, the other into an input on your home stereo, Sonos box, or other device routing audio to your speakers. One of your fellow HOS subscribers, a TV engineer by profession, highly recommends one in particular:
"During my last membership, I listened to HOS online strictly thru my computer speakers. I have since found a reasonably priced device that connects to a USB port on my computer and transmits a signal to another device that hooks to my stereo. It features 16 bit/44.1Khz stereo. Strictly plug and play, no software to load, and reasonably priced at $43.49, it's a 2.4 GHz Wireless USB Audio System, order# 80-7300":
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/80-7300
"I'm sure there are other dealers that sell this device, but this is where I found mine. This is not an advertisement for MCM and I have no affiliation with them. I just seem to spend way too much money there. I am actually the Chief Engineer for a television station."
Other similar devices are:
Another source for a similar device is:
http://www.ramelectronics.net/wireless/wireless-audio/wa2300/prodWA2300.html
- A wireless stereo FM transmitter broadcasts the audio signal from your PC or Mac to any FM receiver within range. If that receiver is connected to your stereo, the sound comes out your system•s speakers. Or the FM radio may be a standalone device with its own speakers.
A Google search of "stereo FM transmitter" or "wireless computer to stereo" brings up lots of these devices, starting around $25. The more expensive ones ($129) have better audio quality, a stronger signal, and a greater range. This one looks interesting and has come down in price recently ($124.99):
http://www.wholehousefmtransmitter.com
Other suggestions are:
Griffin Rocket FM Transmitter for Mac and PC
http://www.ramelectronics.net has several solutions in the $35 to $50 range.
- Another alternative, about $129, is a set of wireless speakers that can be up to 150' away from your computer and still play what's streaming through your PC or Mac, for example:
http://www.calcellular.com/bt-speaker.html
We hope one of these devices will work for you or at least point you toward the right solution for your situation. We've tried some of these ourselves: they're just examples to get you started.
If you find something you particularly like, or want to endorse one of the suggestions above, do let us know so we can pass your experience along to your fellow Spacefans.
Here's a link to download a .pdf file of this help page.
If you'd like further information or clarification, please contact us at help@hos.com. A live human will respond within 24 hours, usually much sooner.
Want to fall asleep to HOS, but it wakes you up later on? Here are some widgets and apps to turn the music off at your preset time:
For Mac users on OS X, there's "Counting Sheep," a free widget. Download it here:
"Counting Sheep"
PC users can use "Lullaby":
"Lullaby"
For your iPhone that supports multitasking, there's "Music Sleep Timer," a free app:
"Music Sleep Timer"
Android users can get "Sleep Timer" in the Android Market. There's a free app to try out, and a
paid version (~$1). Try the free app first -- it works great on some phones, but gets mixed reviews on others:
Some new DVD and BluRay players offer wireless music integration with your home stereo system. However, they are not compatible with our service directly. Our streams are on-demand, interactive, and protected so you have to SIGN IN and have access privileges to play them. These devices support only free, open webcasts.
You may still be able to use one of these devices with a USB wireless transmitter (see below). Or you may be able to use the USB wireless transmitter to transfer music directly from your computer to your home stereo without going through your DVD or BluRay Player -- going through your central amplifier instead.
To do this, please see our write up to Play HOS on your home stereo (in this same Help section), which you can also see in this pdf:
You can use the Hearts of Space iOS App to stream Hearts of Space via AppleTV. Just go to the Apple AppStore and purchase the Hearts of Space app for 99 cents. You can hear This Week's Show free anytime; access to My Playlists and our 8 Channels requires a subscription.
By design AppleTV is created to only stream iTunes compatible
(.H264-encoded MP4) files. There are a couple of other solutions:
1) AirFoil by Rogue Amoeba will send the HoS Flash Player audio
stream from your Mac's web browser to your AppleTV. You just
select the audio source (your browser) and the destination
(your AppleTV) within the AirFoil app.
2) AirFlick by Erica Sadun. Erica is a programmer who has created
a Mac app named "AirFlick" that allows you to serve audio files and
web URLs to AppleTV.
Here is a link to a tutorial about AirFlick showing how it works:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/12/erica-sadun-airflick/
Here is a link to her webpage that contains the link to download
AirFlick:
http://ericasadun.com/ftp/AirPlay/
NB: use at your own risk - this is free software with no warranties.
Sorry, but our technology is not compatible with these boxes, called variously Internet Radio Receivers or Digital Music Receivers (DMRs). They are dedicated to use for free, open, completely non-interactive streams. However, Hearts of Space is not a radio station webcasting our terrestrial stream; we do not have an open webcast. Our streams are on demand and interactive, including our RADIO CHANNEL. The technology we use enable us to send you accurate real-time metadata (track title, artist, album etc.). Our secure Flash Media Server and custom player do the heavy lifting to allow you to turn voiceovers on and off, have on-demand access to our entire archive, the ability to make your own Playlists, skip tracks within programs and albums, and move about freely within selections using the progress indicator. Our entire service, including RADIO CHANNEL, relies on Flash technology, which does not employ the kind of open URL required by these internet radio boxes.
However, we can still help you accomplish what you want. Most people use a DMR as a bridge between their computer and their audio or audiovisual system. Depending on the make and model of your DMR device, you may be able to do this via an intermediary method that's simple and inexpensive:
1. Some of the DMRs, like Sonos, now support docks for Airplay enabled devices like an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Android users should watch the news or set a Google alert for docks for their devices. We're not seeing them yet, but they can't be far off.
2. Some DMRs, like Sonos, are compatible with a USB wireless transmitter, which is a small, two-part device that sends audio from your computer to another device. A USB wireless transmitter requires no software and little set-up. One part of the two-part device plugs into a USB port on your computer, the other into an input on your home stereo, Sonos box, other compatible DMR or other device routing audio to your speakers. One of your fellow HOS subscribers, a TV engineer by profession, highly recommends one in particular:
"During my last membership, I listened to HOS online strictly thru my computer speakers. I have since found a reasonably priced device that connects to a USB port on my computer and transmits a signal to another device that hooks to my stereo. It features 16 bit/44.1Khz stereo. Strictly plug and play, no software to load, and reasonably priced at $43.49, it's a 2.4 GHz Wireless USB Audio System, order# 80-7300":
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/80-7300
"I'm sure there are other dealers that sell this device, but this is where I found mine. This is not an advertisement for MCM and I have no affiliation with them. I just seem to spend way too much money there. I am actually the Chief Engineer for a television station."
Other similar devices are:
Another source for a similar device is:
http://www.ramelectronics.net/wireless/wireless-audio/wa2300/prodWA2300.html
Let us know the method you settle on and how it works for you. We'll be happy to pass the word on to fellow Spacefans.
HoS is now available on Sonos. Just use your Sonos controller and navigate to +More Music, then choose Hearts of Space. You'll see the HOS icon there. Click on that and the plus sign to add HOS to your Sonos Music list. Then Sign In with your HOS username and password. You will need our Standard Plan or Full Service Plan to play HOS on Sonos.
Also, ingenious Spacefans are figuring out how to use HOS on their Sonos boxes:
1. Our subscriber Jed K. just discovered that...
A. Sonos has an iPhone/iPod dock which plays music from those devices onto the Sonos system.
B. Sonos also now supports Apple AirPlay, which allows you to stream music from the iPhone/iPod to Sonos devices.
With your HOS iPhone app and a subscription, it is possible to play HOS on the Sonos system. I am using #1 above and it's great! The dock seems a little more robust than AirPlay.
Here's Apple's write up on Using AirPlay:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4437
2. A USB wireless transmitter also works with Sonos. It's a small, inexpensive two-part device requiring no software and little set-up. One part of the device plugs into a USB port on your computer, the other into an input on your home stereo, Sonos box, or other device routing audio to your speakers. One of your fellow HOS subscribers, a TV engineer by profession, highly recommends one in particular:
"During my last membership, I listened to HOS online strictly thru my computer speakers. I have since found a reasonably priced device that connects to a USB port on my computer and transmits a signal to another device that hooks to my stereo. It features 16 bit/44.1Khz stereo. Strictly plug and play, no software to load, and reasonably priced at $43.49, it's a 2.4 GHz Wireless USB Audio System, order# 80-7300":
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/80-7300
"I'm sure there are other dealers that sell this device, but this is where I found mine. This is not an advertisement for MCM and I have no affiliation with them. I just seem to spend way too much money there. I am actually the Chief Engineer for a television station."
Other similar devices are:
Another source for a similar device is:
http://www.ramelectronics.net/wireless/wireless-audio/wa2300/prodWA2300.html
Let us know the method you settle on and how it works for you. We'll be happy to pass the word on to fellow Spacefans.
Our service is streaming only. Copyright licensing issues still prevent us from selling downloads of the radio programs, and this probably will be the case for some time. We plan to sell full album and individual track downloads of licensed albums soon.
You may browse other locations online while streaming by opening another website in a new browser tab or a new browser window. You may resize or minimize our window. But if you close the window displaying our website, the player will stop.
Please be assured that all of your purchase transactions through hos.com are secure. https://secure.hos.com is displayed in the header of each transaction window. This verifies that the transaction is being processed from a secure socket layer (SSL), and only a valid SSL can display this URL. This is always visible on our service to all users, on all platforms and browsers. However, the lock icon may not be visible to users of Windows/IE or Windows/Firefox, though it always is to users of Mac/Safari and Mac/Firefox. Our secure transaction processor is aware of this browser visibility issue and they are working on resolving it. In the meantime, please look at the top of the window for the URL https://secure.hos.com..., and be assured that your transaction is indeed secure. We reply within 24 hours, usually much less, to billing inquiries sent to help@hos.com.
When you visit HOS.com and want to play music, please use the SIGN IN link after you've signed up and created your account. The SIGN IN link appears late in the site-loading process for a reason: if you try to sign in before all the elements of the service are loaded, you may not be properly or fully signed in. All the elements of the service have to be present and synchronized when you SIGN IN. If you get ahead of the process and use SIGN UP or MY ACCOUNT instead of SIGN IN, you make the process take longer and more likely to deny you your access rights. When you SIGN IN successfully to HOS.com, the SIGN IN link changes to SIGN OUT. It toggles between SIGN IN and SIGN OUT, depending on whether you are or are not signed in.
To use our AUTOMATIC SIGN IN, you simply close the HOS.com window or tab when you're done listening. The next time you return you won't have to SIGN IN. The system will sign you in automatically. Your access rights will be available to you sooner, without having to wait for the SIGN IN link to load and without formally signing in. Each time you SIGN IN, either automatically or manually, you are given a 12-hour session in which to stream without having to SIGN IN again.
People using shared or public computers can and should turn OFF automatic sign in: Just click SIGN OUT when you're done listening to Hearts of Space. When you return, you'll you'll have to SIGN IN again. The site will remember and fill in your email address for you next time you click SIGN IN, but not your password. Whether or not your password will be filled in for you depends on how you have your browser set up for autofill and remembering passwords.
Automatic SIGN IN also does not work if you leave HOS.com open but inactive and your listening session expires while the window or tab is open. In that case, you get a message that your session has timed out after 12 hours, and you have to SIGN IN again. On the other hand, if you leave our window or tab open for, say, 6 hours, after streaming for two hours, you've used 8 hours of a 12-hour listening session. When you resume streaming, you have only 4 hours left in that session any may be interrupted before you're finished. If you had closed the window or tab, and then reopened it, you would get a new 12-hour session when you were automatically signed in again.
When you allow your listening session to expire inactive (session times out), the next time you click SIGN IN, the email address and password fields will be filled in automatically with the entries you used for your most recent session. If you changed your email address or password in the meantime, just overwrite the old entries with the new information. To be sure the old autofill info is cleared away, please clear cache and cookies (called delete temporary internet files and cookies in Internet Explorer).
For more information on sessions and Timeouts, please see the entry on Timeouts and Streaming Interruptions under Troubleshooting.
The FAV or Favorites function allows you to mark a Program, Album, or Album Track as a Favorite, so you can view a list of all your favorite Programs, Albums and Album tracks.
Click the FAV icon next to your favorite selections in Program tables, Album tables, and Pgm Details to add the selection to your list of Favorites. The icon becomes highlighted. To un-FAV an item, click its FAV icon again to take it off your list of Favorites and un-highlight the FAV icon.
View your list of Favorite programs, albums and album tracks via PROGRAMS or ALBUMS in the main menu bar, then choose Favorites in the subnavigation, or on the PROGRAMS or ALUBMS index pages.
FAV is completely separate from ADD, and clicking FAV does not add the FAV to a personal playlist or update your Favorites Playlist.
Playlists are lists of our music selections you can create, name and rename, save, select, edit, load, and play in the MY PLAYLISTS tab of the player. You can combine radio PROGRAMS, ALBUMS, and TRACKS from the ALBUMS section in the same playlist. However, ALBUMS and TRACKS will play on the website only, not in the mobile apps.
There’s no limit to the number of playlists you can make and save, though practically speaking you won't want to scroll through too many to get the one you want.
There is a limit to how many items you can place in one playlist. We recommend not putting more than 12 to 15 items in a playlist. A playlist will play continuously for 12 hours before your listening “session” expires. At that point, you have to SIGN IN again to continue to hear music. So, it’s no problem to start a new Playlist then, too.
If you put considerably more items in a playlist than 12 or 15, it greatly increases the time it takes to SIGN IN and have your playlists load. This particularly affects our mobile apps.
So, please, limit your playlists to 12, 15, or at the very most 20 items. SIGN IN and loading of playlists will be much quicker that way.
To use MY PLAYLISTS:
Create a NEW playlist then SELECT it, or an existing playlist, to make it the "Active Playlist." Items are ADDed to the "Active Playlist" when you click the ADD icon in a table of selections or on a page of PROGRAM DETAILS.
Here's an example to get you started. Let's load your FAVORITES into a Playlist: SIGN IN as usual (you can't use PLAYLISTS unless you Sign In).
Click the MY PLAYLISTS tab in the right side of the player area. Click MANAGE PLAYLISTS and create and name a NEW playlist: Click NEW, type the name of the playlist, click OK.
SELECT your new playlist to make it the "Active Playlist."
Call up your list of FAVORITES:
In the main menu bar, click PROGRAMS or ALBUMS.
In the sub-menu that appears, click FAVORITES (all the way to the right).
In the Favorite Programs table, click the ADD icon next to any programs you want to put in your new playlist. To rearrange the order or play within the playlist, click, drag, and drop selections where you want them to go.
To play the Active Playlist, click the PLAY triangle next to the top or any other selection.
After that it will play through the selections in the PLAYLIST, one after the other, without your having to do anything else. It will stop after twelve hours or when it gets to the end of the list, whichever comes first (it won't repeat automatically from the top).
The playlist is automatically saved, and you can highlight, SELECT, and (re)play it any time you SIGN IN. You can edit the playlist you're currently playing, or you can create and configure playlists while you're listening to completely different music.
You can of course play PROGRAMS and ALBUMS directly, without going through FAVORITES or MY PLAYLISTS simply by using the PLAY icon anytime.
For a completely uninterrupted musical experience, you can turn radio program voiceovers off (and back on):
While any radio program is playing, click the microphone icon located in the upper right corner of the player, to the right of the THIS WEEK'S SHOW tab. The music momentarily fades down and then up again, and the mic icon acquires a red slash: voiceovers are now turned off. To turn them back on, click the mic icon again while any radio program is playing. The icon loses the red slash, and the voiceovers play normally again.
The default starting state of the icon and voiceovers is on. Once you turn voiceovers off, they remain off until you turn them on again. The system remembers this preference when you sign out, so when you sign in again the voiceovers are as they were when you last signed out.
http://ios.wonderhowto.com/how-to/completely-close-out-running-applications-iphone-ios-7-save-battery-0147375/
Double tap the home button. This brings up the multitasking view.
Swipe UP on the screenshot of the app you want to exit.
The app will fly off the screen and release its resources to the OS.
To close up to 3 apps at once, use multiple fingers to swipe up on the apps.
Repeating the gesture multiple times quits everything quickly and easily.
User Guides for iOS7 on the various devices:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1596/en_US/ipod_touch_user_guide.pdf
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1565/en_US/iphone_user_guide.pdf
http://manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1595/en_US/ipad_user_guide.pdf
The Hearts of Space iPhone app is available for 99 cents in the iTunes App store. It works for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches running at least iOS 3.1.3.
App users can play THIS WEEK'S SHOW on demand. Subscribers with Unlimited, AAA, RADIO CHANNEL, or iPHONE Access Plans can play our ALL ARCHIVE MIX webcast on the iPhone. If you don't like what's playing, you can skip shows or switch to THIS WEEK'S SHOW.
Later versions of the app will provide access to personal Favorites and MY PLAYLISTS, but these are not currently available on iDevices via our app.
On the iPhone, as on our website, our servers send you the best bitrate for your connectivity. Under optimal network conditions, you'll get a 128kbps HE-AAC stream on WiFi; 64kbps HE-AAC on the AT&T and Verizon 3G networks; and 32kbps AACplus v2 on the older AT&T Edge network. Your iPhone will display which network it is using on the left side of the the topmost status bar -- a cone-shaped icon for WiFi, the letters "3G", or "E" for the AT&T Edge network. Which network you get depends on your location: AT&T and Verizon don't have universal 3G coverage and WiFi hotspots have limited range.
You can use the Hearts of Space iOS App to stream Hearts of Space via AppleTV. Just go to the Apple AppStore and purchase the Hearts of Space app for 99 cents. You can hear This Week's Show free anytime; access to My Playlists and our 8 Channels requires a subscription.
By design AppleTV is created to only stream iTunes compatible
(.H264-encoded MP4) files. There are a couple of other solutions:
1) AirFoil by Rogue Amoeba will send the HoS Flash Player audio
stream from your Mac's web browser to your AppleTV. You just
select the audio source (your browser) and the destination
(your AppleTV) within the AirFoil app.
2) AirFlick by Erica Sadun. Erica is a programmer who has created
a Mac app named "AirFlick" that allows you to serve audio files and
web URLs to AppleTV.
Here is a link to a tutorial about AirFlick showing how it works:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/12/erica-sadun-airflick/
Here is a link to her webpage that contains the link to download
AirFlick:
http://ericasadun.com/ftp/AirPlay/
NB: use at your own risk - this is free software with no warranties.
This isn't a bug, but a feature: background play.
If you want to turn off the music, stop/pause it while the app is open, then leave the app.
If you leave the stream on, then leave the app, you can use other apps and do other things with music in the background.
If you do this, but then want to pause background music from Hearts of Space or navigate within our app after you've closed it, without re-opening the app:
Double-tap the Home button
That opens a little panel at bottom showing all your apps currently running.
Keep scrolling to the right to a pause button, and to the right is the icon for HOS.
Tap the pause icon to stop HOS.
A play button appears to restart the music if/when you want after pausing it.
You can also do normal navigation from this screen, e.g., skip shows within All Archive Channel or restart THIS WEEK'S SHOW from the beginning.
If you have further questions about using the app, please write to help@hos.com.
Users are not charged for bandwidth when connected to a WiFi network.
Make sure you have Wi-Fi turned ON in the iPhone SETTINGS app, and have the "Ask to Join Networks" switch in the "ON" position as well. When you are within range of a WiFi network you will see an alert message asking if you want to join that network. If a lock icon is displayed, you need a password to join that network. Once you enter the correct password, your iPhone will remember it and join that network automatically the next time you are within range.
When streaming over the AT&T and Verizon data networks (not WiFi) figure roughly 28 MB (MegaBytes) per hour of streaming on 3G at the 64kbps data rate; or 14 MB per hour on the older AT&T Edge network at the 32kbps data rate.
Therefore, a 200 MB data plan would only allow about 8 hours of streaming on 3G at 64kbps or 14 hours on AT&T Edge at 32kbps, i.e. not much. If you can afford the extra $10/month for the 2 GB/month data plan, you will have 10x the headroom. You would be able to stream approximately 70 hours/month over 3G or 142 hours/month over Edge.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about our services or app for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, please email help@hos.com
We are working toward a full-featured version of our iPhone app. That said, it's not that simple to do, and it will arrive in stages. The most optimistic estimate of when the full archive access version will be released is the first half of 2012. In between, there will be intermediate versions offering multiple live streams similar to the current "All Archive Channel" based on our various genres, plus access to MY PLAYLISTS for ALL ARCHIVE ACCESS subscribers.
Want to fall asleep to HOS, but it wakes you up later on? There's a free app to turn the music off at your preset time, "Music Sleep Timer:"
"Music Sleep Timer"
LONG PAUSE -- if you put the player on extended pause (we're still exploring the limits), it may lock up the player and possibly the app. Should this happen you will need to close the app and open it again. The next release will contain a fix for this issue.
Yes, after months of development and testing, we're really happy to announce the release of our first app for Android Phones. It's available in the Google Market for USD .99 cents. Check it out today!
Registered users can play THIS WEEK'S SHOW on demand. Subscribers with Unlimited, AAA, RADIO CHANNEL, or ANDROID/iPhone Access Plans can play our ALL ARCHIVE CHANNEL webcast on the iPhone. If you don't like what's playing in the channel, you can skip ahead to the next show, or switch to THIS WEEK'S SHOW. The next version of the app will provide access to multiple genre channels and your saved MY PLAYLISTS, but these features aren't yet available via our mobile app.
NOTE: Today there are nearly 400 different makes and models of mobile devices running the Android operating system. There is no way to test them all and we cannot warrant that the HoS Android App will run on all of them. We have tested on and do support the Motorola Droid line, HTC Evo and Eris, Samsung Galaxy line, and the T-Mobile Garminfone.
When you load the app for the first time it may take several minutes for it to completely configure. This is normal. After that it will always load instantly.
As with all apps purchased in the Google Market, you have 15 minutes from the time of purchase to cancel your purchase, UNinstall the app and receive a complete refund, no questions asked.
If you have further questions please email help@hos.com
The HoS Android app costs USD$0.99. You can purchase it using a web browser from your personal computer or directly from your Android phone.
To purchase on your computer open your web browser to this page:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.heartsospace&feature=search_result
and click on the BUY button. Follow the instructions.
If you purchase the app on your computer you'll need to open the Android Market App on your Android phone for it to download and install on your phone - it won't automatically install on your phone just because you bought it on the web. Your web purchase has to synch to your Android phone account via the Android Market App.
To purchase on your Android phone just press the Home key and then tap on the "Market" icon.
When the Market app loads tap on the magnifying glass (search icon) in the upper righthand corner of the screen.
Type in the words "Hearts of Space" and tap the icon or the Go key. You'll see the Hearts of Space app icon at the top of the page.
Tap on it - that takes you to the application page. You can read the description, view screen shots, but if you're ready to purchase then tap on the Buy US$0.99 button.
Then tap OK to accept permissions which allows the HoS app to access the internet
The purchase page will load. Using the dropdown menu choose how you want to pay for the app. It's quickest to choose "Bill my [your mobile carrier] account" and the .99 charge will just appear on your next phone bill. However, you can choose "Add a credit card" or select one you already have on file.
Once you've set up and selected your payment method, tap on the "Buy now: US$0.99" button at the bottom of the screen. The purchase will be made in the background and your phone will display text and sound indicating that the app is being downloaded, and then installed.
Once that's done you can close the Market app. Then press the Home key on your phone, tap on the Applications icon, and scroll through your apps (they're listed in alphabetical order) until you see Hearts of Space. Tap on the HoS app and it will begin to load.
The first time you launch the app in may take several minutes for it to completely configure - this is normal. Just be patient. When the configuration is complete the app will load the home page and you're ready to go.
Either way, once you have the app installed on your Android phone you can use it to play our Free Streams and This Week's Show for free. To play the All Archive Channel requires one of two Hearts of Space Access Plans: either AAA All Archive Access or the Radio Channel + This Week's Show plan.
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
The Android mobile platform is still fairly new so issues like this apparently aren't that unusual.
FYI this doesn't have anything to do with the HoS Android app, but rather with the Google Market app delivery method.
In researching this issue on Google, we've found that many people have the same problem on many different Android devices including several reports on various HTC models.
Google recommends several methods to solve this problem:
"You may occasionally see downloads get caught up on your phones. However, this is often a temporary connectivity matter.
Some troubleshooting tips include:
1) activating Google Talk
2) performing a soft reset or
3) using the "Force Stop" option to stop the download and then resume it again."
Here's a typical user report:
"I had the same problem even after I did a hard reset. I then went and activated Google Talk and ... Viola!
Not only did the download function start working, it allowed me to go back and re-download all my purchases!"
To activate Google Talk, you must have a Google account.
Open the browser on your Android phone and go to http://www.google.com
Sign In to your Google account
Tap on My Account
Then tap on Mobile - this opens a page with lots of Google mobile app icons including Google Talk
Tap on the Google Talk icon - the Google Talk page will load.
Tap on the "Launch Now" button - it may ask you to Sign In again (security).
Once you've activated Google Talk, go back to the Market app.
Search for the Hearts of Space app - it should immediately start downloading and installing.
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
On Android phones, as on our website, our servers send you the best bitrate for your connectivity. Under optimal network conditions, you'll get a 128kbps HE-AAC stream on WiFi, and 64kbps HE-AAC on 3G networks. Your Android phone will display which network it is using on the left side of the the topmost status bar -- a cone-shaped icon for WiFi, or the letters "3G". Which network you get depends on your location.
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
This isn't a bug, but a feature: background play.
If you want to turn off the music, stop/pause it while the app is open, then leave the app.
If you leave the stream on, then leave the app, you can use other apps and do other things with music in the background.
If you want to pause background music from the Hearts of Space app or navigate within our app after you've closed it, just re-open the app.
Tap the pause icon to stop HOS.
A play button appears to restart the music if/when you want after pausing it.
You can also do normal navigation from this screen, e.g., skip shows within All Archive Channel or restart THIS WEEK'S SHOW from the beginning.
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
Want to fall asleep to HOS, but it wakes you up later on? There's an app to turn the music off at your preset time, "Sleep Timer." There's a free app to try out, and a paid version (~$1). Try the free app first -- it works great on some phones, but gets mixed reviews on others:
Users are not charged for bandwidth when connected to a WiFi network.
Make sure you have Wi-Fi turned ON in the Android SETTINGS app/Wireless and Network/Wi-Fi settings, and have the "WiFi" and "Network notification" boxes checked. In this settings page you will see the WiFi networks within range. If a lock icon is displayed, you need a password to join that network. Once you enter the correct password, your phone will remember it and join that network automatically the next time you are within range.
When streaming over your mobile provider's data network (not WiFi) figure roughly 28 MB (MegaBytes) per hour of streaming on 3G at the 64kbps data rate.
Therefore, a 200 MB data plan would only allow about 8 hours of streaming on 3G at 64kbps, i.e. not much. If you can afford the extra $/month for a 2 GB/month data plan, you will have 10x the headroom. You would be able to stream approximately 70 hours/month over 3G.
FOR MORE INFORMATION about our services or app for Android, please email help@hos.com
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
We're also working toward a full-featured version of our Android app. That said, it's not that simple to do, and it will arrive in stages. The most optimistic estimate of when the full archive access version will be released is the first half of 2012. In between, there will be intermediate versions offering multiple live streams similar to the current "All Archive Channel" based on our various genres, plus access to MY PLAYLISTS for ALL ARCHIVE ACCESS subscribers.
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
Each mobile session is limited to 12 hours. When your session expires you will need to Sign Out from the home page, and then Sign In again.
LONG PAUSE -- if you put the player on extended pause your session clock is still ticking...it may even lock up the player and possibly the app. Should this happen you will need to close the app and open it again.
SLEEP BACKGROUND MUSIC
If you wish to dock your mobile device and play HoS music as you go to sleep, the best thing is to Sign Out before you go to bed, then Sign In again. That will give you a fresh 12 hour session and the All Archive Channel will play through the night.
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
We've fnished developing an Android app to mirror the functions of our iPhone app. Also the existing HOS.com website works on Android phones with Flash Lite running the operating system 2.2 or later.
This means that some Android users who already have HOS accounts can just use the site as they would on their desktops. If you're not blocking popups on your phone, you can also create or manage your account.
Two caveats:
1. It's sharp as a tack but really really.....tiny. We plan to build a mobile version of our web site in the future. And we'll reformat our Flash player for the mobile screen at the same time.
2. Closing the Android web browser kills the audio (i.e. no background operation), since the streaming player is embedded in the mobile browser.
For more info or personal assistance, please write to help@hos.com. A helpful human will contact you with 24 hours, usually much less.
We hear you, too. You Blackberry users have started to lobby us for a BB app (vs. iPhoners who started pressing us two years ago.) It's a little daunting. From starting out as radio program producers, we're now being transformed into a specialty software developer who does an app called Hearts of Space.
We understand that this is where our growth is going to come from and are committed to doing as much as we can as fast as we can. However, we have learned that building quality software takes time and care, so please be patient. Watch our NEWS Blog for periodic updates.
Click MY ACCOUNT at the top of the website and choose 'Change Account Information.'
Click MY ACCOUNT at the top of the website (enter your existing email address and password if you are not already signed in). Choose 'Change Account Information' from the MY ACCOUNT window. Type your new email address over the old one. You may also change your password here or leave it as it is. Click 'Save Changes. (If you click 'Return,' no changes will be saved.) Once you click 'Save Changes' you can verify the changes in My Account. The new email address becomes your new SIGN IN immediately.
Once you've registered or created an account, it's never necessary to create a new account. You can view, update, change, manage or cancel your account anytime by clicking MY ACCOUNT in the main menu bar. When you purchase or upgrade an Access Plan, the features of your plan are simply incorporated into your existing account.
Your email address is your User ID on the service. Please use a valid email address - your account is tied to it. Your email address is the only way we have to communicate with you about your account to avoid service interruptions due to failed payment transactions, outdated payment information, etc. We never sell, rent, give, or share your email address with anyone else.
Click MY ACCOUNT at the top of the website. In the My Account window, choose 'Manage Subscriptions.' Click the Cancel link next to any Active subscription. This changes the subscription's Status to 'ToBeCancelled.' This means the subscription won't renew at its next 'bill date.' If you change your mind before then, you may click the link to 'Reconnect' the subscription and it will renew normally, without interruption, as scheduled on the 'Billed Until' date.
'ToBeCancelled' status stops future billing and causes the subscription to expire instead of renew at its next bill date. You can continue to use your canceled subscription until it expires on its next 'bill date.' No refunds are due or issued for subscriptions cancelled after their 'bill date' unless the cancellation is part of an upgrade of access.
Please do not email and ask us to cancel your subscription for you. Cancellation is a secured transaction that must be initiated and confirmed by you, through the system, the same way you initiated access. You will receive an email at your registered email address confirming your cancellation. If you do not receive an email confirmation shortly after canceling your subscription, please return to My Account and check the status of your subscription. If you can't confirm your cancellation, please email us at help@hos.com.
The only time a credit or refund will be issued for unused time on an Access Plan is if you upgrade your Plan, that is, if you change from one Access Plan to a more expensive Access Plan.
It is not necessary to cancel a one-time billing access plan; it will simply expire when its term ends and no further billing will occur.
Shortly before your credit card expiration date, our system will send an email to your registered email address, asking you to update your expiration date. Please follow the directions in the message to update your expiration date. Or SIGN IN to MY ACCOUNT > 'Manage payment information' or MY ACCOUNT > 'Manage Subscriptions.'
The best method to update payment card information depends on whether or not you have an Active subscription. In either case, please click MY ACCOUNT.
a) If you have an active Current Subscription, please click 'Manage Subscriptions.' In the Subscriptions window, click the link under 'Credit Card' (even if it's really a debit card). The link shown is the name or nickname you gave the payment method when you entered it. The next window is headed 'Select a payment method.' Click the Edit link next to the 'Existing Card' you wish to change. In the 'Credit Card Details' window, type the new information over any old or outdated information. Be sure there's a check next to 'Use this card for all of my existing subscriptions and open invoices.' Click the Update button to save your changes and make them effective.
b) If you use one-time billing or do not have an active Current Subscription, please click 'Manage Payment Methods' in My Account. In the window headed 'Payment methods on file,' you may remove any inactive card data or edit any card data by clicking the appropriate 'Remove' or 'Edit' link next to the card. Or you may add a new card by clicking the 'Add card' button. The following window, headed 'Credit Card details,' allows you to check a box to 'Use this card for all of my existing subscriptions and open invoices.' Click 'Update' to save your changes when you're done.
The system will not allow a payment card to be deleted if it's the designated payment method for an active subscription. If you have an active subscription and want to change the card to which it is billed, please follow the instructions to update or change your debit or credit card.
All billing and payment issues are handled by our own Customer Support. The best way to reach us is by email to help@hos.com. Or call 415-499-9901 x10 anytime and leave a voice message, including your registered email address and current email address if different. If you want someone to call you back, be sure to leave your phone number(s) and best times to reach you.
If you travel with a laptop, or can access an internet connection on any other computer where you're going, you can SIGN IN and use the service wherever you are. If you have Prepaid Access Time, you are charged for streaming minutes only when you use them. They'll wait patiently until you return. For regular subscribers, there's unfortunately no provision for 'suspending' subscriptions while you're away.
The extra $2 charge from us is a temporary artifact of pre-authorizing your credit/debit card before accepting it into our e-commerce system and "creating a profile" for it. It's not a "real" charge, and it will disappear shortly. How long that takes depends on whether you are using a credit or a debit card, and your card issuer's policies and practices.
On credit cards, the $2 pre-authorization charge appears only online, never in a final monthly statement, and you never have to pay it. It may temporarily decrease your "available credit," but it will not be included in any balance due for actual payment.
For debit cards, the $2 should show in your bank account online as a "pending" charge. The money is not actually taken from your account -- it is never credited to us -- though your bank may deduct it from your available balance. This depends on their policies regarding pre-authorizations. How long it takes to reverse the $2 charge is also up to your bank. When our payment processor submits your actual purchase for approval and payment, that submission contains a request to void the pre-authorization $2. We have no control over the time it takes your bank to do this in your account. They process the "real" charge immediately, but they may defer voiding the $2, depending on their policies for money "on hold." Contact them if the $2 charge doesn't disappear in a day or two. Also contact them if you incur overdraft charges because of the $2 charge. They should credit those charges back to you, because the funds never actually left your account.
Why we use this method that incurs these $2 pre-authorization charges
Pre-authorization is required of merchants performing many or primarily "card not present" transactions or performing recurring billing (automatic renewals). We do both. Recurring billing requires that a "profile" be created for a card kept on file for future transactions. The card must be pre-authorized in order to create this profile. By definition, the pre-authorization is not the same as a purchase transaction, and cannot employ the purchase amount. We don't make these rules, and they're not negotiable. We have a merchant account in good standing with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, with an impeccable record going back to 1983 when we used to sell cassette tapes and, later, CDs via mail order. As our business activities moved online, we've had to keep up with the highest levels of standards and practices required by our merchant bank, the credit card companies, our online payment gateway processor (VeriSign), and our e-commerce services provider (Irdeto, formerly known as Entriq).
We accept all debit and credit cards displaying a Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover logo.
We also will accept a personal check or money order only for a one-year plan paid in advance. Make your check payable to "Hearts of Space" and mail it to Hearts of Space, 454 Las Gallinas #333, San Rafael, CA 94903. When the check clears our bank we'll issue a credit to your HoS account which you can use to purchase your plan.
If you have further questions, please write to help@hos.com.
Access plans allow you to stream content from our service. There are six plans available. For prices, please see our ACCESS PLANS SUMMARY page. Except where noted, Access Plans are available for a term of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year, with or without recurring billing:
Unlimited on-demand 24/7 interactive service. Full content includes The Weekly Show, The Radio Channel, our complete Archive of radio PROGRAMS, ALBUMS and TRACKS, plus all other interactive features like playlists and voiceover on/off. You may purchase a 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, or 1-year term, with or without recurring billing.
A continuous, non-interactive stream of HOS radio programs, one after the other, no need to click or make selections--like EIGHT (8) different all-HOS radio stations. Tune in any time, listen as long as you like. The stream will run continuously for up to eight hours after SIGN IN; after that, you have to SIGN IN and start the stream again.
The RADIO CHANNEL draws randomly on the entire archive, eliminating seasonally and thematically inappropriate programs until their time of year comes around. When you SIGN IN, you will hear whatever is playing at the time. You can SIGN OFF whenever you like. You may stop the stream at any time, but you cannot pause it and return to where it was when you left off. After stopping, you re-enter the stream at its current point. You may not rewind or fast forward the RADIO CHANNEL. (For these and other interactive features, please access our Archive of radio PROGRAMS, ALBUMS, and album TRACKS.)
Hear the current program any time, as often as you like, each week. Program changes every Friday.
Our Weekly Program on Sundays ONLY from midnight Eastern to midnight Pacific Time (GMT-5 to GMT-8, 27 hours total). All you have to do is SIGN UP. Then visit our site on Sunday. During the FREE time window, click on the tab for 'THIS WEEK'S SHOW' in the player. To play the show, click the PLAY triangle to the left of the title of the show, sit back, and enjoy the music.
3 days of All Archive Access on-demand streaming. Includes all interactive features and all content. The UNLIMITED 3 DAY PASS is a one-time charge: billing does not recur.
Prepaid Minutes are a unique feature of our website only (they don't work in our mobile apps or on Sonos). Prepaid Minutes enable you to buy streaming access time in blocks of 10 or 15 hours and use them at your leisure. Billing is non-recurring--no subscription.
Your credit or debit card is charged once and 600 or 900 minutes of prepaid access time is credited to your account. The system tracks your actual usage and deducts it as you stream. Your remaining minutes are displayed when you SIGN IN or in MY ACCOUNT > 'Time remaining.'
When your minutes go to zero, the system ends your access to everything but free content. To continue your usage, purchase more Access Time or a different Access Plan.
Minutes are deducted only for actual streaming time, not for browsing while not listening or while the player is paused. Once you SIGN IN minutes are deducted for ALL streaming, whether you hear only a short sample or listen to a selection all the way through 'and regardless of any other Access Plan(s) you may have.
Some users want to know the really granular details about how prepaid minutes are charged. A minute is a long time to a computer, so they actually are tracked and charged by the second. When you purchase prepaid access time, say, 900 minutes, the system credits your account with 54,000 seconds (60 seconds in a minute x 900 minutes). If you already have some time, it's added to what's already there. As you stream, the player reports to the server. When you stop, the total number of seconds you've streamed are deducted from the number of seconds in your account. When you reach zero, the server tells the player you've run out of time.
Prepaid Minutes do not work in our apps for Android phones or iOS devices - iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch - or in Sonos. They work only on our own website, used via a standard web browser on your laptop or desktop computer.
When you sign in and request to stream music, our servers check first to see if you have a term plan to cover the type of music you want to hear (THIS WEEK'S SHOW, CHANNELS, a PROGRAM or ALBUM from our archives, a personal PLAYLIST). If you have a term plan, your prepaid minutes are not charged for music available to that level of service. If you do not have an applicable term plan, the system either uses your prepaid minutes, if you have any, or gives you a 30 second sample, because you have no access to the full selection you've requested.
You may combine Prepaid Minutes with other Access Plans, such as BASIC or STANDARD service. Your minutes will not be charged for listening to music you have access to under a plan like BASIC or STANDARD service. However, your minutes will be charged for all listening not covered by your other access plan.
One more word of advice: be careful when streaming CHANNELS using Prepaid Minutes; remember to turn it off before going to sleep or leaving the room :-)
You may customize your access by combining plans. For example, you may successfully combine Budget, Basic, or Standard service on the one hand, with Prepaid Minutes, on the other - as long as you don't expect to use Prepaid Minutes in our apps or on Sonos (Prepaid Minutes work only on our website accessed from your laptop or desktop computer). Our servers will first check to see if you have term-based access to the music you're trying to play. If so, your Prepaid Minutes are not charged; if not, they look to and decrease your Prepaid Minutes, if any. It is not necessary to combine term plans - Budget, Basic, Standard, and Full service - as each higher level of service includes all the access and features of the lower service level.
We understand that listeners have different preferences with regard to billing and subscription policy so we offer two billing options: with recurring billing and one-time billing. For more information please read about our policies, recurring billing and one-time billing plans.
One time billing is a purchase of an access plan for a set term. Period. No automatic renewals, no recurring billing. Your credit or debit card is charged once at the beginning of the term you choose: 1 month (AAA only), 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year. At the end of the term, your access ends. To continue your service, purchase the same or a different access plan after your first plan ends. To cancel your service, do nothing; the access plan works and remains available during its full term, then it expires at the end of the term you chose. To view the details of your one-time billing transaction(s), please click MY ACCOUNT, 'View Purchase History.'
Recurring billing means the same as automatic renewal. Choose a 1 month (AAA only), 3 month, 6 month, or 1 year term; your credit card is charged at the time of purchase and automatically billed at the term interval until after you cancel your plan. Renewal is automatic and there is no advance notice (our transaction provider doesn't offer this, sorry). You get a receipt for the transaction by email after it occurs, or a notice if there's any difficulty.
Purchasing a subscription with recurring billing authorizes the first and all future transactions. Your card is billed when you purchase your subscription, and then automatically every month (AAA only), 3 months, 6 months or year thereafter on the same day of the month as your initial purchase. This date becomes your 'bill date'.
Your initial purchase establishes a 'bill date,' the day of the month the transaction occurred. Future renewals occur on that day of the month. For example, if you purchase a 6 month recurring billing access plan on the 10th of May, your next renewal will occur automatically on November 10. If you cancel your subscription before November 10, no renewal will occur and your access will end on your next bill date, November 10 in this example. To see your 'bill date,' please click MY ACCOUNT and then 'Manage Subscriptions,' where you will see the date your subscription is 'Billed Until,' along with the credit or debit card your renewals are billed to, the price, and your subscription status.
Access plans with recurring billing (automatic renewals) appear as 'Current Subscriptions.' To view one-time billing transactions or discontinued subscriptions, click 'View Purchase History.' There you will see all purchases made from your account, whether one-time billing, or recurring billing and renewals.
In MY ACCOUNT, click 'View Purchase History' to see the history of all your subscription purchases, automatic renewals, and all other purchases from our site, such as Gift Certificates.'[ top ]
You may change from one ACCESS PLAN to another at any time by simply purchasing the new plan you want. However, to receive a credit for unused time on your old plan, you must upgrade your plan, that is, purchase a higher value (more expensive) access plan, and you must notify us of the upgrade--the system isn't 'smart enough' to detect this automatically.
An upgrade occurs when you switch to a higher-value access plan from a lower value access plan. However, upgrades are not automatic; we have to help you personally. To receive a credit for the unused portion of your previous (less expensive) plan, purchase the new plan, cancel your old plan in MY ACCOUNT (if it is recurring billing), and send an email to help@hos.com telling us you've upgraded. We will disconnect your previous (less expensive) plan and give you a credit for its remaining, unused portion. We will not issue credits or refunds for two plans running simultaneously unless you tell us about your upgrade and cancel your less expensive plan within a reasonable time of purchasing the new plan. If you do not receive an email from us telling you the amount of your credit within 24 hours of telling us about your upgrade, please contact us again.
Sorry, no credits or refunds are issued for downgrading your Access Plan Plan--that is, for moving from one Access Plan to another of lesser value. To downgrade your plan, cancel your plan if it is a recurring subscription, and wait for it to expire. When it expires, purchase the less expensive Access Plan.
Sometimes the communication between our servers and your computer goes awry. To get things back in synch, please do this general purpose "reset" of our service on your machine. Follow the directions for your browser, then continue at the bottom of the entry, after the browser sections:
First, close any HOS window.
Have a blank window open or go to google.com or yahoo.com -- anywhere except HOS.com. Then, in
Firefox 3.5+:
under the Tools menu, select "Clear Recent History..."
In the "Clear Recent History" window, select Everything as the time frame.
If no Details are showing, click the down pointing arrow to reveal them.
Under Details, select (check) only Cookies and Cache (uncheck everything else).
Then click "Clear Now."
Firefox before v3.5:
In Windows XP, Vista, or Linux, click the Tools menu, then select Options
On a Mac, under the Firefox menu, select Preferences.
Then...
Select the Privacy tab
In the Private Data section, click Settings...
Uncheck everything except do check Cache and Cookies, the click OK
In the Private Data section of Privacy Options, click Clear Now...
Click OK (closes Options window).
INTERNET EXPLORER 7:
Under the Tools Menu, select Internet Options, then the General Tab.
Under Browsing History, click Delete...
Then click Delete Files... and confirm by clicking Yes.
Then click Delete Cookies...and confirm by clicking Yes.
Click Close, then OK in the Internet Options box.
INTERNET EXPLORER 8:
From the Tools menu, select Delete Browsing History...
In the window that opens, check only Temporary Internet Files and Cookies.
All other checkboxes should be blank.
Click Delete.
Safari 3:
Under the Safari menu, click Empty Cache
Under the Safari menu, again, click Preferences
In the Security tab, click Show Cookies
In the Spotlight window, type hos.com
Click Remove All (to delete the found cookies)
In the Spotlight window, type entriq (our technology and e-commerce provider)
Click Remove All.
Click Done.
Close Security/Preferences window.
Safari 4+:
Under the Safari menu, select Reset Safari...
Uncheck everything except
"Empty the cache" and "Remove all cookies"
Click Reset.
Chrome:
Under the Tools menu (the wrench icon in the upper right of the Chrome window),
select Clear browsing data...
In the Clear browsing data window, UNcheck everything except Empty the Cache and Delete Cookies.
Select Everything from the drop down menu for "Clear data from this period"
Click Clear Browsing Data.
After you do this, return to HOS.com.
The site should greet you as "Welcome Guest."
If so, please sign in and enjoy the music.
You can do this routine every once in a while as preventive "good mousekeeping."
If the site doesn't greet you as "Guest," or the same difficulty continues, do the above again and then the following:
- click Refresh in the far upper left of our site or the Refresh button in your browser
- Exit/Quit your browser, wait 30 seconds, then come back to HOS.com
- Exit/Quit your browser, SHUT DOWN your machine and wait 30 seconds before rebooting.
Once the site greets you as "Guest," sign in and enjoy the music.
If you can't get the site to greet you as "Guest," or if you continue to have difficulty, write to help@hos.com and let us know.
To empty browser cache, please close any HOS window.
Have a blank window open or go to google.com or yahoo.com --
anywhere except HOS.com. Then, follow these directions for your web browser:
Empty browser cache in Firefox (3.5 and later):
At the top of the Firefox window, click the Tools menu, then select Clear Recent History.
Uncheck everything except Cache, and click Clear Now.
Empty browser cache in Safari:
Under the Safari menu, click Empty Cache, then click Empty.
Delete temporary internet files (same as empty browser cache) in INTERNET EXPLORER 7:
Under the Tools Menu, select Internet Options, then the General Tab.
Under Browsing History, click Delete...
Then click Delete Files... and confirm by clicking Yes.
Click Close, then OK in the Internet Options box.
If all is not well now, please write to us using this pdf to find and tell us what version you're using of
a) our player
b) the Adobe Flash Player
c) your operating system -- Windows XP, Vista, Mac OS X, Linux, including the specific version as illustrated in this pdf, which tells you where to find this information.
d) your web browser -- IE7, Chrome, Firefox, or Safari
Sending a screen shot of our site would be very helpful as well.
To clear cache and cookies, please close any HOS window.
Have a blank window open or go to google.com or yahoo.com --
anywhere except HOS.com. Then, follow these directions for your web browser:
Clear cache and cookies in Firefox 3.5 and later:
At the top of the Firefox window, click the Tools menu, then select Clear Recent History...
Under Time Range to Clear, select Everything.
Under Details, select Cookies and Cache.
Click Clear Now.
Clear cache & cookies in Firefox (before v3.5):
Click the Tools menu, then select Options
Select the Privacy tab
In the Private Data section, click Settings...
Uncheck everything except do check Cache and Cookies, the click OK
In the Private Data section of Privacy Options, click Clear Now...
Click OK (closes Options window).
Clear cache & cookies in INTERNET EXPLORER 8 (if you're on IE6 or IE7 let us know):
Under the Tools Menu, select Clear Recent History...
Under Time and Range to Clear, click Everything.
Undet Details, check Cache and Cookies.
Click Clear Now.
Empty browser cache & delete cookies in Safari:
Under the Safari menu, click Reset Safari
Check Empty the Cache and Remove All Cookies.
Uncheck everything else.
Click Reset.
After you do this, Exit/Quit your browser. Wait at least 30 seconds, then restart, and come back to HOS.com. The site should greet you as "Guest." If not, go back and do the procedure again. Make sure that you do not have HOS.com open in any browser window or tab when you empty cache and/or delete cookies.
Sometimes we update our player but your browser hangs on to the old version that no longer communicates properly with our servers.
Empty your browser cache exactly as below to resolve this:
Close any HOS window. Have a blank window open or go to google.com or yahoo.com -- anywhere except HOS.com. Then, follow the directions for your web browser:
In Internet Explorer:
Under the Tools Menu, select Internet Options, then theGeneral Tab.
Under Browsing History, click Delete...
Then clickDelete Files... and confirm by clicking Yes.
Click Close, then OK in the Internet Options box.
In Safari: Under the Safari menu, click Empty Cache
In Firefox: Click the Tools menu, then select Clear Private Data.
Uncheck everything except Cache, and click Clear Private Data Now.
Firefox users should also check their add ons. If Adblock, Adblock Plus, and/or NoScript are installed, each must be disabled for hos.com. If Firefox has been updated recently, you may have to re-disable these by turning them off completely. See our entries for troubleshooting in Firefox.
If this fails to correct the problem, let us know at help@hos.com.
Please SIGN IN. The site 'remembers' you from your last sign in session, but to give you full streams it has to check with our secure server, and this requires you to SIGN IN. You know you're signed in when the SIGN IN link in the upper right corner of the site says SIGN OUT.
Click to PLAY your selection. After you SIGN IN, the 30 second sample indication may still display and disappear when you actually click to Play the music.
If you still get samples instead of full streams, check MY ACCOUNT to make sure your subscription hasn't expired (link to MY ACCOUNT is next to HELP in user services area, upper right of site).
If your subscription is Active or ToBeCancelled (but not yet expired), or if you have purchased a one-time billing Access Plan that is not yet expired, please click the RESET link in the far upper left of the site.
If you still get only 30 second samples after resetting, please empty your browser cache using the directions from the first entry in this Help! section, "EMPTY BROWSER CACHE--troubleshooting first aid."
Afterwards all will be well. Let us know at help@hos.com if any difficulties persist.
Sometimes users ask if we've lowered our bitrate or decreased our audio quality, especially for free streams. Emphatically, the answer is NO!
The audio quality you hear is controlled to a great degree by a your bandwidth -- the speed or size of your internet connection at the time you SIGN IN to HOS.com. When you SIGN IN, our website not only identifies you and your streaming rights; it also measures the speed of your internet connection and during that sign in session sends you the largest, highest quality stream your connection can handle (128K, 64K, or 28K AACplus [mp4]).
If ever it seems that the audio quality of our site is less than it should be, your bandwidth may have been at a low ebb when our bandwidth test occurred, and you're getting a lower bitrate stream than you're used to. To correct this, SIGN OUT, wait a beat, and SIGN IN again. That will initiate a new bandwidth test. If your internet connection has returned to its normal, higher speed, you'll get higher bitrate files during the new session.
The other thing that can affect streaming audio quality is graphic equalizer software. If you use this type of software, either disable it, turn it off, or return all the settings to flat (centerline) on the sound control panel.
Sorry you're having this difficulty. Most cases of dropped connections over broadband involve wifi -- wireless streaming via a wireless router on your network. Simply put, the answer is to get a stronger wifi signal to your computer. Here's why, how to test, and what to do:
To start play quickly, we initially buffer only 10 seconds of stream. For reliability, once play has started we open the buffer much wider to hold 10 minutes of stream data. We also track the stream: if the 10 minute buffer is depleted three times, the player notifies you and swaps to a lower bitrate. This explains why you might have a stream stop after 25-30 minutes of play.
The standard notice you get refers to your bandwidth being too low. In the case of a wireless broadband connection, the issue is not so much reduced bandwidth per se as it is the wifi connection dropping out because the router is at the outer limits of its range where the signal is very sporadic.
To see if this is the case for you, please try streaming with your computer much closer to the wifi router (i.e., in the same room). If this eliminates the dropouts, the solution is a stronger wifi signal for your computer.
To get better wifi coverage for the area in which your computer is located, you can
a) move the computer and/or the router
b) get a more robust router
c) add a booster antenna to your wirlesss router or
d) add an additional router to boost your wifi signal.
For more assistance or information about this issue, please write to help@hos.com.
After a prolonged PAUSE some users report that our new Flash Media Player won't resume play. Some can see the time counter moving, but there's no sound.
The player actually has muted itself:
Click the mute icon -- that little speaker to the left of the volume control bar -- to make it sound again.
This is a known bug in some versions of the Flash Media Player software (not in our player or our code), especially in combination with some browsers and operating systems. It is more likely to occur when using Internet Explorer v6, Firefox v3 before 3.0.6, and on Macs.
Please update your browser to its latest release, then do the same for Adobe Flash Player:
IE6 users should upgrade to IE7 if possible--for many other reasons, too, then update Flash Player to the latest release. Learn about why you should upgrade:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-us/help/a426bb85-708c-4b75-87e2-874f9be3b4aa1033.mspx
Get the upgrade, free, from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx
Firefox users should get the latest release 3.0.6 from Mozilla before updating Flash Player, as it contains some fixes for Firefox relating to this problem and Flash player as well:
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/?from=getfirefox
Everyone experiencing this problem should updateFlash Player from Adobe to the very latest release, and keep current with new releases as they occur:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=DXLUJ
Let us know at help@hos.com if you have any questions.
If you get a red error message saying Your email address or password is incorrect, please try again, and you try again but get the same error: even though you haven't forgotten your password, please click "I forgot my password."
That triggers an email to your registered email address. The email contains a link and an expiration date. Click the link before it expires, then reset or refresh your password in the window that opens. After that, you should be able to SIGN IN and OUT freely.
If not, or if the situation recurs -- your password stops working again, and perhaps again -- please write to help@hos.com and let us know. Our techs are currently researching this problem: an account's password stops working for no apparent reason, is reset, but stops again.
We don't yet know why this happens, only that it mainly affects registered email addresses imported into the current system in 2005 from our original Real Audio service. These accounts have a different type of UserId. Some interaction between the current system and the data structure of these older accounts is not working as it should over time. We hope to have the problem resolved shortly. In the meantime, if password resets become annoying we can help move you into a new account without this annoying legacy.
Sorry for this inconvenience. Your email client is adding a space or break to our technology provider's link to reset your password. No one knows why this happens occasionally, and we agree it is very annoying! Write to help@hos.com and tell us your registered email address and that you're getting this error. We'll fix it asap or escalate it to higher techs if we can't.
The up-arrow icon next to SIGN IN/OPUT in the far upper right of the screen is the ""minimize player" or "roll up player" icon. Click it to create more room under the player for viewing tables (especially Favorites) and PGM DETAILS.
After you minimize or "roll up" over the player this way, the icon changes to a down-arrow.
Click that down-arrow to return the player to its normal, maximized size.
You can also use the Zoom function in your browser:
Control - (minus or hyphen) to zoom out,
Control + (plus) to zoom in,
Control 0 (zero) to reset to default or start.
If Zoom Out doesn't give you enough room, or it makes the type too small for you to read, here are some other ways to gain more useable space:
1. Turn off all third party toolbars and add ons that appear above the browser, between the browser and the top of your screen.
2. Turn off the Status Bar at the bottom of the browser window (this gives back about 3/8").
3. Turn off the Navigation bar (in Firefox only, this gains about 1/2").
4. Turn off the Menu bar (3/8" to 1/2" gain).
There are usually keyboard commands or other shortcuts to regain these controls or views when you want them.
There are two separate and distinct messages that you might get about the unexpected or unwanted end of play or connection to the server:
1) Your session has timed out after 12 hours. Please login again to continue listening.
Our service allows a twelve-hour session from the time you SIGN IN. When you SIGN IN you start a 12-hour session. If you neither SIGN OUT nor close our window or tab, and you come back before your first session expires, you resume an unfinished session, and your current session seems to end early.
When you're done listening or leave your computer, it's best to close the HOS.com window or tab, or SIGN OUT. In either case, you get a "fresh session" when you return. If you close the HOS.com window or tab, you invoke automatic SIGN IN: you're automatically signed in when you return. If you SIGN OUT, you have to SIGN IN manually when you return. Users of shared or public computers should SIGN OUT when they're done, to make sure no one else uses HOS.com from your account.
When your session does time out after 12 hours, there is no automatic reconnection. You have to (and should be able to) sign in again and resume streaming. (The session length is not to limit streaming, just to prevent unattended streams from running for prolonged periods.)
If you want to extend a session after you've already listened for a while, just SIGN OUT and SIGN IN again and you're good to go for another 12 hours.
2) Your connection to the media server has dropped, please click OK to reconnect.
This error message gives you an opportunity for a one-click reconnection (followed by another click to confirm). This disconnection is not from a session that ends. It occurs because your internet connection dropped out, or dropped so low in bandwidth that Flash Media Player (FMP) with dynamic buffering couldn't keep its connection to the server over the 'net.
Internet connections are not always continuous even when they're supposed to be. Broadband connections are "persistent" but not always "continuous." Bandwidth also varies throughout the day for various reasons completely outside our or your control.
If you have DSL broadband, for example, your actual bandwidth depends on how far you are from your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) central office; how many other people share the connection; and the total load (demand for bandwidth) at any given time. If your bandwidth drops low enough, or if your internet connection experiences a "drop out," Flash Media Player (FMP) disconnects unexpectedly from Flash Media Server (FMS). Our FMS sends you a message asking if you want to reconnect. Your SIGN IN session isn't affected by this. (Unless coincidentally your session expires during the time you're disconnected from the Flash Media Server.)
If you are streaming over a wireless connection to the internet, pleae read our Help entry (above) Dropped Connection over WiFi, and be sure your computer is well within the range of your wireless router.
If these interruptions are frequent, check your actual bandwidth at different times of day over several days. We like http://www.speedtest.net because it tracks your results over time and is quick and fun to use. Then send these results to your ISP. You're paying for a steady internet connection and you should have it. If it's not steady enough to sustain the FMP/FMS connection, your ISP has a problem to fix. It may take a bit of effort on your part but the results are well worth the effort.
We hope these disconnection messages now make more sense. If you have session timeouts closer together than 12 hours from SIGN IN, please document the timing and let us know. If your internet connection drops frequently enough to bother you, please contact your ISP.
We're happy to provide information and assistance whenever you write in to help@hos.com.
Enjoy the music with our thanks for subscribing and supporting Hearts of Space!
The center part of the page that doesn't load is our new custom Flash Media Audio Player. Something on your computer or network is preventing it from connecting to our Flash steaming server. Try these actions, in order:
1. Clear browser cache and cookies -- do the routine for your browser described in FIRST AID -- DO THIS FIRST (above). This may clear the block and the player will load. If not...
2. Clear Flash Storage: Using the browser you use for HOS.com, navigate to this web page:
http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html
Once the site loads fully, click "Delete all sites," then click to Confirm.
This clears data saved in your Flash player only, not in your general web browser.
Now come back to HOS.com and see if our player loads.
If not, Click HERE to email us for help. Please tell us if you're at home or on a corporate or institutional network. We'll reply within 24 hours.
If your system date and time is inaccurate, you may not be able to SIGN IN or maintain your session on our service. (A slow clock makes your session expire too soon or even before it begins. A fast clock signs you in tomorrow or next month but you want to stream now.) So, to insure smooth, secure communication, our server tests your time setting every time you SIGN IN.
You might have the wrong time for two reasons: the time is set wrong, or the time zone is set wrong. If your computer clock agrees with your wall clock, but the time zone is incorrect, when your computer talks to our server their communication won't sync up and we won't be able to send you data securely.
On modern systems, the best way to set the computer's clock is to properly set the time zone and daylight savings rule (respect DST or not), and then set the computer to synchronize to Internet time. Windows boxes living on a corporate domain usually sync to that domain's time (which should sync to the internet time servers). Older versions of Windows don't have any easy way to sync the clock to the Internet; and some firewalls block the network time protocol (NTP). In those cases, you have to set your system clock manually.
Under the START menu, choose Control Panel. Then click Date, Time, Language and Regional Options, then Date & Time. In the Date and Time Properties window, set the correct Time Zone in the pulldown menu on the Time Zone tab. Then correct the date and time by clicking the Internet Time tab and then "Update Now." To keep your system clock accurate, it's a good idea to check (yes) to "Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server."
Under the Apple menu, select System Preferences. In the System section, select Date & Time. Select the Date & Time tab. Make sure there IS a check next to 'Set date & time automatically:' and choose the correct Apple time synchronization (Apple America, Apple Asia, Apple Europe). Select the Time Zone tab. Select the Closest City from the dropdown menu. Close the Date & Time preferences window.
If something doesn't look right on our site, please send us an image of your screen and an image of our window on your screen. Here's how:
Send an image of your entire screen as it appears on your monitor:
- Open a new document or email message, or create a reply to a message we sent you.
- Press PRINT SCREEN.
- Paste the image into the document or email message: click document or message, then the Paste command (Control+V) or choose Paste from the Edit menu.
- If you've created a document, Save the document (Command+S), close it, and attach it to the email message.
Send an image of the active window -- ours -- as it appears on your monitor:
- Open a new document or email message, or create a reply to a message we sent you.
- Click the window containing our site (this makes it the active window).
- Press ALT+PRINT SCREEN.
- Paste the image into the document or email message: click the document or message, then the Paste command (Control+V) or choose Paste from the Edit menu.
- If you've created a document, Save the document (Command+S), close it, and attach it to the email message.
If something doesn't look right on our site, please send us an image of your screen and an image of our window on your screen. Here's how:
To send a screen shot of the entire screen as it appears on your monitor, open a new email message or create a Reply to one we sent you.
- Click Command (Apple Key) - Control - Shift - 3. That captures your entire screen to an image on your clipboard (you hear a camera click).
To paste that image into an email message, click the place in the email message where you want to insert the image, then choose Paste from the Edit Menu or press Command (Apple Key) - V.
To capture a selected part of your screen to an image on your clipboard, click Command - Control - Shift - 4. That turns the cursor into a cross-hairs.
Click and drag the cross-hairs to select the portion of the screen you want to copy.
When you release the click-drag, the image copies to the clipboard (you hear a camera click).
To paste the image into the email message, click the insert point in the message, then choose Paste from the Edit menu, or click Command (Apple Key) - V.
You can help us help answer your question or resolve your issue better and faster the more specific you are when you write in. Please describe the problem in as much detail as you can: What were you trying to do? What specifically did you do or click? What happened or didn't happen? (You can't break the player by clicking on it, so don't worry about saying what you did!)
Also, please tell us the name and version of your web browser:
On Windows, either Internet Explorer 7, IE6, or Firefox 2 or 3
On Macs, either Safari 2 or 3, or Firefox 2 or 3
If your issue concerns the Flash player, please use this pdf to find and tell us what version you're using of
a) our player
b) the Adobe Flash Player, and
c) your operating system -- Windows or Mac, and the specific version as illustrated in this pdf, which tells you where to find this information.
If you're trying to listen to Hearts of Space on your computer on a Windows system, and you see the message "Trying to connect on port: 1935" and it stops at this message - chances are something on your computer or your network is blocking the Flash Player stream.
To help us help you troubleshoot this problem, please download this file:
Open the file HOS_CONNECTION_DEBUGGER.exe after downloading it.
Let it run for 5 minutes.
It will try to connect with our Flash streaming server and show a record of the results. After 5 minutes, please copy and paste the report results into a new email message to webmaster@hos.com. We'll analyze the report and reply back to you. Thank you!
In the menu area at the top of the Internet Explorer v7 (IE7) window, click the Tools button.
In the list that appears, choose Internet Options. In the window that opens, the General tab will be the first tab displayed.
Select the Security tab. In the "Security level for this zone" section, click and raise the slider bar to High.
Click the Default Level button below the slider bar. The slider should now read Medium-high.
Select the Privacy tab. In the "Settings" section, click and raise the slider bar to High.
Click the Default button below the slider bar. The slider should now read Medium.
In the lower portion of the Privacy tab, make sure there is NO check next to "Turn on Pop-up blocker."
If there is a check, remove it, then click Apply when it becomes available.
Click the OK button at the bottom of the Internet Options window.
Exit and restart Internet Explorer for your changes to take effect.
Navigate back to our website, and let us know at help@hos.com if you need further assistance.
Please make sure your settings in IE7 match our requirements.
See "Settings for Internet Explorer 7" above.
Please delete cookies and temporary files (basic computer 'mousekeeping' needs doing from time to time):
Launch Internet Explorer 7 and navigate to google.com or yahoo.com--anywhere EXCEPT our site, hos.com.
In the menu area at the top of the Internet Explorer v7 (IE7) window, click the Tools button.
In the list that appears, choose Internet Options.
In the window that opens, the General tab will be the first tab displayed.
Select the General tab.
In the "Browsing history" section, click the Delete' button.
In the window that opens: Click the Delete Files button, and click Yes to confirm.
Click the Delete Cookies button, then click Yes to confirm.
Click the Close button.
Click OK to close the Internet Options window.
Exit and restart Internet Explorer for your changes to take effect.
Navigate back to hos.com, and let us know at help@hos.com if you need further assistance.
When you return to the site, it should NOT greet you by name.
If it still greets you by name, you haven't deleted all your old 'stale' cookies, so go back and do that part again.
If you're still having difficulty signing in or making a purchase, try adding our our URLs to Security and Privacy Settings in IE7:
In the menu area at the top of the Internet Explorer (IE) window, click the Tools button
In the list that appears, choose Internet Options
In the window that opens, the General tab will be the first tab displayed
Please select the Security tab
Select the Internet zone
Select the Trusted Sites zone
Click the Sites button
In the Trusted Sites window, UNcheck (if necessary) the box next to "Require server verification..."
Type hos.com under "add this website to the zone" and click Add.
Type entriq.net under "add this website to the zone" and click Add.
Click the Close button to exit the Trusted Sites window
If the Apply button becomes available in Internet Options/Security tab, click it
Please select the Privacy tab
Click the Sites button
In the Per Site Privacy Actions window, under Address of Website: type hos.com and click Allow.
In the Per Site Privacy Actions window, under Address of Website: type entriq.net and click Allow.
(Type each of these URLs just like that; no http://, no www. Just hos.com and entriq.net.)
Click OK to exit the Per Site Privacy Actions window
If the Apply button becomes available, click it.
Please click the OK button, at the bottom of the Internet Options window.
Please EXIT Internet Explorer for your changes to take effect.
Please SHUT DOWN your computer so you can restart it with these new settings and all software can synch up with them.
Reboot the computer, then launch IE7 and navigate back to our site and try again.
Internet Explorer uses an ActiveX installer to install Adobe Flash Player. This runs from the Adobe website and cannot be downloaded separately.
First, make sure to run the correct version of the Adobe Flash Player (AFP) installer for your operating system (OS):
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=DXLUJ
The Flash Player installer page detects your OS and browser type and version and gives you the option to select a different OS/browser combination in the event the site detection fails.
If the Adobe website does not detect the correct version of your OS and browser, click the link to choose your correct set up.
If the Adobe site does detect your OS and browser correctly, when you click "Agree and install now" to install the software, does it really install and complete the installation? Or do you see an alert in your browser menu bar warning you about an ActiveX installer trying to run?
If you see that alert, you must click on that bar, then click again to allow the ActiveX installer to run in the browser.
The bottom line here is that if you have been downloading a separate installer application and trying run that, or not specifically allowing the ActiveX routine to run, it won't work: Adobe Flash Player installer for Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer must be run from the Adobe website as an ActiveX routine, and with your specific consent.
If you have any questions or encounter difficulty, contact us at help@hos.com. Be sure to include the correct version of your Windows Operating system and Internet Explorer web browser software. If you don't know this information or how to get it, please see our HELP entry under TROUBLESHOOTING (above) entitled "How to tell us what software you're using..."
If you use Internet Explorer 6, which is now 10 years old, you are unable to see or use the latest version of our site. You're missing out on our striking, spacey 'heads up display' that IE6 just can't render. There are other features it can't deal with, too.
As a result, IE6 users are automatically directed to the old version of the site, http://ie6.hos.com, instead of the usual www.hos.com.
We will leave the old site up for a couple of months (from 9/1/10), but we can't keep it going indefinitely.
So, for a long term solution, please update your browser to IE8, or download Firefox or Google Chrome web browser to use for our site.
The choice of which is up to you, but we highly recommend Google Chrome -- it's a nimble, slick, fast little browser with modern security and a great user experience. It takes no time at all to learn to use, it's that easy, and it downloads and installs itself in seconds. And it automatically ports over your bookmarks and other data. Here's where to get it:
In case you can't use the browser links above, here are the urls:
IE8: http://www.microsoft.com/india/windows/internet-explorer/default_XP.aspx
Firefox: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html
Chrome: http://www.google.com/chrome
Here's a testimonial from someone who upgraded to Chrome. You might enjoy it, too:
"Thanks Leyla, all is well; you are right; your suggestion to use Chrome is working working better and faster than I could have ever imagined...guess it's time to update things as there are more ways than I was aware. Have a nice day,"--Kathy
If you'd like additional assistance updating your browser or adding an additional one for our site, write to us at help@hos.com anytime. Include your phone number and best times to reach you if you'd like a call back.
In the menu area at the top of the Internet Explorer 6 window, select Tools.
Select Internet Options from the Tools menu that drops down.
Select the Security tab.
For Security level for this zone, move the slider bar to High.
Click Default Level.
This will reset your Security settings to Medium.
Select the Privacy tab.
For Settings, move the slider bar to High.
Click Default.
This will reset your Privacy settings to Medium.
Exit and restart Internet Explorer for your changes to take effect.
Navigate back to hos.com, and let us know at help@hos.com if you need further assistance.
Please make sure your settings in IE6 match our requirements.
See "Settings for Internet Explorer 6" above.
Please Delete Cookies and Temporary files (basic computer 'mousekeeping' needs doing from time to time):
Launch Internet Explorer 6 and navigate to google.com or yahoo.com ' anywhere EXCEPT our site, hos.com.
From Internet Explorer, select Tools.
Select Internet Options from the Tools menu.
On the General tab, click Delete Cookies for Temporary Internet Files.
Click OK in the Delete Cookies message box.
Click Delete Files.
Check 'Delete all offline content'.
Click OK until you close the Internet Options diaSIGN box.
Exit and restart Internet Explorer for your changes to take effect.
Navigate back to hos.com, and let us know at help@hos.com if you need further assistance.
When you return to the site, it should not greet you by name.
If it still greets you by name, you haven't deleted all your old 'stale' cookies, so go back and do that part again.
Internet Explorer uses an ActiveX installer to install Adobe Flash Player. This runs from the Adobe website and cannot be downloaded separately.
First, make sure to run the correct version of the Adobe Flash Player (AFP) installer for your operating system (OS):
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=DXLUJ
The Flash Player installer page detects your OS and browser type and version and gives you the option to select a different OS/browser combination in the event the site detection fails.
If the Adobe website does not detect the correct version of your OS and browser, click the link to choose your correct set up.
If the Adobe site does detect your OS and browser correctly, when you click "Agree and install now" to install the software, does it really install and complete the installation? Or do you see an alert in your browser menu bar warning you about an ActiveX installer trying to run?
If you see that alert, you must click on that bar, then click again to allow the ActiveX installer to run in the browser.
The bottom line here is that if you have been downloading a separate installer application and trying run that, or not specifically allowing the ActiveX routine to run, it won't work: Adobe Flash Player installer for Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer must be run from the Adobe website as an ActiveX routine, and with your specific consent.
If you have any questions or encounter difficulty, contact us at help@hos.com. Be sure to include the correct version of your Windows Operating system and Internet Explorer web browser software. If you don't know this information or how to get it, please see our HELP entry under TROUBLESHOOTING (above) entitled "How to tell us what software you're using..."
Launch Firefox.
In the menu area at the top of the Firefox window, click Tools, then select Options.
In the Options window, select the Content tab.
UNCHECK the box next to Block pop-up windows; or allow two domains as exceptions: hos.com and entriq.net.
The other 3 options in the top of the Content window should be checked (Load images automatically, Enable JavaScript, Enable Java).
Select the Privacy tab.
Put (or leave) a check next to 'Accept cookies from sites'.
Put (or leave) a check next to 'Accept third-party cookies'.
Next to 'Keep until' select the option 'they expire'.
Close The Options window.
Exit and restart Firefox for your changes to take effect.
Navigate back to hos.com, and let us know at help@hos.com if you need further assistance. If you have Adblock Plus installed with Firefox you need to turn it off, or disable adblock for www.hos.com.
To enable Adblock plus, open Adblock Plus preferences from the top right corner of your Firefox browser. Left-click to activate a checkbox to disable adblock for www.hos.com. Then quit Firefox and open it again.
Please make sure your settings in Firefox match our requirements.
See "Settings for Firefox on a Windows PC" above.
Please Delete Cookies and Temporary files (basic computer 'mousekeeping' needs doing from time to time):
Directions for Firefox before v3.5:
Launch Firefox, but don't go to hos.com.
Go to google.com or yahoo.com -- anywhere EXCEPT hos.com.
Under the Tools menu, select Options.
In the Options window, select the Privacy tab.
Under "Private Data" check "Ask me before clearing private data," then click "Clear Now..."
Click to place check marks next to Cache and Cookies (nothing else -- this preserves your saved passwords, etc.).
Click "Clear Private Data Now".
Click OK to close the Options dialog box.
Launch a new window or tab and return to HOS.com
When you return to the site, it should greet you as Guest.
If it still greets you by name, you haven't deleted all your 'stale' old cookies, so go back and do that part again, after closing the window or tab containing HOS.com.
Directions for Firefox v3.5+:
At the top of the Firefox window, click the Tools menu, then select Options...
Select the Advanced panel.
Click the Network tab.
In the Offline Storage section, click Clear Now.
Click the Privacy Tab
The two boxes regarding cookies should be checked:
"Accept cookies from sites" and "Accept third-party cookies"
Click the Show Cookies... button
Type hos.com in the Search box
Select all the cookies containing hos.com and click Remove Cookies
Type 'entriq' (our media authorization network provider) in the Search box
Select all the cookies containing 'entriq'.
If any are found, select them and click Remove Cookies.
Click Close to exit the Cookies window.
Click OK to close the Options window.
ADBLOCK:
If you have Adblock Plus installed with Firefox you need to turn it off, or disable Adblock for www.hos.com.
To enable Adblock plus, open Adblock Plus preferences from the top right corner of your Firefox browser.
Left-click to activate a checkbox to disable adblock for www.hos.com. Then quit Firefox and open it again.
Adblock or Adblock Plus "add-ons" disable our Flash Player. So you have to disable Adblock or Adblock Plus for our site:
Open Adblock preferences from the top right corner of your Firefox browser.
Left-click to activate a checkbox to disable Adblock for www.hos.com.
Then QUIT Firefox and open it again, navigate back to HOS.com...
After updating Firefox:
Firefox updates interfere with some add ons or their settings until the add ons or settings are updated to match the new Firefox release. This applies to Adblock and Adblock Plus. After updating Firefox you may find yourself unable to PLAY at HOS.com even though you've disabled Adblock as above.
If this occurs, disable Adblock or Adblock Plus completely.
Stream successfully from HOS.com.
Then re-enable Adblock, and disable it for www.hos.com as above.
In otherwords, after updating Firefox, update your setting in Adblock for www.hos.com, by disabling Adblock entirely then re-enabling your exception settings.
Under the Firefox menu, select Preferences.
Select the Content tab.
UNCHECK the box next to 'Block pop-up windows'; or allow two domains as exceptions: hos.com and entriq.net.
Put or leave in place the checks next to Load images automatically, Enable JavaScript, Enable Java.
Select the Privacy tab.
CHECK or leave the check next to 'Accept cookies from sites'.
CHECK or leave the check next to 'Accept third-party cookies'.
Next to Keep until:, select the option 'they expire'.
Close the Preferences window.
Exit and restart Firefox for your changes to take effect.
Navigate back to hos.com, and let us know at help@hos.com if you need further assistance.
Please make sure your settings in Firefox match our requirements.
See "Settings for Firefox on a Mac" above.
Please Delete Cookies and Temporary files (basic computer 'mousekeeping' needs doing from time to time):
Launch Firefox, open a new window and navigate to google.com or yahoo.com ' anywhere except hos.com.
Under the Firefox menu, select Preferences.
Select the Privacy tab.
In the Private Data section at the bottom of the window, put a check next to 'Ask me before clearing private data' and click 'Clear Now'' In the 'Clear Private Data' Window, check only Cache and Cookies (nothing else, this preserves your saved passwords and other browsing history).
Click 'Clear Private Data Now'.
Close the Preferences window (headed Privacy).
Now, navigate to hos.com and proceed as usual.
If you still encounter difficulty, write to us at help@hos.com and describe the problem as best you can.
When you return to the site, it should NOT greet you by name.
If it still greets you by name, you haven't deleted all your 'stale' old cookies, so go back and do that part again.
For Firefox 3.5:
At the top of the Firefox window, click the Tools menu, then select Options...
Select the Advanced panel.
Click the Network tab.
In the Offline Storage section, click Clear Now.
Click OK to close the Options window.
Empty browser cache in Firefox (before FF 3.5):
At the top of the Firefox window, click the Tools menu, then select Clear Private Data.
Uncheck everything except Cache, and click Clear Private Data Now.
Adblock or Adblock Plus may be the problem. If you have either installed with Firefox, turn it off or disable it for www.hos.com.
To disable Adblock or Adblock Plus for HOS, open Adblock preferences from the top right corner of your Firefox browser.
Left-click to activate a checkbox to disable Adblock for www.hos.com.
Then QUIT Firefox and open it again.
Launch Safari, but don't navigate to hos.com yet.
Have no window open, or a blank window, or navigate to google.com or yahoo.com ' anywhere except hos.com.
Select the Security tab.
Under Web content: check the first 3 selections (Enable plug-ins, Enable Java, Enable JavaScript).
UNCHECK 'Block pop-up windows'.Under Accept Cookies:, choose Always.
Close Preferences.
Close Safari and restart it to save your changes and make them fully effective.
After re-launching Safari, navigate to hos.com.
Please make sure your settings in Safari match our requirements.
See "Settings for Safari" above.
Open Safari, but do not go to hos.com.
Have no window open, or a blank window, or navigate to google.com or yahoo.com in the window, anywhere except hos.com.
Under the Safari menu, select Empty Cache, then click Empty to confirm.
Under the Safari menu, select Preferences.
Click the Security tab, then click Show Cookies.
Click "Remove All" - OR to delete only OUR cookies: Type hos.com in the Spotlight search box.
When it returns one or more cookies containing hos.com, click Remove All, and confirm your choice by clicking Remove All again.
Type 'entriq' in the Spotlight search box.
When it returns one or more cookies containing entriq, click Remove All, and confirm your choice by clicking Remove All again.
Click Done.
Close the Security window.
Close/quit Safari and relaunch it before returning to hos.com.
When you return to the site, it should NOT greet you by name.
If it still greets you by name, you haven't deleted all your 'stale' old cookies, so go back and do that part again.
1) Adobe says this regarding Flash support on 64-bit operating systems:
http://www.adobe.com/go/6b3af6c9
2) Chris Jean, one of our faithful subscribers and an uber-Linux user, has solved the problem of using our Flash player on Ubuntu 64-bit and posted it on his site. Our thanks to Chris for his work and his generosity sharing it:
From Chris's site
http://gaarai.com/2009/02/20/proper-adobe-flash-support-on-ubuntu-64-bit/
DATE: Feb.20, 2009
TITLE: Proper Adobe Flash Support on Ubuntu 64-bit
That's right. Adobe has finally released a 64-bit version of Flash. There are two important things to note:
1. They actually released this back in November. It's my fault for not knowing this until now, but I still wonder why it was so hard to find. Shouldn't it be offered as an option on the download page?
2. This is not an official release version; rather, it's an alpha release. This means that the plugin may not be stable and doesn't have full support currently. They have the following notice on the download page:
This is a prerelease version of the Adobe Flash Player 10 software for Solaris and 64-bit Linux platforms. It is being made available for developers and consumers to test their content to ensure new features function as expected, existing content plays back correctly, and there are no compatibility issues.
Despite the fact that it's an alpha release, I've had no problems with the plugin so far. It works great and fixes all the problems I listed above.
Automated Install
I've created a script that will take care of the details of installing this solution for you. Simply run the following commands from Terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal):
wget http://gaarai.com/install_adobe_flash_64.sh
chmod +x install_adobe_flash_64.sh
./install_adobe_flash_64.sh
Since this script uses the sudo command, you will be prompted for your password. I have to use sudo since I need to close Firefox, remove apt packages, remove existing Flash plugins in the /usr/lib directory, and copy the new plugin to /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/.
Manual Install
If my script and its use of sudo makes you uncomfortable, this is the sequence of steps you need to install the plugin manually:
1. Download the Adobe Flash 64-bit plugin (the following is all one line):
wgethttp://download.macromedia.com/pub/labs/flashplayer10/libflashplayer-10.0.d21.1.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
2. Extract the libflashplayer.so from the archive:
tar xvfz libflashplayer-10.0.d21.1.linux-x86_64.so.tar.gz
3. Close Firefox
4. Remove old Flash plugins. The follow commands are what my script uses to automate this process:
sudo apt-get remove -y --purge -qq flashplugin-nonfree \
gnash gnash-common mozilla-plugin-gnash \
swfdec-mozilla libflashsupport nspluginwrapper
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/*flash*sudo rm -f ~/.mozilla/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/firefox/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/firefox-addons/plugins/*flash*
sudo rm -rf /usr/lib/nspluginwrapper
5. Copy libflashplayer.so to /usr/bin/mozilla/plugins/:
sudo mkdir -p /usr/bin/mozilla/plugins/
sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/bin/mozilla/plugins
Now you're ready to load Firefox again and test it out.
Closing Thoughts
Now that Flash works properly, I can even make use of the Hearts of Space's new Flash player. When this new Flash player came out last week, I lost the ability to listen to the HoS programming. It was this straw that broke my tolerance for this issue and led me to search for a solution. If you don't know about Hearts of Space, it's "slow music for fast times" and is my favorite radio show. I'm happy to have a subscription to fill my day with Space.
Even though there's not yet Adobe Flash Player for 64-bit Windows 7, there are options for HOS users with Windows 7 64-bit systems:
A) Use the 32-bit version of Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) which comes with Windows 7 as its default browser.
B) Download another browser like Firefox or Google Chrome (Opera is not supported at HOS.com).
Here are more details about each option, taken from Adobe's website and the Microsoft Forums Feb. 27, 2010 at
You can find more up to date information anytime by Googling "Adobe Flash Player for Windows 7 64 bit."
A) Adobe recommends option A) above -- run Flash Player in a 32-bit browser running on a 64-bit operating system.
Options A) and B) are both recommended in the Microsoft Forums. There's also this note which may be helpful: "The default browser in [Windows] 7 is the 32-bit IE. You actually have to browse the Program Files folder, not Program Files (x86) folder to the Internet Explorer sub folder there and create a new shortcut for the iexplorer.exe file to run the 64-bit version."
B) After downloading Firefox or Chrome, come to HOS.com and see if you can play music (use our demo or Free Stuff if you don't yet subscribe). If it works, you're good to go.
If it doesn't work for HOS.com, you have one more step to do: download a new Adobe Flash Player for Firefox or Chrome, using this link while in the Chrome browser:
http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/?promoid=DXLUJ
Firefox and Chrome use the same plug in, so you can select Firefox as the browser even if you're using Chrome.
Or you can select "Different operating system or browser?" and then select the operating system Windows 7.
Make the next choice "Flash Player 10 for Windows Other Browsers".
When the download from Adobe is complete, click to Open the file install_flash_player.exe.
Then click Run.
Follow Adobe's directions to close Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and/or Opera. Then click "Try again" and allow the installation of Adobe Flash Player to proceed.
Let us know at help@hos.com if you have further questions or concerns about using HOS.com on a Windows 7 system.
Cookies are little "notes" (text files) saved to your hard drive by websites you've visited, including ours. They contain information the site needs to 'know' or 'remember' about you when you come again, or as you move from page to page within the site to keep track of who you are, what your site privileges are, etc. Our site cannot keep track of your Sign In session unless it can write cookies to your hard drive and update them each time you Sign In.
Allowing pop ups is necessary for our SIGN IN, purchase, and MY ACCOUNT windows, which are, technically, pop ups. If you don't allow pop ups, these windows can't open or function completely and properly.
If you absolutely object to these requirements, which are also required by many other web sites, try adding our URLs as Trusted Sites or Exceptions to the Security, Privacy, and Content areas of your web browser. The URLs to add are hos.com and entriq.net. Entriq provides our proprietary Media Authorization Network (MAN) and transaction processing. When you add these URLs as Trusted Sites or Exceptions to blocking cookies or pop-ups, type them exactly and only as they appear here: hos.com and entriq.net, no http://, no www, no other prefix or suffix.
Cookies are little "notes" (text files) saved to your hard drive by websites you've visited, including ours. They contain information the site wants to 'know' or 'remember' about you when you come again, or as you move from page to page within the site to keep track of who you are, what your site privileges are, etc. Sometimes, the information in cookies get 'stale' and needs to be refreshed. Deleting cookies prompts the sites you visit to write new ones the next time you visit, pulling up-to-date information from its database and saving information you give it when you revisit or SIGN IN. Deleting cookies will not affect your ability to SIGN IN or use other websites. Saved passwords and other SIGN IN info are stored separately and will not be affected.
Temporary files, also called cached pages, are web pages your browser saves to resurrect quickly when you call for a page you've visited before. If the page or your relation to it has changed, your browser may give you the same-old-same-old. To get the freshest version of the page, delete all the old saved (cached) pages, and your browser will display and save fresh ones. Deleting temporary internet files will not affect your computer's performance or how websites function when you visit them. Saved passwords and other Sign In info are stored separately and will not be affected.