What Users Say About the HOS Archive

WHAT USERS SAY

Hello Hearts Of Space

it has been awhile but I finally found time to come to that peaceful place...

I am listening to Pgm# 924. Man, I like what I am hearing so far. I just purchased your HOS App for my iPod touch.

I think I have stated this in previous e-mails but I am going to state it again...as long as I have blood flowing through my body, as long as I can still walk on my prosthetic leg, as long as I can breathe our air, and as long as I can use my eyes to gaze up at the infinite universe above me...

I am a Spacefan. For twenty years now...Since 1990. And continuing.

Keep up the great work.

—Paul S.

Hello from South Carolina -- I've been listening to Hearts of Space since 1992 and wanted to say how pleased I am to be able to hear the programs through the archive subscription service. I was in college when I happened upon the first program I ever heard, "Looking for America," and in the 12 years since I don't think I've missed more than two dozen broadcasts. I'm thrilled to be able to hear so many of the shows I'd never have experienced otherwise.

The archive subscription is wonderful. Thanks for introducing me to so much music I'd probably never have discovered on my own, and I hope H.O.S. keeps going strong for (at least) another 12 years. Oh, and I can't sign off without a request...isn't it about time for another installment in the "Infinite Guitars" series?

Best wishes to all involved with H.O.S.,

—Kris McG, Spartanburg, SC

I am very grateful that you have provided access to this vast array of music. It's quite an experience to think back to the times when I heard these shows originally on Public Radio. I had thought that I would never hear some of these programs ever again. After your program was dropped by KRCC here in Colorado Springs, I had to go to the parking lot of the local public library in the north end of town, which was situated such that the KRCC signal was blocked by a large hill. I was then able to pick the HOS program via the station in Denver (KCFR) on Sunday nights. Alas, KCFR eventually moved your show from FM to AM, and I could no longer pick up the signal at all in the Springs. Such has been the case until you made this service available over the Internet. I give thanks daily to the music gods (you know who you are) that I was around to hear your efforts come to fruition.

—Earle T., Colorado Springs

Okay, I've tried to compose a simple email telling you how excited, relieved, thrilled, etc. I am that I can access Hearts of Space online and how efficient and perfect the website is and how I appreciate your hard work in making the website possible, etc. but unfortunately, it would take an 8-page essay to do so and I would sound like a freak. So, I will keep it simple and say thank you, thank you, thank you for HOS online.

—VP, Houston, TX

Just a note to wish you and all your coworkers a Merry Christmas and Great New Year. You folks have really brightened things for me by making available the HOS streaming audio on the internet. It is really great to relax and listen to some of my favorite programs, like the Russian Choral music. Keep up the good work! I am looking forward to your Christmas program.

— TW

I just wanted to let you know that I'm continuing to listen to Hearts of Space on the radio as well as listening to archive programs. If it weren't for your efforts I would never have listened to such diverse music. I work in surgery at a trauma center and I'm working on a Master's Degree in Forensic Science as well. I look forward to the music because it brings me back to some kind of sanity after seeing some of the horrible things humans are capable of doing to one another.

To Stephen Hill and everyone at HOS, thank you. I'll keep up my praise.

— KLC

P.S. I hope that you will have some sacred choral music from the Russian Orthodox church for the holidays and the Easter season, it's so beautiful.

I want to let you all know how important this service is to me. I've been a devoted fan for 10 years and was very upset when my local station (KCFR in Denver) moved the program to their AM station in 2001. I'd like to know whose brainstorm that was - obviously not someone who ever listened to the shows. I thought I was destined to be HOS-less until this service came along.
Regards,

—CB

I've had the Modem Archive subscription for about a month now . .. I'm listening to "Gothica" for the umpteenth time this week while I work as a Level II Tech, doing a few phone calls but tons of typing and computer related work . .. just wanted you to know that I am in heaven . .. I JUST LOVE THIS MUSIC! What a joy beyond joy to be able to listen to this all day!

—SMD, Boulder, CO

While journeying through this Infinite Universe of endless experiences, I must say, discovering your program one evening on the radio, and then subscribing to your Streaming Archive vault on the Internet has, and currently continues to be, a marvelous pit stop in the Continuum of Life for me.

Thank you for being!

—KAM544

I just subscribed to the HOS streams. That is the greatest thing since I first heard HOS many years ago! I used to have some tapes I recorded of programs a long time ago, but the station was weak and full of static so they were less than perfect. Now I can listen to any program anytime anywhere with my laptop, in stereo.
You're doing it right with the high-quality streams and subscription model. Though the fees are high, I hope as technology costs come down the fee will decrease. I found a device that will connect my laptop to my audio system, which is even better.

Keep up the good work and long live HOS!

— Andrew T

As a very recent subscriber to your stereo broadband service, your music is so captivating that its hard not to continually play your programs when I am working at my PC.

Stephen Hill, thanks for this great musical experience. Its worth every penny of your subscription price. I have only had the opportunity to purchase a couple CDs (no stations carry HOS in my area) and have never heard an actual program before subscribing but I vastly prefer the programs. Even the Rod Serling opening.

Just a note to say thanks for the music and I hope HOS stays alive and well for many years to come.

—RJL

HOS is like the sound track for a really nice dream that you are having all night long.

—JP, Indianapolis, IN

I have enjoyed listening to Hearts of Space for over 15 years. Each program is a wonderful adventure for the ears. When I found out every program would eventually be available through the internet, I was very excited. It's great to be able to listen to so much amazing music. Everyone there does a great job producing each show and the HOS Archive service is very well done. I have not had any problems accessing the archive. Keep up the great work.

—RDS

I just love your playlist. Such wonderful, peaceful music in these times of turmoil in the world. I fall asleep with it on many nights. Despite my lousy internet connection speed and the cheap speakers that came with my computer, it don't sound too shabby. There is hardly any congestion like it was with internet radio. Once I get powerful speakers it will sound like out of space.

Unfortunately, I live in an area where there is no DSL or Cable internet provision. I signed up with another subscription plan and all it does is pause all through the songs, but your playlist hardly does that. I am going to cancel the other one at the end of the month and definitely keep yours because it is much needed in the stress of our lives today.

Thank you so much for providing the best peaceful selection of music in the world. It helps you to escape when the going gets tough. May you continue in your journey for all us space buffs.

—Donna M.

My one and only and I have been HOS listeners since Day One and have been immeasurably increased by Hill (and originally Turner's) music programming. Although we do not always appreciate some idioms as much as you do, we are challenged to listen. It's not ambient. It's not background. $20 a month is a ton of dough, but we get our money's worth knowing that HOS continues.

—Cliff and Sheri

Subject: thank you thank you

I am so happy to use your service. I really don't like buying CDs it is too confusing for me and too expensive. So I just love going to the site and selecting the genre I feel like listening.

I AM SO HAPPY. I live in NEW YORK on the 29th floor. The sun wakes me up and then I put on your music. What joy!!!!!
thank you

—VT

... congrats on this terrific service. I'm a writer and there is simply no better way to work than with hour after hour of Hearts of Space streaming, this has been a big boon to me.

Thanks again - superb stuff, I'm telling everybody about the archive.

—PA, Atlanta

...I am a 50 year old management consultant/PhD student working on my dissertation, and having HOS music playing on my computer all day while I sit here researching and typing is a blessing….timing couldn’t be better….thanks for your efforts and your artistry in putting together so much great stuff. In the beginning I thought that being able to rip individual pieces onto my own preferred collection would be the ultimate…..but as I think about it, the constant surprise of what is next in the streamed programs and the variety that I might not select, is the magic of the streaming version. I estimate I have years of HOS ahead of me…..I may be space music before I run out of HOS.

Thanks—RD

Subject: New Subscriber Feedback

I thought I'd send a note from a new subscriber.
Short form: I am very, very pleased with the service, the music selection, and the web site.

Long form: HOS used to be carried on a commercial station, WNUA, every Sunday night following Musical Starstreams. WNUA has changed in the last couple years, from New Age to Kenny G 24/7. Dull is a serious understatement. Literally zero in variety, and nothing to distinguish it from a half dozen other stations in Chicago.

While listening to some tapes I had made of older HOS shows, I realized how much I liked and missed the music and went searching. After browsing the HOS web site, decided to sign up. Glad I did. Keep up the good work.

— Dave O'B, Chicago

Last November I was traveling back to Lexington, KY from Nashville, TN late on a Sunday night. As I flipped stations trying to find something to keep awake with, I happened upon your program with program #610 - Shadowplay - on the air. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, it was so good, with David Darling's soulful cello intro, on through the works of the other artists.

Finally, in January, I subscribed to the HOS archives. This is the first time I've ever done subscription music. In less than three months time, I've listened to the entire 2001 program list. I've enjoyed every one, from synthetic to multi-cultural. I work in the technology sector with people from Pakistan, Thailand, India, China, Vietnam, Egypt, and so forth right in my office at work. Many of them have listened in and enjoyed this genera of music that seems to know no cultural boundaries.
Thanks so much for opening horizons of listening enjoyment for so many people. The editing and commentary on your program show how much you work to present the artists in a meaningful way.

—J. S. K.

Re: Access to HOS

I'm connected again and am getting recharged/energized for the week. I love this program and was very disappointed and surprized that the public radio station in Colorado Springs doesn't carry it. One of the few diappointments I've found having moved here in the last 4 months. Thanks again, your program is nourishing my inner self and life can flow on.

—Mary B.

Thanks so much for the great programs! Nice "easy on the eyes" log-in.

Having been a listener for years, make that decades, thought I would say that on the artists' work that I have compiled (yup, you gotta support the artists!), which is extensive, I have been using my collection for the following:

My friend in the Upper Peninsula, have 306" inches of snow, some ambient music to melt her mind and help her deal with the ultimate cabin fever, another friend recovering from brain surgery finds electronic space soothing, and, as a psychiatric nurse, I listen to the music when working on my plans of care and am working on ways to use this music in the most relaxing of interventions (doesn't that sound like a harsh word) - oh, how about, therapeutic environmental milieu enhancement.

Thanks for your hard work, timely delivery of shows, and commitment to quality.

— Rebecca B.

Great service, love the selection and broadband quality.

— GJU; 8-year listener

I listen to your streaming archive every day in my office in between patients. It certainly puts me in the right mood.

I used to listen to your program while in medical school in San Francisco. When I moved to L.A., I only caught it for a short time on a local station. Unfortunately, they discontinued HOS despite my complaints.

I can't tell you how cool it is that you have this archive. It's a most welcome respite to my busy day. I also listen to it at home while working around the house.

Keep it up

— Marc W., Los Angeles

When I tell people that I subscribe to HOS and pay for the service I am always told about all kinds of free ambient music services online. I have tried these other offerings from time to time. As soon as I do, it becomes abundantly clear to me why I am willing to pay to listen to HOS. The programming and the range of music available is unsurpassed. Where else can you hear electronic, ambient, trance, techno, world, sacred, choral, orchestral, and a huge range of original, traditional and fusion artists blended so thoughtfully and skillfully together? And many of the programs themselves have become a special part of my life because of when I first heard them, usually at a time when something major was going on.

Thank you all for such a superb musical experience.

— Sarah W.

If I haven't mentioned lately how much I love your show, I'm mentioning it again now. I love your show a great deal. The archive is my favorite feature. If I'm at my desk and programming (as is the case most hours of the workday), I'm listening to an archived show. With so many shows to choose from, and so many remarkably different genres, it never gets old. (I guess that's why you called it "timeless".) The sound quality is the best - each high note hits my headphones with crispness and clarity, each low drone rumbles like a train.

I'll never understand how you folks can find so much great music when most of the artists featured have never achieved "popularity" among the masses. But you do, and you find the best of the best, and give it to us in enormous quantities. Thanks for all your hard work.

— Neil K., Programmer

Hi Hearts of Space people,

I had listened to Hearts of Space years ago, and finally found you again. I did try to listen on my local radio station, but KALW is not the main public radio station in our area, and it's hard to get the signal here in Silicon Valley.

Then I discovered NetRadio. I could listen to the show through my net connection. It only played the shows in mono, but they still sounded good. "Black Marble and Sweet Fire" was the first show I listened to; it was rebroadcast in July 2001.

Then NetRadio went away, and I broke down and subscribed to your subscription service, first to the weekly service, now to the "everything" service! I love the service. The sound with my DSL connection is wonderful. I love listening to the programs whenever I want to. I would love to listen to "Black Marble and Sweet Fire" again, as this is the show that returned me to Hearts of Space.

—Mary S., Silicon Valley

Subject: Archive Subscription

I couldn't be more pleased by my decision to subscibe to the Archive Edition!! This is fantastic to be able to listen all day to my favorite music!
THANKS!

—Jim E., St Louis, MO

Please let me know how I can change my subscription from monthly to a longer period....this is the best sound value for the $$ I've ever experienced.

— Lynda P.

Subject: Listening Again!

A year ago I wrote you the following, maybe you remember it:

"I'm bereft. I'm a 46 year old guy who's been listening to your wonderful broadcasts for 15 years. Hearts has become a vital part of my life. Through many travails, (earthquakes, riots, firestorms in Laurel Canyon, raising an autistic son) Hearts of Space has been a weekly oasis of peace, contemplation and spiritual replenishment. Now you are off the air in Los Angeles and it is truly a deep, deep loss."

Well, I'm bereft no more. Last week I got a DSL, a Sony minidisk recorder/player, a small set of self powered speakers, and a subscription to Hearts on the Web. ... Now I have a way to listen as I always have, just before sleep when my mind calms and is receptive.

Now don't worry that I don't support the artists. They are so important to me and I buy their CDs. But your art is equally important — finding the artists I may otherwise never hear and mixing them together into a beautiful hour of joyous Space.

Thank you so much for your creativity and dedication and for accomplishing what is, for me, a miracle: giving me back this gift the public radio business (that should be an oxymoron) snatched away from me. Life is now in order and I can once again contemplate a special beauty.

— Curtis W., Los Angeles

I listen to almost all of my music with headphones. So the music is close to me. Close enough to be part of me. That is why the Hearts of Space program has been special to me. You guys have taken me on journeys to places that I would never even be able to imagine. Let alone find. Being in Erie, PA my sources for exploration are extremely limited. When the program disappeared from my PBS station I was a little more than pbssed. When I found your web site it was like a long lost friend. Thank you again. Lead on!!

— Lynn McC.

The HOS Archive audio experience is the finest I've found on the Web. I play it nearly every day when I need to block out the rest of the world and concentrate...on something. But the best part is the personal approach you and the HOS team have taken to us, the listeners and subscribers. It actually feels like friends are programming for friends...and that is the epitome of customer service.

— Tom L., Nashville, TN

Greetings from snowy Buffalo, NY!

One nice thing about having 80+ inches of snow in four days is that you can sit inside and listen to HOS archives!! It just melts the snow away....

So send some sunny warm thoughts our way!! And if you can't do that, at least some warm music will be great.

Keep up the great work at HOS..

— RJ.. a HOS archive broadband snowbound listener

I am a recent subscriber to the HOS listen group. I love to have it all day at work! It puts my same old CD's to shame and the negative radio news out of my head while I'm working. I am a chemistry technician at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We do have the program on KPRN on Sunday nights, but it is nice to be able to hear it anytime I want.

— Ingrid J.

Dear Stephen Hill and all of you at Hearts of Space, I'd like to add my heartfelt thanks to all the others. I used to listen to you on Public Radio too, and missed it so much. I was thrilled to find you on the Net and think you are doing a great job with the archives. I just got a new iMac and love to watch the color displays as I listen to the music. Thanks again to all of you!!

— Karen A., NE Iowa

Just thought that I would add my voice to those you have already heard telling you what a wonderful job you all have done. While I routinely listen to HOS on the radio in Rochester, NY the archives mean that I can now have a calming background to my sometimes hectic and troubling days at work. I am streaming through our network and find the music helps me remain calmer, more contemplative and reasoned. It is an invaluable resource in dealing with all sorts of people issues every day.

Thanks and keep it up !

— Brian K.

A long time ago — rarely could I get Hearts Of Space on late night radio. And now to have so much to listen to while I quilt — I am overjoyed!! I - also - say thanks!

— JR

This isn't a question - just a rave. I've never experienced a better bargain than 37¢/day for access to the HOS archives. I listen to at least 3-4 programs a night while attending to e-mail & other online stuff. So I'm paying less than a dime/show for an evening's most uplifting listening! All those wonderful classic programs I listened to in the mid-80s, plus "new" shows from later years that I never got to hear! Keep on keeping on! Your monthly postings of new shows exceed what was promised, & are most appreciated! I can't wait to see what you'll be offering next month!

— Richard B.

Just thought that I would add my voice to those you have already heard telling you what a wonderful job you all have done. While I routinely listen to HOS on the radio, the archives mean that I can now have a calming background to my sometimes hectic and troubling days at work. I am streaming through our network and find the music helps me remain calmer, more contemplative and reasoned. It is an invaluable resource in dealing with all sorts of people issues every day.

Thanks and keep it up !

— Brian K., Rochester, NY

Subject: Gratitude!

I used to stay up til 11p on Sunday night to hear HOS for a long time. And then they ended it for some reason and I missed it. Now I am in heaven — every time I get on the net!! I love this peace and centeredness that comes with this subscription! Thank you very much for the blessing you are to the earth and all its people.

— Bonnie, New Orleans

I just wanted to say thank you for a service that I enjoy on a daily basis. When I look back on this time of my life, the background for it will be HOS.

Sincerely,

— Caleb M., 1 Dec 2001

Subject: thank you

WOW!!! This F'n ROCKS!!! Absolutely love the service, will be a subscriber for life.

— Sean FX, NYC 1 Dec 2001

Genius Idea Thanks again.

Subject: sadly leaving for now ...

Hi guys,
I just wanted to write and say I've had to unsubscribe from HoS after this quarter, not because I don't love you and your new new service, but because I'm going to work at and moving soon to a yurt with no electricity on the beautiful Ojai Foundation property north of LA .... alas, no music in my private space and no space presently anywhere else on the property for my PC...

I'm going offline and even selling my computer to a friend. But they have 6 of their own and one will be available to me once I'm set up, so maybe I can get Hearts of Space installed there eventually. I will miss you for now ... but fortunately now is not forever. Keep a light in the window.

— Gordon R.

Thank you so much for pursuing your vision of streaming the full HOS archive. It is truly a priceless treasure.

— Dave C., Rochester NY

I just wanted to tell you that I've subscribed to the HOS archive service and I'm listening to it as I write this e-mail. It's awesome! Now I'm able to listen not only to the current program of the week at my leisure, but I can listen to those archived shows that I've missed.

I'm a nurse in the OR and am also taking graduate courses in Forensic Science. It's nice to escape from reality of life and go to another world, even for a short time especially after Sept.11th. The programs that you aired after that tragic day were beyond words.

I just want to say Thank You for your hard work at bringing some peace in my life.

— Karen C.

Subject: adding a program to the archive

thanks for caring enough to e-mail me so quickly to let me know you are adding it to the next transfers. i can't wait to hear it again. that was a good memory time. i already feel like i have fallen into a vat of chocolate, having the whole archive to choose from!

— linda b.

I just wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude to all of you for having put so much effort toward producing an exceptional service. The proposed interactive additions you mentioned in the latest newsletter sound like a great idea, but I'd like you to know that you have already surpassed my expectations. Imagine, a service on the internet that provides just what they say (actually more, since your monthly additions to the archive surpass your promises) with no tricks or strings. I'm glad to see that the same dedication that went in to producing hundreds of great programs has carried over to this venture as well.

I rarely listened to HOS on my local public radio station because of the time of its weekly airing. Now, HOS is a constant fixture in my house. If one of your goals was to increase access to your program, that goal has been met.

I know this letter must sound incredibly sycophantic, but I have been quite surprised at how much I have enjoyed my subscription. Thank you to all of you. Keep it up!

— Colin G.

Subject: Oasis in a sea of mediocrity

Thanks for the update. Your program, and especially, all of you at HOS are truly gems!

Not only do we get to listen to some of the finest music in the world but we have the added treat of professional, competent people running the show!!!

My thanks to all of you and you should be proud of yourselves for the great job you are doing. You must know how important your programs are in peoples lives (and mine). What you are doing is an Oasis in a sea of mediocrity. Keep going!!!!

— Bruce B.

Subject: Thank you!

After only having cable service for a week now and of all the internet sites available....I find myself returning to HOS archives. I truly am listening a lot! The quality is wonderful-sounds like I'm listening to a CD. And with the high-speed access/streaming audio it's nice that I can listen without getting cutoff! If I had only this one site to go to, I'd keep my high-speed connection. It's well worth it! Again, thank you so much for allowing your listeners the choice, and it is a choice, to listen 'on-demand.'

—Dave W.

Subject: HOS is the one and only reason I have gone to DSL

Just wanted to give you an update on my continuing satisfaction with the HOS Archive service. I discovered the HOS streaming archive site in mid-September and immediately joined up. Soon after, I sent an email expressing my total satisfaction with the service and stating that I listen to it during the day at work where the company internet connection can support the broadband stream.

However, at home, I only had a dialup connection that barely, if ever, got above 24Kbps. I have now dropped pay channels from my cable TV service and have cancelled my cell phone service in order to balance the cost of getting DSL service to my home. Let me be clear — I would not have gone to DSL anytime soon except to get HOS broadband streaming at home.

I have not yet received my DSL modem, so I can't yet comment on how it's working out, but I have no doubt I will be in space 24 hours a day once I get it set up.

After comparing the HOS Archive site to regular radio and TV, and even other Internet streaming services, I now realize what a "giant leap for mankind" you all have made in "on demand" entertainment and information programming. As for radio and TV, there are only a few specific shows I watch and/or listen to, and the rest is a waste in my opinion. I only wish I could get TV and other radio programming truly on demand like the HOS Archive site.

Keep up the awesome, cutting-edge work!

— Jerry, Marietta, GA

The streaming archive is amazing. I am an IT student and find it to be the perfect backdrop to studying complex material. The quality of my broadband service is extraordinary. I particularly like the monthly add ons. Keep up the good work.

— SF

Subject: On line music

Just wanted you to know that I consider this an essential service. I'm a long time listener. ( I must have come in in the early 80s.) I have maybe 100 shows, carefully labeled and indexed on cassette tapes from the radio. But they sound terrible. The stream is better (cable modem). My work has been cut back and I have considered cutting out this service. But I read how Mr. Hill made it happen. Access to some of this music helped me much in recent days. I am a pro musician. I have tried many times to put my own shows together, but it's not the same. It's not just the music, but how it is arranged that works so well. Thanks for showing me this music. I really feel that years ago it saved my sanity. (Working in night clubs!)

— Ken D.

OW, I mean WOW, this broadband fidelity sounds incredible. It sounds just like a CD!

— MW

I would also like to take this oppourtunity to say how much I relish having access to the HOS programs. It is like a dream come true. When I first signed up for this service, I thought it would be nice to cruise the Internet and listen to HOS music. Instead I find myself signing on so I can listen to HOS music exclusively. Who cares about cruising the Internet?

— KW

Subject: too cool!

This is such a delight! Thanks for providing an innovative way of subscribing to great sounds. Your programs are perfect for my work sessions at my computer. I swear - creativity is enhanced, relaxation is achieved, and writer's block fades away.

Listening to your programs is a pleasure - not only for the individual musical pieces, but for the sound design of the programs themselves.

Keep up the wonderful work.

— OK

Subject: great service!

Hi all, Just wanted to write and say again how much I'm enjoying your new subscription service ... listening to your programs several times a day at the computer and also evenings. I've had this funny feeling for years at the end of a program - get to have it much more now - this energy inside me, which I often articulate something like: "Nice job, guys, two big thumbs up once again!" Happens pretty much every time. Hearts of Space has made life so much more joyous over the years. Keep up the great work!

— GR

Our Listeners Across the Seas

I just wanted to say "Thank you" for getting HOS on streaming audio. I have been here in London for almost 8 years now, having left San Francisco in 1994. I started listening to Hearts of Space in New York City, where I lived from 1970 until 1991. I have missed the weekly programs terribly since then, and now listen many nights while reading e-mail and Usenet.

Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to be a real part of the HOS community again.

Cheers from London,

— CH

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you at Hearts of Space. You are indeed providing a valuable service during these hard times for our country. I just finished listening to last week's program, "In Times of Sorrow" and as always, your programs move me to respond from a deeper place in my heart. I also wanted to thank you guys for all of the hard work you have done to make the archives possible. I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico where sadly, HOS is not played on our local public radio station. Having the ability to listen to the archives is a godsend for me. I first started listening to HOS in 1984 while living in Atlanta, GA and when I moved, I underwent withdrawals not being able to listen to the show.

God bless and keep you all and thanks again for the great job.

— JC

Just wanted to send a quick note to let you know your archive streaming is outstanding and is something I've wished for for a long time! I had been getting a few HOS programs via netradio.com, but this is so much better!

The layout of the website is very easy to use, the reliability of the connections since I signed up last week has been perfect, and the number and diversity of archive programs already available is impressive.

I also appreciate the reasonable subscription prices. Personally, I didn't even consider subscribing to anything less than the full archive. I look forward to maintaining my subscription for many months to come.

For your information, I am a computer programmer by profession and I mainly listen to the archives with headphones while at work.

Ad astra (to the stars),

— JS, Marietta, GA

This is a great service. Your sensible approach to everything and lack of commercialism and useless fluff is very refreshing. Your approach should be copied by others, but I fear they will all continue to use in your face commercialism. I hope you can eventually bring the costs down to a dollar-per-megabyte rate like that of cable TV.

— FK

Subject: i'm thrilled!

The addition today of an enticing batch of programs was just what I needed for the weekend ahead. The streaming archive is a wonderful service, and I use it daily. There's something there for every mood and purpose. "Deep Peace" and "Festival of Light" were especially moving after this week's events. Thank you for providing it, and for continually making it better.

— Joe, San Francisco

I love what you are doing! Thank you so much for putting the archive on the web. At first I was suspicious of the use of RealMedia, but I have to say that the quality of the broadband streaming is excellent. Additionally, I have gone and cancelled my cable tv subscriptions to justify paying for your service. I have rediscovered my brain thanks to you. This is a good thing.

— CM

dear hos,
thanks for the absolutely spaced out condition i now live in... due to your new archive membership. bliss is near!

thanks,

— roc doc

The archive service fills the badly needed gap evidenced by the other Net broadcasters in terms of sound quality. And the fact that it's on demand... well, let's just say instant satisfaction (as opposed to merely gratification) is a rare commodity these days.

Good work!

— BG

The new service is even better than I had expected. I have been geographically out of contact for almost 2 years.

The broadband service sounds better than the transmitted program. And I can get it when I'm at home!

I couldn't be more pleased at the quality and availability.

Thanks again,

— JJ, Conneaut Lake, PA

For several years I have caught your show on WKAR-FM at Michigan State University and I've liked over 90% of what I hear. I have never had that level of satisfaction with other music sources and their genres.

For less than the cost of two CDs per month, your new broadband service provides me with hours of music that I could never hope to find, purchase or tune into in any other way. For example, I probably could never get the older material, and trying to buy CDs of this kind of music would be less convenient and more time consuming [and more expensive] and I could never hope to have the variety that your new service provides.

I'm listening even as I type this now and I'm looking forward to a lot of use of the site. Knowing that it is there anytime I want to use it is really awesome as I really crave this kind of music — - it is like having access to Stephen Hill's personal CD, tape and record collection!!

Finally, I find the fidelity of the delivered product even with my dial-up arrangement to be better than any other Internet music sources I've tried recently. Again, congratulations on a job well done and good luck for the prosperity of the HOS streaming music site!!

— AS, Environmental Consultant, East Lansing, MI

You have made me extremely happy.

Having been a listener since 1984, I have craved having access to all this music (I just can't be home to listen to the Sunday Night broadcast each week). Now I have that and much more! Thank you for making the playlists available to read while I listen, and marking the length of each piece so I know what I am listening to when I look at my RealPlayer. And thank you for the links to where to purchase the albums!

I've listened all day long (broadband, access to archives) and I am in heaven! This is better than winning the lottery!!!

THANK YOU HOS!

— MD

Subject: Great new service

Congratulations on the launch of your new service. I'm all signed up as an archive listener and very pleased at the quality of the sound. Much better than the streaming webcasts that I've been able to receive locally, and more reliable than all other streaming audio channels I've tried. (It's nice to have the full stereo sound again now that KCFR has switched HOS to mono AM.) Nearly 3/4 of the way through an entire hour and I've not heard a single packet dropout even while I've been doing other memory-intensive tasks with the computer, including editing some digital photos. I look forward to many hours of aural exlplorations.

great job! well worth the wait.

— DJP, Denver

Subject: New member site is great!

I've waited anxiously for the members-only site to open and was overjoyed to find it is online now and I immediately signed up for quarterly archive access. I have enjoyed the show since I first discovered it in the 80's during a visit to San Francisco, unfortunately I've been living outside of radio range for over 7 years now and have had to suffice with the limited (quantity and quality) Net Radio feeds. The new site is the best thing to come along since sliced bread and, in fact, is even better than a warm sourdough baguette. Wow! The sound quality is awesome.

— DA, Seattle area

As a long time fan of the show, I'm pleased that I'll be able to catch up on programs I've missed since relocating to San Diego 3 years ago. Previously, I listened on stations in the Baltimore/Washington area, but the "arts" in SD don't extend much past the surfing and sailing cultures. The local PBS affiliate offers no music programming at all. So having HOS available on demand is wonderful.

I'm amazed that you've been able to maintain the quality, diversity, and freshness of your programming over such a significant period. Bringing the entire catalog to the Web will be a continuing legacy and— for us long-time listeners— an extraordinarily exciting prospect. It's a bargain, and you may quote me.

Keep up the marvelous work— I'll be listening!

— GA, San Diego

BTW, the website (timelessmedia) is everything we had hoped it would be in HOS-land, speaking as a sample of one. I grabbed a subscription as soon as the msg was posted, and wish you good luck with it. As a native Californian presently adrift in the hinterlands, it is my connection to the real world, and the only reason I support what I like to call MOR-PR in my area.

Don't ever quit this project: you'd be sorely missed.

— JG, Ph.D.

I'm proud to say that I'm now a HOS broadband subscriber!! In fact, I'm listening to the archive show that featured Bill Douglas's music as I type this email.

The music is clear, my modem (connects at 49Kb) is keeping up with the show without problems and I'm glad to be "back in the fold" again. You see, I used to listen every Sunday evening to your show when I lived in Tucson, Arizona (on radio KUAT-FM). I moved to Buffalo, NY some 7 years ago and the local PBS station does not carry your show. :-(

So, I've been getting your show lists via email and purchasing CDs now and then to get my HOS "fix". But now, I can work with HOS or sit here at home, playing my solitaire and listen to past shows. And since I've missed the past seven years worth, I've got some catching up to do!!

I've been a HOS traveler since the early days of your show...I feel like I'm home again .. THANK YOU for your new service. It sounds wonderful, crisp, clean and just what I would expect from HOS.

— RJ..a "lost" HOS traveler now home..

Subject: Your New Service!

I've been a dedicated Hearts of Space listener for many years. Each time I've moved, one of the first things I've done is check and see where to find HoS on the radio dial. It hasn't always been easy, most difficult on the islands north of Seattle. That's when I began listening to your internet archives. I've recently moved from the Northwest to Santa Cruz, and was surprised to find less-than-ideal radio reception here. Now, I'm thrilled that you're fully accessible online! As soon as your email arrived the other day, I signed up immediately for the full DSL service and have been enjoying several hours a day of programming. The performance and quality have been excellent already.

— GR

Oy vey iz mir this is *so* great. I missed your stuff so much but waking up at 7am on a Sunday, yuk.

— YH, Chicago

from Beta Testers

"The clarity is awesome, rivaling everything, absolutely everything I have heard over the Internet to date. There is no scratching. There are no bumps or bruises. There is just pure streaming, wonderful stereo music. No hissing in the background. Just wonderful music. Even better than I could ever hear on Sunday nights over the radio. Thanks again!"

— PE, New York NY

"My laptop audio is connected to a massive, five-channel stereo system driven by Carver amplifiers with insignificant distortion ratios, where the the tiniest details of each [program's] performance were examined within the rich and inspiring nuances of the music. Even with studio headphones, no hiss, rumble, or distortion was detectable in quiet passages using high amplifier gains. Playback was much cleaner than FM stereo and equivalent to CD...The heart-rending performance of [your] streamed audio HOS music defies any complaint.
It's simply beautiful."

— PG, Arvada CO