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v1.0.6 Release

Posted by coolmic on October 1, 2018
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , , , , , .

Cool Mic IconWe’ve done it again!

v1.0.6 has now officially been released in Google Play. It’s also available for direct download. You can download the source code here.

It’s been an extraordinary ride so far.

What started as a project to livestream local Sonoma County rock concerts with a dedicated hardware setup has morphed into something so much more than that. What’s even more exciting is that we’re still in our infancy and there’s a lot to look forward to.

Sometimes I feel as though ideas that stem from this solid foundation are streamed directly to my brain from some glorious Icecast server in the sky. One challenge of mine has been to organize and manifest these ideas into reality. One leg of this project will start very soon and I am more excited about it than you can imagine. More on that later.

My (very) small team has worked with me and these ideas, and what has been accomplished so far is nothing short of inspiring. To think that the three of us, whom I’ve never met in real life, have been able to coordinate all of this is just awesome. It really hits home how so many open source software projects work; how random people can meet and work hard online to create software together, and in the meantime forge friendships that are just as meaningful as ones in the physical world. In fact, it reminds me of an article I read just yesterday about online gamers who met in real life at the bedside of a terminally-ill friend. The world is rapidly changing and the way people interact with each other is, too. So many things that people traditionally do in the physical world are being “ported” to the digital world. Working, shopping, socializing, creating, sharing..it’s crazy. I am excited that Cool Mic is even a tiny part of this transformation.

I’m incredibly excited moving forward. There’s a lot planned for the future so stay tuned for updates.

Cheers, Jordan

v1.0.6 Beta

Posted by coolmic on September 26, 2018
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Cool Mic Icon

We’re proud to announce a second beta (v1.0.6) that adds onto the functionality in the v1.0.5 beta. Fixes include:

  • “Livestream Stopped” toast no longer erroneously appears when quitting app if you are not currently livestreaming
  • Input gain slider now has a label/description
  • Input gain slider level now remembered between sessions

You can download v1.0.6 beta in Google Play (scroll to the bottom and select, “Become a Beta Tester”). It is also available for direct download.

We’re really excited for what Cool Mic has in store. If you’re interested in helping out with the project, please contact us. Thank you!

New Beta Released

Posted by coolmic on August 22, 2018
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , , .

Cool Mic Icon

A new beta version of Cool Mic has been released. New features include:

Input Volume Control: Have you ever watched a Youtube concert video where the sound was completely distorted and barely listenable? This happens when the source is too “hot” (loud) and the microphone or input can’t handle it. With Cool Mic’s new input volume controls (along with the visual cue of the graphical VU meter that you helped build) every livestreamer can ensure the clearest, most crisp audio for listeners.

Auto-Reconnect: Sometimes you don’t have the best cell coverage. Sometimes you need to switch from Wi-Fi to cell data in the middle of a livestream. With auto-reconnect Cool Mic will detect whenever you drop connection to your listeners and automatically reconnect. This was by far one of the most requested features since launch.

In addition to this, we’ve revamped our codebase to give even better response, stability and room for future enhancements. For instance, we’ve separated the connection/streaming core (libshout) from the UI and made it a background service. This will give us the ability to easily add things like live editing of metadata during a stream.

Cool Mic is just the start of my overall vision – a solid, stable foundation in which to build new exciting ideas on top of. Our first offspring of Cool Mic is a musician centered livestreaming community called SubJam. We have already framed out exactly what SubJam is and how it will work – you’ll be hearing more about this later.

I want to thank you again for supporting Cool Mic. Without you we wouldn’t have been able to build what we needed to justify our existence in the livestreaming space. Cool Mic, our “proof-of-concept”, 100% open-source, freedom-loving audio livestreaming app, has already made waves around the world. We’re about to make some much bigger ones – so stand back, close your eyes and listen for the sounds!

Sincerely, Jordan

Icecast 2.5 beta2

Posted by coolmic on May 19, 2018
Posted in: General. Tagged: , , , .

Cool Mic App IconThe Icecast team has announced the new release of Icecast 2.5 beta2 (2.4.99.2). This is a beta release and not recommended for production use. You can check it out at Icecast.org.

A big Thank You to everyone involved in its continued development – Icecast is a rock solid media streaming platform and it has always been a pleasure working with people in its community. Cool Mic would not be possible without it.

Current Progress

Posted by coolmic on May 16, 2018
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , , .

Cool Mic App IconCool Mic has been seeing some pretty good numbers since launch – we’ve had 6,325 installs. Our average Google Play rating is 4.12 stars (out of 5). We host nearly 100 livestreams a day on our public test servers alone, not to mention the likely many hundreds a day to other independently run Icecast servers around the world.

A new version of Cool Mic is about to hit the Play store and we’ve got a couple of great new features to tell you about:

  • Input Volume Control: Have you ever watched a Youtube concert video where the sound was completely distorted and barely listenable? This happens when the source is too “hot” (loud) and the microphone or input can’t handle it. With Cool Mic’s new input volume controls (along with the visual cue of the graphical VU meter that you helped build) every livestreamer can ensure the clearest, most crisp audio for listeners.
  • Auto-Reconnect: Sometimes you don’t have the best cell coverage. Sometimes you need to switch from Wi-Fi to cell data in the middle of a livestream. With auto-reconnect Cool Mic will detect whenever you drop connection to your listeners and automatically reconnect. This was by far one of the most requested features since launch.

In addition to this, we’ve revamped our codebase to give even better response, stability and room for future enhancements. For instance, we’ve separated the connection/streaming core (libshout) from the UI and made it a background service. This will give us the ability to easily add things like live editing of metadata during a stream.

Cool Mic is just the start of my overall vision – a solid, stable foundation in which to build new exciting ideas on top of. Our first offspring of Cool Mic is a musician centered livestreaming community called SubJam. We have already framed out exactly what SubJam is and how it will work – you’ll be hearing more about this later.

I want to thank you again for supporting Cool Mic. Without you we wouldn’t have been able to build what we needed to justify our existence in the livestreaming space. Cool Mic, our “proof-of-concept”, 100% open-source, freedom-loving audio livestreaming app, has already made waves around the world. We’re about to make some much bigger ones – so stand back, close your eyes and listen for the sounds!

Sincerely, Jordan

Cool Mic 1.0 Launch

Posted by coolmic on January 28, 2017
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , , .

Cool Mic App IconWe did it! After more testing, polishing and more testing, we’ve officially launched Cool Mic 1.0 in Google Play Store.

To all of you Kickstarter backers, you will find your name on our ‘Early Supporters’ page by opening Cool Mic, then going Menu -> Help -> Cool Mic Early Supporters. We sincerely thank you for your support.

We are already working on the next major update which includes the ability to listen to Cool Mic livestreams directly within the app.

Please download Cool Mic and share this exciting new app with your friends.

You can get involved by contacting us and following us on Twitter and Facebook.

Cheers,

The Cool Mic Team

Google Play

Posted by coolmic on November 29, 2016
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , , .

Cool Mic App IconHi all,

Today is a big day. Cool Mic has officially been released in the Google Play store!

You can search for and install Cool Mic by opening up the Google Play app on your Android device and searching for “Cool Mic”. Or simply tap this link to install it directly.

Right now we’ve got it tagged as a public beta. This means it’ll show “Early Access” next to it. Brand new apps usually do this, and when enough feedback from early adopters around the world is obtained, it gets bumped up to “Production” where it doesn’t have big scary warnings next to it like, ‘This app may crash!’ or ‘This app may cause your cat to pee on the carpet!’ anymore.

We genuinely appreciate all of the support you have given us throughout this process. We’re far from done though; this is still just another milestone in our quest. We have a lot planned for Cool Mic and livestreaming in general, so as people get accustomed to the ability to broadcast themselves to the whole world from their smartphones and tablets, Cool Mic will be in the front lines making sure that the process is open, secure and rewarding. Thank you for giving us the resources we need to make this happen.

– Jordan

Cool Mic RC1

Posted by coolmic on November 22, 2016
Posted in: General.

Cool Mic App IconHi all,

I am happy to announce, on behalf of everyone involved with development, the first Cool Mic Release Candidate (RC1). This version fixes numerous bugs, provides enhancements and generally adds polish to what will be submitted to the Google Play store. Two notable changes are a single button to start + stop livestreams and the addition of the new Cool Mic mascot.

Please test this version and report any issues you may encounter. We appreciate your involvement!

Sincerely, Jordan

Cool Mic Mascot

Posted by coolmic on October 31, 2016
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , .

Cool Mic MascotThis little guy is the new Cool Mic mascot. Thought you would all like to meet him. We haven’t decided on a name yet, maybe you can help? Special thanks to Lee Dawn for an amazing job creating him. Lee has a website if you’d like to see more of her work here. More Cool Mic news to come soon!

Cheers, Jordan

Final Beta

Posted by coolmic on October 12, 2016
Posted in: Updates. Tagged: , .

Cool Mic App IconHey everyone,

I am pleased to announce the “final beta” (v6) release of Cool Mic. This is an exciting release, namely adding official Opus audio streaming support.

New features include:

  • Full Opus audio streaming support, including passing metadata to Icecast and adjustable quality setting
  • Switch between open-source audio codecs: vorbis and opus (Opus is used by default)
  • Many bugfixes and stability, performance improvements

Download: https://coolmic.net/download/

(Cool Mic is not yet available in Google Play – please follow directions on the link above for side-loading into your Android device)

I encourage everyone to please test this final beta and report any and all feedback you have, including anything from grammatical errors to app crashes. We’ve all been working hard to get this as absolutely polished as possible before unleashing it upon Google Play – we appreciate all of your support!

Cheers, Jordan