"the internet stream can come in handy because if you are somewhere where you don't have a radio like work, home, etc. You can still monitor the weather if you know it is suppose to be or get bad."
That was the whole idea for the WU streaming radio, to give people a heads-up about weather that is headed their way. It is not supposed to be a primary alerting device, as mentioned. When the shingles are being torn off, it is a little late to turn to the Internet for info.
The goal (although not yet achieved) is to write software that sits in the tray and talks to WU. When severe conditions are posted, the software could automatically alert the user (beeps, sounds, etc), then give them a one-click option to start streaming the radio. This would in effect put a weather radio on any PC, anywhere. The same could also be done for mobile devices like the iPhone, G-Phone, and other multimedia devices capable of streaming data.
Another important feature we want to add to the alerting software is the ability to monitor several locations. If for example, you have family in another state, you could be monitoring their location and streaming the radio from their location if bad weather arises.
Ideally, the user could set-up a configuration that tells the software exactly what type of alert to monitor, just like a SAME radio. I thought it might be a good idea to mimic the SAME codes as have the ability to update those codes over time. Custom codes would probably be simple to implement as well.
I have not found any .Net programmers that are interested in the project so I might have to write a tray application in MFC/C++. The problem, as always, is to find the time to do it. If there any C++/MFC programmers out there willing to spend some time on it (it will be freeware), let me know.