Thanks to Asa Dotzler and Michael Arrington for noticing Songbird.
I particularly appreciate the comment from Mike Rundle on TechCrunch:
Screw Web 2.0, XUL moves us straight into the Web 3.0 that technologists like you and I that “get it” are really looking forward to
And this comment from StudioMoustache:
At first it only looked like a black iTunes, but Songbird is really looking interesting. All I have to go on are the screenshots and this post at TechCrunch, but I am eagerly awaiting the December public beta to see what’s under the hood. Since it is XUL based and more open than iTunes, expect a large number of plug-ins and extensions to really do some wild new things in the frustratingly stagnant world of media players.
You are the It-Getters. 
8 Comments
SubscribeSongbird looks really, really nice. Damn you for making me finally see the light at the end of the tunnel that is iTunes only to slam it shut in my face. Cry.
At first glance to me, Songbird looked like an iTunes rip off, but I can guarantee that after this is released, we’ll start saying, “iTunes just looks like a Songbird rip off”.
Hopefully you guys can get an OSX developer soon, I want an OSX version like yesterday.
You guys are going to have a minimize-to-systray function, yes? I find that to be a nice clutter-saving device…
Hi, definitely looking forward to seeing your beta preview of songbird. I’ve been using iTunes since I got my iPod. It’s a great program with a great user interface, but it has its limitations.
First and foremost is a lack of community feedback and support. There are many new formats that it doesn’t support, and I’ve recently fallen in love with the archival quality of FLAC/APE etc and would love to see them supported in Songbird.
Secondly, I would like to see the plug-ins and visualizer community support that Winamp enjoys, but again with the iTunes interface. Visualizations like Milkdrop and DSP plug-ins are something I sorely miss with iTunes.
I think if you can nail both of those down, streamline the UI, and very importantly avoid making Songbird ‘bloatware’ you’ll have a winning combination that will be impossible to beat.
“At first glance to me, Songbird looked like an iTunes rip off”
itunes ripped off jriver MC anyways so its all good
!
Anyways i have a huge feature request that ALL media jukeboxes are lacking. I store my music in nicely organized directories (Genre>Artist>Album)
in each Artist directory i place an image of the artist (Folder.jpg) I also place an Album Art image (Folder.jpg) inside the album folder. This way whenevr the folders are viewed or playing in certain players u get a nice picture of the album.
The problem is that NO player allows u to browse in this same way with the ARTIST image.
So PLLLLLEASEEE make artist directory browsing possible so that people like me can browse using all those artist images in the artists driectory!!!!!!
thanks
Looks like a cool product… at the moment I have 3 separate music databases (iTunes for iPod, Music Magic Mixer for playlists and slimserver for Squeezebox) so some way of integrating these sounds like a great idea…
I should ask the companies concerned to think about integrating but I thought I’d mention them here anyway.
1. Slimdevices squeezebox (www.slimdevices.com)
This is a digital music player connects to your hifi and allows you to play music streamed from your computer or the internet. The Squeezebox uses an opensource server application called slimserver. This is fine for managing music streaming but the user interface and music database are a bit cumbersome and not particularly friendly.
It would be interesting to see if Songbird could be used as a database and controller for Squeezeboxes…
2. Predixis Music Magic Mixer (www.predixis.com)
MMM generates automatic playlists based upon its analysis of the musical properties of tracks. It has its own iTunes-like UI and database but integrating MMM as a Songbird plug-in sounds like a great idea.
I know you guys read TechCrunch, so im wondering what it would take to get Oboe integrated into songbird somehow?
http://www.techcrunch.com/2005/12/02/oboes-web-music-locker/
I just read about the service a few minutes ago and after reading more on their site, im already sold.
Hello Songbird team,
Stumbled accross this today and it looks like you’re making good progress.
It’s a shame that there are so many derogatory comments considering the software isn’t even out yet.
I actually bought an iPod because of iTunes. I was a hardcore Winamp user for a long time but felt that it’s media library facilty was just far too basic for my liking. Which is why I gave iTunes a go. After a while using it, I was totally converted. It was just 2 features that I liked:
-The consolidate library option (where iTunes automatically renames MP3 files, puts them in correct folders, and even does the ID3 tags).
-The Podcasting and Vodcasting support.
2 Weeks after using it, I was the proud owner of the iPod video - black of course
What’s the point of this story? Well, one thing I don’t like about iTunes is the fact that they totally shove the music store down your throat. I refuse to buy MP3s from a DRM based store simply because I feel it’s totally unfair to have limits on what you do with an MP3 file. I instead use services like bleep.com or karmadownloads.com to buy my music.
So… even though many of you may dismiss this as simply a “black iTunes”, if it does have the funtionality of iTunes and the freedon to choose whichever music store you want, then it’s a winner in my book.
I do agree, the interface is exactly the same, but black. I shall let them off however, I assume the iTunes interface was emulated because it is in such an early development phase and the user interface is not a top priorty at the moment (or, at least I hope so!).
Anyway, features I’d like to see in SongBird for it to take me away from iTunes:
-Library consolidation, must be equal to iTunes, with the ability to mark tracks with disc number and whether or not they form part of a compilation album and automatic folder creation and file renaming.
-Vodcasting support, I can see podcasting in the screenshots, but vodcasting would be great too.
-iPod support, this is probably the most important for you guys, people with iPods are essentially tied to iTunes - for many people, using the Winamp or FooBar plugins is a very daunting experience. So easy, out of the box support should be implemented.
-A visualiser
Keep up the good work guys! Try and make the program great! I really do want to free my iPod video from the clutches of iTunes!
(Apologies for the long post btw, maybe a forum is needed when you guys finally release?)