So now that 0.4 is shipped, I can let you all know about a little toy I’ve wanted to make for a long while now…

http://addons.songbirdnest.com/extensions/detail/107

This quick little Add-On was written as a proof of concept to respond to all the complainers and fun-haters who go on about “why do you have to look just like iTunes?!” and “can’t you get rid of the browser? I don’t want it!!”

So if you see people making such noises, do please point them here and we’ll try to straighten them out, yea?

You see, unlike Firefox, Songbird isn’t tied down to just one layout for the user interface. We leverage and leapfrog the might of Mozilla to allow Feathers to specify new CSS or new XUL or both — and thus be able to mash up the basic UI elements that define a media player in any way you can imagine.

For instance, we’ve created our own playlist element that’s completely accessible from javascript. In this way you can create your own playlisting functionality separate from the functionality we implement in the app, without needing to know much more than how to program javascript for webpages.

The Now Playing Add-On is a great example of an external developer leveraging Songbird’s available XUL elements to create fantastic new functionality outside of Songbird’s basic player scheme.

So whether it’s new XUL panels or buttons to inject into the main player window or brand-new layouts for your playback, Songbird provides far more UI flexibility than that old stinky platinum-cum-brushed-metal curmudgeon from Cupertino.

Don’t forget to spread the word!

mig