If Songbird developers concentrated on hardware which lacked the functionality that Songbird provides, Songbird would be a far more popular application.(even though it’s pretty popular already I think it would increase exponentially) There are so many more opportunities out there with Android, Palm’s new WebOS, Linux phones, etc. that I think it’s time to stop obsessing with Apple. If they want out, then so be it.

Songbird is not in Apple’s game plans nor would it ever be. It’s not a knock on Apple, but they have developed their own thing and they are concentrating on building a better experience for their customers through their products.

Songbird should do the same.

I did a bit of research when I got my iPod to see if there were any healthy alternatives to iTunes. A few programs were free but inflexible, and some more robust clients wanted money when iTunes was free and just as packed with features. It wasn’t ’til Songbird came around that I considered otherwise. Not only did it load my iPod but it had browser functionality as well!

It wasn’t until Chrome was released that I stopped using Songbird as my primary browser, and this change was for many reasons. But I still enjoyed heartily the use of Songbird as an iTunes alternative, even though I had to use WMP to rip my music.

But as it is now clear, the Songbird team has been derailed by the Apple software developers in their attempts to “fix” the constant updates of the Apple hardware/software. And this is lamentable; every time I load something from my library, there’s a 50% chance it won’t even play, not to mention a lack of artwork and the occasional forced factory reset due to file displacement. And with the announcement of iPod compatibility development and fixes being abandoned, I don’t see an practicality in keeping Songbird. I’ll keep my ear to the ground to see if the open-sourced iPod add-on improves, but until then I have no reason to use Songbird; Chrome is my preferred browser, and iTunes does what Songbird now cannot.

Yes. It’s our fault we brought proprietary garbage. I’m in the green because I have an older 80 GB Rockboxed ipod, and I could care less about album art, lyrics, et cetera. But people with flashy new ipod touches should not be disappointed because not everything supports it. That’s one of the main drawbacks with Apple – You may get a decent product, but you have a decent product that will work only with THEIR stuff.

As far as keeping iTunes around, it’s true there’s not much of a way around that. Apps, firmware, and the like pretty much have to be managed by Apple. Our sync support offers owners of those devices a way to keep their iTunes and Songbird libraries and playlists in lock-step. So when it comes to playing and managing your music, Songbird can still be your one stop solution – even on an iPod.

Thanks for your support. And keep the comments and ideas coming!

Of course Apple are, but it’s the same ideology used by everyone from McDonalds to Loreal to Sky. They just repeatedly tell you that you really really want whatever it is they’re selling because it’ll make you a happier, better person. It’s easy to see that people buy into that ideology, regardless of the bad things Coca Cola or Nestle or whoever commit around the world.

My opinion is that you need to compete by offering a better product that slots into people’s existing lives. By breaking the software-hardware bond Apple has (just like the Windows-Office bond that Microsoft has) you can perhaps achieve change. Banging the drum and asking people to make sacrifices will never work, in my opinion at least.

I’d hoped that the Songbird team could contribute to libgpod (which has lagged somewhat previous) to spearhead an organised, focused effort to support the latest Apple firmware as close to release as possible, just as seem to be happening in the iPhone jailbreaking world. I still hope that we’ll get there sooner or later.