tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post6587644734126884537..comments2024-03-28T14:52:13.218-05:00Comments on Stonekettle Station: Things That Chap My Ass About WMP11 (updated)Jim Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-39662311226735226872009-06-18T15:05:06.614-05:002009-06-18T15:05:06.614-05:00Gee, after all that work with scanning and coppyin...Gee, after all that work with scanning and coppying you would have been better off with a simple DIR command to a text file. You get the path (e.g. C:\Music\Van Halen\...) included and if you're really good you can turn the paths into links.<br /><br />Agreed, WMP is a long way off from being the database manager it needs to be for multimedia.TMANnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-35231466111340554272009-05-05T23:47:00.000-05:002009-05-05T23:47:00.000-05:00My first glance at Songbird thus far is that it wi...My first glance at Songbird thus far is that it <I>will</I> be pretty cool but isn't quite ready for primetime yet. The XULrunner framework means that Songbird is (at least from the user perspective) "Firefox for multimedia instead of the web," which means it will ultimately have the same level of features and customization that you can give to Firefox--appearance, plug-ins, etc. Hot-off-the-web it plays FLACs and has tabbed browsing of your music, which is very cool.<br /><br />That's the good part. The bad part is that it still doesn't have CD Ripping and encoding as of version 1.1.2 and iPod support is apparently wonky (a recent bug apparently had Songbird erasing tracks from the iPod without permission). In my own brief testing Songbird failed to initialize on install, hung on its second loading, and then when it ran somehow failed to load <I>any</I> metadata into the library though it apparently <I>did</I> read it while playing tracks back.<br /><br />The thing I really would emphasize in saying Songbird just isn't worth it to me right now is that I can see where they're going with it and I think the path is full of Awesome. In a few version numbers I may have to give it another try (for now, on Linux I'll stick with Exaile and on Windows, Winamp). So I don't want a bad review to be a condemning one--even the designers acknowledge that Songbird is barely versioned, just a few decimals past <I>pure</I> beta and with lots of kinks to be ironed out. But if you need a solution <I>now</I>, Songbird isn't it. It probably <I>will be</I>, just not yet. (And if you're in experimental mode, I'd say go ahead and take a gander at it and see what they're up to--it's worth that much, at least.)<br /><br />Hope that's helpful to someone/anyone.Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-67566323715957405832009-05-05T17:27:00.000-05:002009-05-05T17:27:00.000-05:00Anon, thanks for the tip, Songbird will be next on...Anon, thanks for the tip, Songbird will be next on the testing list.<br /><br />In between reviewing my resume and my certification paperwork last night, I fooled around with WinAmp and got it where I almost like it. I found a skin I can mostly live with, but I don't much care for how the library functions work - however, since there seems to be extensive customization options, it may be that I can tweak into behaving the way I want. It does seem to be much less resource intensive than WMP, but it doesn't allow much in the way of printing capability either.Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-62254675020150105252009-05-05T16:33:00.000-05:002009-05-05T16:33:00.000-05:00Just reinforcing my belief that Bill Gates is the ...Just reinforcing my belief that Bill Gates is the Anti-Christ.Keith Wilsonhttp://www.midlifepie.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-18319523256353000772009-05-05T16:24:00.000-05:002009-05-05T16:24:00.000-05:00Heck, I don't know if Jim will be interested in So...Heck, I don't know if Jim will be interested in Songbird, but <I>I</I> may have to take a look at it, anon: not for my Windows machine (happy with Winamp) but for Linux, which the Wikipedia article says is supported. The newest version of Amarok is kinda grotty under GNOME and Exaile hasn't quite won me over yet. (Don't even get me started on Totem. Just don't. And Banshee and Rhythmbox might be alright if you like iTunes, but I really don't so I can't say how they actually are <I>featurewise</I>).<br /><br />Anyway, thank you for the tip! I may take a look at that!Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-29731097755644552082009-05-05T13:15:00.000-05:002009-05-05T13:15:00.000-05:00Have you tried Songbird? It's open source from som...Have you tried Songbird? It's open source from some of the guys that did WinAmp. My music collection isn't very large so I don't know how robust Songbird can be or its high end capabilities.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbird_(software)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-74161510897146750122009-05-05T11:29:00.000-05:002009-05-05T11:29:00.000-05:00Huhn, I've never had a problem with my iTunes want...Huhn, I've never had a problem with my iTunes wanting to do all that. Although I can't speak to the super large libraries, I rotate out playlists all the time (copied MP3s to DVD for offline storage). But I drive it off my now 8 year old laptop, and it's got a small hard drive in it (I could do a total backup of the hard drive on my iPod).<br /><br />I have to use Microsoft products here at work on a constant basis. If I have to read the dialog box of "this device would work oh so much better if you connected it to a high-speed USB 2 port" one more time I might toss the machine. You don't have a USB 2 port little machine. Stop bugging me about it.<br /><br />And don't get me started on the whole "I'll copy and paste when I get good and ready to" problems I have with their software.Steve Buchheithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12999709767641212586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-63951552854726596322009-05-05T10:08:00.000-05:002009-05-05T10:08:00.000-05:00We use WMP for music management, but I use WinAmp ...We use WMP for music management, but I use WinAmp for online radio and some video downloads default to it (why? who knows?)<br /><br />I think it's fairly easy to use, but I don't download skins or do anything but upgrade when they tell me I have to. <br /><br />CassieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-13225591480233589102009-05-05T09:27:00.000-05:002009-05-05T09:27:00.000-05:00Until you mentioned it, I never even thought of ma...Until you mentioned it, I never even thought of making a cross-referenced database of my music, but now that I can't I suddenly really want to.<br /><br />That would be awesomely useful, especially if the database entries were clickable shortcuts to the track in question.<br /><br />Can't really dig around with this now, but I'll check back tonight.<br /><br />Here are a couple of places to start:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_media_players<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_player_(application_software)mensleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-38944314313140344362009-05-05T07:19:00.000-05:002009-05-05T07:19:00.000-05:00I wish I had some words of wisdom, but you lost me...I wish I had some words of wisdom, but you lost me at Windows.<br /><br />iTunes girl here, but I have been told it behaves differently on a PC. <br /><br />(and thanks for reminding me that I need to clear out all of my seasonal tunes out of my playlists)kimbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18202011517037727838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-51358193439882011932009-05-05T00:52:00.000-05:002009-05-05T00:52:00.000-05:00Jim...we have a great deal in common musically...y...Jim...we have a great deal in common musically...you've got at least half of my playlist in your playlist. <br /><br />WendyB_09WendyB_09https://www.blogger.com/profile/03788918629240949526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-5149296954947330802009-05-04T22:43:00.000-05:002009-05-04T22:43:00.000-05:00Jim: in all seriousness, I've been happy with Wina...Jim: in all seriousness, I've been happy with Winamp on my Windows machines. It handles large libraries pretty reliably, the interface <I>is</I> better than WMP in some respects (while I agree it's a small default font, getting to streaming audio and using bookmarks on WMP is a BITCH unless they fixed that with 11, which would shock me), and there are some good SHN (Shorten) and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) plugins for Winamp if you have any interest in ROIOs (I probably have at least one recording from every single Floyd tour ever, and a few tours (like '77) pretty damn well represented). And I think you'll find all of the interface issues can be fixed with skins.<br /><br />Of course, as always, the right program is the one that works for you. Unless it's WMP. WMP just sucks ass. :-)Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-38917651689870201492009-05-04T21:35:00.000-05:002009-05-04T21:35:00.000-05:00Yeah, and all of the songs suck too, also.Yeah, <I>and</I> all of the songs suck too, also.Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-13490262479370302892009-05-04T20:10:00.000-05:002009-05-04T20:10:00.000-05:00I'm not sure why it offends me so much, but that d...I'm not sure why it offends me so much, but that damned list takes up 8 full screens to scroll through.<br /><br />Bah!Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00648438549121320566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-19528390735110662182009-05-04T19:50:00.000-05:002009-05-04T19:50:00.000-05:00Interesting, I would have expected earlier Tom Pet...Interesting, I would have expected earlier Tom Petty songs.Random Michelle Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13817444379694818074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-14572334082720273402009-05-04T19:34:00.000-05:002009-05-04T19:34:00.000-05:00Yes, yes, I know.
But see Music Match, and JukeBo...Yes, yes, I know.<br /><br />But see Music Match, and JukeBox and the other mainstream media players I've tried just don't work on large libraries. They do, but it is just goddamned painfully slow. WMP at least can index and play large libraries without choking, it doesn't do much of anything else worth a shit, I grant you that, but at least it does what I need - mostly.<br /><br />Hey, I'm open to suggestions. Please, suggest away.Jim Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11259550121437562338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8243351006478134285.post-80492312379646786992009-05-04T19:11:00.000-05:002009-05-04T19:11:00.000-05:00WMP... WMP...? Oh! You mean Windows Media Player...WMP... WMP...? Oh! You mean Windows Media Player!<br /><br />Excuse me. Sorry, just threw up in my mouth a little!<br /><br />Winamp used to have an "export to HTML" but I'm not sure it still does (I don't see it in any of the menus, but it may be so long since I used the feature that I forgot where it was). Wouldn't solve your table problem, but would at least give you text you could use.<br /><br />But WMP? Shit, the only music player I know of (for Windows) worse than WMP is iTunes. Hell, the non-Windows media players I know of that are worse than WMP and iTunes are all in pre 1.x versions.<br /><br />WMP.... Wow.<br /><br />::shakes head sadly::Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18275812152895151542noreply@blogger.com