A New Hope: Songbird 0.7

I’ve always had trouble picking media player software.  The issue with iPod support always made things much more difficult — I’m more fond of Windows Media Player 11, but iTunes had the iPod support, and thus I usually opened iTunes anyway.  Problem with iTunes is that there was no free alternative — sure, I could’ve had access to my iPod in Windows Media Player 11 — if I paid $30 for an extra plug-in.  I had looked at View.tv recently, but that had no album art.  And what is life without album art?

Buzz around the latest Songbird 0.7 beta release grew, and I was interested.  I did my research — and it had iPod support!  I checked out some screenshots, and it looked comparable to iTunes.  Little did I know that when I installed Songbird, I’d never turn back.  I’m not writing a full review, but if you’re interested in some, here are a couple (surprisingly few):

• http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080822-hands-on-singing-along-with-songbird-0-7.html
• http://cybernetnews.com/2008/08/04/songbird-07-ditches-the-black-theme/

What I loved most about Songbird, similar to Firefox, was its add-ons.  It does look great by default, as did View.tv.  They both have iPod support.  Neither had album art.  Alas, that’s where the similarities end — with View.tv, you’re screwed.  With Songbird, you’ve got the Album Art Manager, MediaFlow, and a truckload of other options that make up for its default setbacks.  This, my co-op supervisor taught me, was the beauty of open-source: basically, as long as its got a fanbase and support, the sky’s the limit.

Reminds me of a certain media player, but I just can’t put my finger on it.

The main screen: an almost refreshingly basic view.  To be honest, I’d prefer iTunes’ view by album, but I’m hoping for an extension that will solve that.  Haha.  Er, as for 50 Cent, all I can say is that was from a long time ago.  I’m really not used to Songbird’s location of the Play button, but I guess it’ll grow on me naturally as iTunes did. 

A built-in browser just for extensions.  Beautiful, ain’t it?

Songbird’s got a built-in browser that is used for easy-installation of extensions.  Seriously, they’re just as easy to install as Firefox extensions are.  I’ve got to give kudos — after all, it’s still in beta. 

And after downloading and installing our add-on, and restarting Songbird…

Mediaflow: Watch out, Coverflow!

I remember seeing a WPF Application for a Coverflow compatible with Windows Media Player 11 — although that was experimental and way long ago.  I’ve since given up the dream.  Alas, hope is not lost, and we’ve got the Mediaflow extension for Songbird.  Isn’t she so perdy?  If only the Album Art Manager could find all my album art…actually, it’s not fault of Album Art Manager, as its built-in feature that allows it to automatically download album art off Amazon is absolutely ingenius.  My kudos to you, creator of Album Art Manager.  You too, creator of Mediaflow.  I can’t tell you how pleased I am, with iTunes: I almost forgot, but I had to manually grab the album art myself (until I became an iTunes customer).

I really hope Songbird becomes popular with the masses — for the sake of progression, and the benefit of all mankind.  I really can’t see a reason for it to fail.  I’ve only taken a look at its extensions: I haven’t even mentioned its compatibility with Last.fm, its lyrics feature, and the other themes out there.  Not to mention it’s still in beta.  I’m truly excited for Songbird 1.0 to come out — but with Songbird 0.7 already providing such stiff competition, we can only look forward to more innovative and powerful products from Microsoft and Apple to compete.  Beautiful.

• Download Link: http://www.getsongbird.com/
• Songbird Blog: http://blog.songbirdnest.com/