Filed under: Software, Internet Tools, iTunes, Open Source
Songbird for OS X coming soon
Songbird, the open source music player based on Firefox, will be available for OS X sometime this week (there is no hard release date, though there is some info in the post which suggests this week, but if it doesn't come out this week don't blame me). This player emphasizes interacting with websites (it is basically Firefox with a number of music playback features) to get your music.
Competition is good for users, so let's hope that Songbird is a solid alternative for iTunes.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jesse said 9:16AM on 6-05-2006
Does anyone know where to get that desktop?
Cheers
cmyk.design.web(at)gmail(dot)com
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Mephistophelian said 9:35AM on 6-05-2006
I was going to say that that is the most disgusting desktop I have ever seen.
Woops I just did.
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LinkinJunior said 9:40AM on 6-05-2006
I was going to ask the same thing.
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JT said 9:42AM on 6-05-2006
I like the I desktop. And now I want it.
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JaXX said 9:56AM on 6-05-2006
Hi,
It is not based on Firefox,
It's based on the Mozilla framework, on which Firefox/Thunderbird/Sunbird and numbers of other apps are based on. I wrote a few XUL apps myself, If it was better known it would have kept away M$ of making Xaml.
Unpack your firefox Jar files and look how sexy it is !
http://www.xulfr.org (French Xul site)
http://www.xulplanet.com
http://mozref.com
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Christian said 9:58AM on 6-05-2006
It won't fly. There are 3 criteria it needs to meet to even have a prayer of escaping the nest: 1) must support iPods, 2) must present compelling alternative to iTunes, 3) must not attract attention from Apple Legal.
Just on the basis of #3 alone, it's probably DOA. Sure, it has some community interest, but Apple has often let people's pet projects percolate for a while before slapping them down in court. #1 shouldn't be hard, but without iTMS, #2 is a no-go as well.
Nice try, though.
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Quang Minh said 10:29AM on 6-05-2006
What a desktop! nice one :x Anyone knows where can we find it :P Thanks
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tush said 11:47AM on 6-05-2006
I'd happily try an alternative to iTunes. Not that I don't like iTunes, it's just that I like competition.
In the end, the competition is better for consumers anyways.
Now if they could only revive MacAmp...
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Michael Martin said 11:58AM on 6-05-2006
#6: No-one can do no.1.... remember realplayer? Yeah..
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Craig Fowler said 12:12PM on 6-05-2006
I tried the windows version.. wasn't too impressed with it. It does everything that iTunes does, with the addition of access to various music stores, which I'll never use.
The only thing that would make it a good option would be some sort of video deal.. but I have a modded xbox, sooo...
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jaeR said 1:29PM on 6-05-2006
i believe that background made by a guy named mike matas who is a designer first for delicious and now apple, i think he has the backgrounds available at mikematas.com
jr
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bt said 1:56PM on 6-05-2006
Can you even use music from other music stores on a Mac? Don't most require Windows Media Player 10?
It'll be worth looking at to see some different thoughts behind a music player, but currently it just looks like it's iTunes 4.0 with a black interface instead of brushed metal.
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Koshi said 2:21PM on 6-05-2006
Before the rumors get out of control, we're not looking to make the mac version available sometime this week, but soon. On the horizon, if you are a developer, we will be making our source control public for those who like to DIY...
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Nivi said 2:43PM on 6-05-2006
"it is basically Firefox with a number of music playback features"
The way I think about Songbird is as "a media player that can access lots of media services".
Napster only connects to the Napster service. iTunes only connects to the iTunes Music Store. That's like the old days of AOL, Compuserve, and Prodigy which had software tied to their service.
Songbird is the Mosaic of media players -- we want it to connect to any media service in the world.
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Rob Lord said 2:52PM on 6-05-2006
ALERT -- There is no delivery date specified in the blog post. Scott, please fix your blog entry.
Thanks for your interest everybody.
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michel said 6:53PM on 6-05-2006
comment 6 :
there are MANY itunes-like software for YEARS. for example Rythmbox, Amarok or Banshee.
none got one tiny inch of problems with apple legals. there are clearly NOT "itunes" branded.
songbird will not be "alone". it will coupled with some services.
and still, before "songbird" fly we have time. it's only beta for now.
I do not believe millions of people will forget itunes for it. but it can be useful for MANY people.
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derek said 4:14PM on 6-07-2006
Songbird happens to be a song by Oasis on their album Heathen Chemistry ;)
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Pakk99 said 12:08PM on 6-17-2006
The old days? Sorry Charlie, but you need to step outside of the open source community for a few seconds. The fact of the matter is that the majority of consumers want products that let them do what they want to do, easily. As such, "synergetic" products are the growth edge of product development, and not just in the software community. Swiss Army Knife-type products, like Songbird, don't and won't attract most consumers. Period. Why download a bloated, slow, confusing product that makes me shop for my music, when I can download iTunes and buy almost any music I want at better quality than any other online music service out there? You can call it choice if you want, but most consumers have neither the time nor the interest to comparison shop for a song. Especially not when there's an easier (and significantly better) alternative out there.
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Pakk99 said 12:10PM on 6-17-2006
Oh, and XUL is a sloppy mess.
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