Filed under: Software, Odds and ends, Leopard, Developer
Delicious Library 2 preview

And there are updates behind the graphics, too-- a faster barcode scanner, some super seekrit features (that is "worth the purchase price" for parents-- ??), and sharing features, which means finally, this program has a real purpose other than just staring at the stuff you own. You'll be able to share your collection with friends and even strangers-- can't wait to see how that works.
Sounds like fun. Stevenson says he wants Delicious Library 2 to set the benchmark for the first generation of Leopard apps, so we can definitely expect big, shiny stuff from these folks. Please, Delicious, show us how it's done.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Woz said 2:04PM on 10-20-2007
Forget the fancy html exporting etc, when will it do the basic stuff like tell me whether a CD that I have just barcode scanned is already in my iTunes library or not? I bought DL1 expecting it to do that and was pretty gobsmacked to find that it didn't!!
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cozart said 2:12PM on 10-20-2007
will 2.0 be a free upgrade for existing DL users?
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2shae said 2:16PM on 10-20-2007
I wish you could just double click on for examle a video that you have in your library to play it.
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punkassjim said 2:19PM on 10-20-2007
Someone please explain to me how this enriches your life. I'm not being facetious, I really want to know.
It looks like such a well-written program, attractive, etc. But I don't understand why I'd want it.
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aconcernedreader said 2:31PM on 10-20-2007
Look how easy it is to take your shoddy journalism out of context:
"due out sometime after Leopard hits next week (according to Wil Shipley, it may be as late as February)"
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XLM said 2:28PM on 10-20-2007
@cozart.
Nope not free. From the delicious blog...
"First off, because there will be an upgrade price available (sorry, but it won't be free -- we've already provided five or six free upgrades to Delicious Library 1 with major, major functionality, which is why we're at version 1.63 now)."
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Simon Arch said 2:28PM on 10-20-2007
Again, the focus is on eye candy. I tell you I don't give a rat's bicuspid about eye candy! Does it WORK better, or is DL2 just a "Look what I can do!" app like DL? Gimme some MEAT fer cryin' out loud!
Has the application received any attention in the areas which matter most to people who actually USE the program for its (alleged) purpose? Does DL2 use SQL? Is it faster? Can it handle massive libraries (2,000+ items) without griding to a halt? Does it search anywhere other than Amazon? Can other sources at least be added? Will it scan your iTunes library?
I don't mind paying for an upgrade, but it's got to be worth my money to do so. If DL2 is just more of the same but with flashier graphics I'll pass.
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m said 3:00PM on 10-20-2007
i remember when DL first came out, i wrote will shipley an email asking if he planned to (and why he hadn't already) implement the ability to click on a dvd, cd, etc to play it. although it wouldn't work for most games and books, it would still be incredible, and give the program functionality. but since it does not have that ability, i fail to see the point of its existence (unless you are truly anal and organized) - i can turn my head 45 degrees from where i am sitting and look at at my shelves of media.
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jvcalin said 3:33PM on 10-20-2007
"some super seekrit features (that is "worth the purchase price" for parents-- ??)"
Oh yay! We finally get to scan our massive porn collections!!
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ZX said 3:42PM on 10-20-2007
they had one o.k upgrade since 2004...4 years for 2x!!
*also, 4 years later, things had changed and i really can't see why we need this since most of my stuff are already in iTunes.
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valthewu said 4:25PM on 10-20-2007
Can you tag the entries? no? then it is completely useless for any serious researchable library.
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Mike Lee said 4:27PM on 10-20-2007
> When will it do the basic stuff like tell me whether a CD that I have just barcode scanned is already in my iTunes.
In all these years, that's the first time I've ever heard that idea, and I thought I had heard them all. Though, I'm not sure how that would work, since the items in iTunes don't have barcodes to match against. That said, I think this could be done in AppleScript.
> Will 2.0 be a free upgrade for existing DL users?
No, believe me when I say it's been way too much work to give away for free, but I honestly think it will be well worth the cost of upgrading.
> I wish you could just double click on for examle a video that you have in your library to play it.
Delicious Library is not Front Row. That said, this is something we'd like to implement if there's room.
> Someone please explain to me how this enriches your life.
It helps you to get organized and keep track of your stuff, so you don't forget who borrowed a movie or buy the same book twice. With sharing, you will be able to see what movies your friend has and save a trip to the video store, or notice that the person you admire has similar taste is music as you. Given how much money and energy people expend on their media, a tool that helps you get in touch with that media can be very enriching.
> Does DL2 use SQL? Is it faster?
Yes.
> Can it handle massive libraries (2,000+ items) without griding to a halt?
Yes.
> Does it search anywhere other than Amazon?
Not yet.
> Can other sources at least be added?
Not officially, though we have made Delicious Library 2 more extensible.
> Will it scan your iTunes library?
Yes.
> I can turn my head 45 degrees from where I am sitting and look at at my shelves of media.
Unless someone borrowed your media. Or it's in a storage unit. Or your house burned down and your insurance company needs to know what you had and what it was worth.
> 4 years for 2x!!
Don't exaggerate. Delicious Library came out in November of 2004. That's not quite 3 years, let alone 4. That said, believe you me: we know how long it's been. Remember that we don't get paid until Delicious Library 2 ships.
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Mike Lee said 4:32PM on 10-20-2007
> Can you tag the entries?
Yes.
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Conor said 4:31AM on 10-21-2007
I need to do more marketing. People talk about certain features like nobody has ever done them before when DVDpedia (http://bruji.com/) has for years: you can play movies a la front row, it's SQL, it's fast and can handle thousand of movies easily, has HTML export, statistics, lets you drag entries to the Finder to create files and is extensible via plug-ins. Maybe I will have to add some glow and shattering effects of my own, just to make sure I stay king of the hill. Although Scott Stevenson is an excellent programmer, if he is involved I might have to add more than that.
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Simon Arch said 6:50PM on 10-20-2007
Mike, I'd like to thank you for answering my questions. I really appreciate you taking the time to do so!
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Scott said 10:12PM on 10-20-2007
Conor beat me to it--I was going to write that it sounds like DL2 may finally do some of the features that are already built into DVDpedia/Bookpedia/CDpedia today. But hey--if a book will "shatter" when I delete it, then I guess that makes all the difference.
Really, guys...silly visual effects and sounds are cute the first time, and annoying after that. But the level of customization and feature set of DVDpedia is wonderful EVERY time you use it. And it's available TODAY, and has had many of those features people requested for a while now. I've been using it for more than a year, with just over 1,000 items in my library. It's my favorite non-Apple program on my Mac.
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StevenC said 1:03AM on 10-21-2007
I'm a current Delicious Library user. Thanks to the comments on this DL2 preview, I just discovered the *Pedia apps. Healthy competition is a good thing for end-users.
I'm not convinced that DL2's eye candy will be worth the upgrade cost, and Bookpedia's speed, additional features, and ease of migration from Delicious Library just won me over. It imported my enormous DL library absolutely seamlessly.
I'm switching to Bookpedia.
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Matt said 1:41AM on 10-21-2007
I would also suggest taking a look at Booxter 2.0 (http://www.deepprose.com) which will keep track of your books, music, movies, and also comic books. It's been around for many years, has just been updated with a lot of great features, and is available right now. It can also import from Delicious Library, so if you are a current Delicious Library user, you can download Booxter and try it out.
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DigitalFury said 4:26AM on 10-21-2007
@StevenC
Shouldn't this be the case for all DL users then?
I mean when I first "came back" to the Mac in the early Jaguar days, everybody seemed to be talking about DL and how great it was (like now), you know more or less like a Mac benchmark application for others to follow.
It (DL) may have more eye candy, but the *Pedias are much more powerful in functionalities, and in the end more useful.
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tooth said 6:27AM on 10-21-2007
Mark me down as another satisfied DVD/Book/CD pedia user.
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