Why does Winamp, WMP, QCD, etc just NOT GET IT?

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: skace
QT is malware because it is nearly impossible to get it to stop opening on reboot short of uninstalling it.

You can disable the system tray icon in the QT control panel. I've found QT much easier to manage and control than, say, RealPlayer (which I WOULD consider "malware").

 

[Trevelyan]

Can someone offer an alternative to iTunes that has comparable library management and playlist creation features?

 

[mugs]

Winamp has a great music library feature... it's called Explorer. It's so good, Microsoft integrated into every version of Windows since Win95... even before Winamp existed. It allows me to organize my music by artist, album, genre, however I want. It's really awesome.

 

[Trevelyan]

Originally posted by: mugs
Winamp has a great music library feature... it's called Explorer. It's so good, Microsoft integrated into every version of Windows since Win95... even before Winamp existed. It allows me to organize my music by artist, album, genre, however I want. It's really awesome.

That's cool, so tell me, using Explorer, how can I create playlists based on a simple search, or rate songs, or organize by play count. And say I don't jsut want to arrange them in a specific order, but I want to play songs in a certain genre, but only by certain artists or in certain albums... oh wait, iTunes offers those features in a very simple way. What else, if anything, can do that better than iTunes? I'm not trying to antagonize you, I'm trying to get an answer.

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: MrChad
QuickTime qualifies as malware?

Yes.

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: skace
QT is malware because it is nearly impossible to get it to stop opening on reboot short of uninstalling it.

You can disable the system tray icon in the QT control panel. I've found QT much easier to manage and control than, say, RealPlayer (which I WOULD consider "malware").

And Realplayer is malware. It would actually kill my modem everytime I ran it. POS.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan

Originally posted by: mugs
Winamp has a great music library feature... it's called Explorer. It's so good, Microsoft integrated into every version of Windows since Win95... even before Winamp existed. It allows me to organize my music by artist, album, genre, however I want. It's really awesome.

That's cool, so tell me, using Explorer, how can I create playlists based on a simple search, or rate songs, or organize by play count. And say I don't jsut want to arrange them in a specific order, but I want to play songs in a certain genre, but only by certain artists or in certain albums... oh wait, iTunes offers those features in a very simple way. What else, if anything, can do that better than iTunes? I'm not trying to antagonize you, I'm trying to get an answer.

I've never had a need for those features, sorry I can't help you. If you organize your Mp3s like this:
Genre->Artist->Album->Song, it's pretty easy to add only certain artists from a particular genre, or certain albums for a particular artist. If you want to pick out a variety of albums from different artists in different genres I suppose that would get a bit more complicated, but I'm not sure if iTunes could do that any more easily (I haven't used iTunes in a long time, but if there's no logical connection between the albums you want to add, I'm not sure how it could make it simpler than using explorer)

 

[BlamoHammer]

I use WMP for eveythign as I prefer the way it organizes the actual files on the hard drive, but the one feature that always makes me consider going back to iTunes is their search function. The way it narrows down your library each time you press another letter in the search box is awesome!! no having to put in the entire song, artist, album name, no having to wait while it searches, PERFECT! Instant, easy, intuitive. If WMP had this feature I would never even think about using anything else.

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: malak

Originally posted by: MrChad
QuickTime qualifies as malware?

Yes.

No. :roll:

You guys are hilarious. You start a thread about how much you like iTunes, then you claim that the media player that it is based on is "malware" :laugh:

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: mugs
Winamp has a great music library feature... it's called Explorer. It's so good, Microsoft integrated into every version of Windows since Win95... even before Winamp existed. It allows me to organize my music by artist, album, genre, however I want. It's really awesome.

Why Explorer and not pen/paper?

Computers have certain unique advantages, among those are Database storage, Management, and Manipulation. Organization of Data is another reason to have a Computer and something it excels at. Why have one of the most Automated Tools in the history of humanity just to store your handmade lists?

 

[SleepWalkerX]

Originally posted by: duragezic
Uhhh cause people who have their music organized don't need a big, bloated program and a media library.

^ exactly why. i would use foobar2000, but it looks so damn ugly. so winamp it is.

 

[Trevelyan]

Originally posted by: Boztech

Originally posted by: malak

Originally posted by: MrChad
QuickTime qualifies as malware?

Yes.

No. :roll:

You guys are hilarious. You start a thread about how much you like iTunes, then you claim that the media player that it is based on is "malware" :laugh:

You guys? I started this thread and like Quicktime a lot, IMHO better quality for movie previews than WMP.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
You guys? I started this thread and like Quicktime a lot, IMHO better quality for movie previews than WMP.

That's like choosing between dying in a fire and drowning in boiling oil... there are other video players out there you know Some even play music as well... And all beat apple's & m$'s offerings.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX

Originally posted by: duragezic
Uhhh cause people who have their music organized don't need a big, bloated program and a media library.

^ exactly why. i would use foobar2000, but it looks so damn ugly. so winamp it is.

Give it a week, once you get used to the fact that not every feature has a gleaming button eating up ram, you'll be able to see the many ways in which it excels. If you have a good setup, you'll be able to hear the way in which it excels too

 

[sparkyclarky]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan
Can someone offer an alternative to iTunes that has comparable library management and playlist creation features?

Check out J-River Media Center 10. You have to buy it ($40), but it is significantly more powerful than iTunes in pretty much every area imaginable. I've had it for 1.5 years and it works wonders. Browse the product a bit before you dismiss it. Also, try out the 30 day trial if you're interested. I realize that there are great free players out there, but from what I've seen, J-River does a magnificent job of integrating ripping, music management, and music playback in one application.

 

[NightCrawler]

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX

Originally posted by: duragezic
Uhhh cause people who have their music organized don't need a big, bloated program and a media library.

^ exactly why. i would use foobar2000, but it looks so damn ugly. so winamp it is.

Foobar is pretty: http://img15.exs.cx/my.php?loc...age=foobar2005a6kk.png

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX

Originally posted by: duragezic
Uhhh cause people who have their music organized don't need a big, bloated program and a media library.

^ exactly why. i would use foobar2000, but it looks so damn ugly. so winamp it is.

Give it a week, once you get used to the fact that not every feature has a gleaming button eating up ram, you'll be able to see the many ways in which it excels. If you have a good setup, you'll be able to hear the way in which it excels too

Still claiming that, despite the Foobar devs claiming the opposite?

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Sunner

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX

Originally posted by: duragezic
Uhhh cause people who have their music organized don't need a big, bloated program and a media library.

^ exactly why. i would use foobar2000, but it looks so damn ugly. so winamp it is.

Give it a week, once you get used to the fact that not every feature has a gleaming button eating up ram, you'll be able to see the many ways in which it excels. If you have a good setup, you'll be able to hear the way in which it excels too

Still claiming that, despite the Foobar devs claiming the opposite?

The devs don't make the claim because it's not a supported standard and is disabled by default. I know what I've heard firsthand through a good setup.

 

[cmv]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: skace
QT is malware because it is nearly impossible to get it to stop opening on reboot short of uninstalling it.

You can disable the system tray icon in the QT control panel. I've found QT much easier to manage and control than, say, RealPlayer (which I WOULD consider "malware").

It still runs a process on boot. You can disable that process with the startup utility from here:

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/utilities.shtml

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Sunner

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX

Originally posted by: duragezic
Uhhh cause people who have their music organized don't need a big, bloated program and a media library.

^ exactly why. i would use foobar2000, but it looks so damn ugly. so winamp it is.

Give it a week, once you get used to the fact that not every feature has a gleaming button eating up ram, you'll be able to see the many ways in which it excels. If you have a good setup, you'll be able to hear the way in which it excels too

Still claiming that, despite the Foobar devs claiming the opposite?

The devs don't make the claim because it's not a supported standard and is disabled by default. I know what I've heard firsthand through a good setup.

Or maybe the devs simply know the difference between placebo and real world benefits.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Sunner

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Sunner

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX

Originally posted by: duragezic
Uhhh cause people who have their music organized don't need a big, bloated program and a media library.

^ exactly why. i would use foobar2000, but it looks so damn ugly. so winamp it is.

Give it a week, once you get used to the fact that not every feature has a gleaming button eating up ram, you'll be able to see the many ways in which it excels. If you have a good setup, you'll be able to hear the way in which it excels too

Still claiming that, despite the Foobar devs claiming the opposite?

The devs don't make the claim because it's not a supported standard and is disabled by default. I know what I've heard firsthand through a good setup.

Or maybe the devs simply know the difference between placebo and real world benefits.

I'm sure they do, I do as well. Have you compared ASIO or KS with kmixer? If so, what sound card and speakers/headphones have you tried it with? Please answer, I'm extremely curious.

 

[Cerb]

Playlist: a big window will do.

Media Library: I do have an increasing amount of music. Why does this necessitate bloated crap like a music library? We've had these things called directory structures for decades, dude.
Artist/disc/songs, and flac folder if new enough.

User-friendly: you double-click on a song, and it plays. right-click, and you get options (like ABX, ReplayGain, transparent tag editing, including multiple files, CD writing, header fixing, etc.).

FB2K offers everything necessary, other cool stuff, and a much better interface than iTunes, except for iTunes' search, which does rock.

So, face it: many people don't want the same things others do. You can use iTunes. I won't. Why? Because as much as you think other players suck, I think iTunes sucks, as do others.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: Trevelyan

Originally posted by: mugs
Winamp has a great music library feature... it's called Explorer. It's so good, Microsoft integrated into every version of Windows since Win95... even before Winamp existed. It allows me to organize my music by artist, album, genre, however I want. It's really awesome.

That's cool, so tell me, using Explorer, how can I create playlists based on a simple search,

You don't.

or rate songs,

You don't.

or organize by play count.

You don't.

And say I don't jsut want to arrange them in a specific order, but I want to play songs in a certain genre, but only by certain artists or in certain albums...

ctrl+n, ctrl+~ (keyboard shortcut I have for my command line), type "m:\" and then enter (mapped drive), move mouse to folder, Hold down left mouse button, Move mouse to new playlist, release mouse button. Repeat as needed, culling albums not wanted when entire artists are copied. Simple, direct, effective, and no ambiguities involved.

oh wait, iTunes offers those features in a very simple way. What else, if anything, can do that better than iTunes? I'm not trying to antagonize you, I'm trying to get an answer.

There are people out there who call things like that bloat. Kernel streaming, RG, and quick effective transcoding support > all that iTunes stuff you mentioned.

 

[Sunner]

Originally posted by: Gurck

Originally posted by: Sunner
Or maybe the devs simply know the difference between placebo and real world benefits.

I'm sure they do, I do as well. Have you compared ASIO or KS with kmixer? If so, what sound card and speakers/headphones have you tried it with? Please answer, I'm extremely curious.

Haven't tried it in a while, I'll download Foobar2K and try again though.
Audigy2, a Marantz 6200 reciever and a pair of Jamo E800 speakers.

 

[Gurck]

Audigy 2 isn't a very good card for music, though it has its place in games. For $25 you can get the chaintech av710, configure it to use the better DAC (by default it doesn't for 2 channel sound), and enjoy better sounding music.