uman

Been thinking about making a music player / iPod manager that blows significantly less than iTunes. Anybody have any ideas of what they'd like to see included in it?

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coldDeath

A feature which converts all the music to AAC format, then removes the old links to mp3s and wmas from the library.

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Sane

looool ... Maddox (Not Safe For Work)

The last quarter is about iTunes.

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Arevos

What would be the point? I can sort of understand having to convert WMAs, given that some software or hardware players might not support that format, but MP3s are supported by almost everything. I can't think of a benefit to converting MP3s to AAC, and the obvious disadvantage is that it will degrade the quality of your music.

ZenMasterJG

I'm actually working on a similar project right now, that includes an installer & configuration manager for the Rockbox open-source firmware.

Ooble

OK, to replace iTunes, you need to:

1. make it easy to use. iTunes is in serious need of functionality, but the tiny amount of features it does have are very easy to get your head around and use.
   
2. make it cross-platform. iTunes is available on the two biggest OSes around... if you can get Linux in there as well, you're onto a winner. The problem with audio players is that firstly, none of the good ones are cross-platform so I can use the same one on all my systems, and secondly, there are no good Mac players. It used to be difficult to make things cross-platform, but there are several libraries you can use to make your life easier. And no, this does not include Java.
   
3. Add functionality wherever you can. If a feature might be useful, add it. There is such a thing as feature bloat, but avoid stuff just for the sake of eye candy (like visualisations... who seriously wants to watch their music?) and concentrate on delivering the features in an easy-to-use manner (see a) and you'll get no complaints.
   
4. Make it pretty. Duh.
   
5. Release an MP3 player that will beat the iPod, and make it only compatible with your software. And while you're at it, make your own Mac OS-beater and make the software the default audio player.
   
   Obviously, this, you can't do, which is why you'll have a hard time overtaking iTunes. It isn't, however, a reason not to bother trying.

Good luck. Let me know if you need a beta-tester.

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uman

Thanks for the suggestions everybody. I am currently in the planning phase and can't start coding until July (because I don't have enough computer time nor the right to install a proper development environment here in Foobaria)

I'm going to be using Java, not because of its actual merits but because I must learn the language. I want to take the AP test in Computer Science at the end of next year which requires knowledge of Java.

For British etc. type people who don't know what that is, it's basically a test you take at the end of taking a certain class in school... in America we have a shitty and mega easy curriculum with no end-of-school test, AP classes were created as optional harder classes to alleviate that problem. You take the test in the class at the end and then usually you don't have to sit through lame introductory classes your first year at university. The level is generally comparable to the French bac, German abitur, whatever the Brits have, etc. I'm going to take it as a free candidate, having not taken the class in HS, which means I'll have to learn both the Java language and academic CS principles on my own. I know most of the latter but not the former which is why I want to make some stuff in it!

Anyway... one of the main things that pisses me off in iTunes is the whole "synchronization" model: you have to keep the exact same set of songs on your computer as on your iPod, generally. I should be able to delete all the songs off my comp, then still be able to listen to them while my iPod's plugged in...

I'll be taking your suggestions into account, especially Ooble's list. I already had envisioned format conversion capabilities, but I'm glad you guys support it too.

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ReggaetonKing

The AP exams are world wide my man! Advanced Placement courses are designed for student have excel in a certain area of study and wish to obtain college course by the end of the year by taking the AP exam. AP exam is optional when enrolling into a AP course.

Now on topic:
I would recommend download the Java Media Framework if you are going to develop this program in Java. That should give you a jump start on things!

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ZenMasterJG

Ooble
OK, to replace iTunes, you need to:
1. make it easy to use. iTunes is in serious need of functionality, but the tiny amount of features it does have are very easy to get your head around and use.

We're attempting to make the interface very iTunes-like, usability is our #1 goal.

2. make it cross-platform. iTunes is available on the two biggest OSes around... if you can get Linux in there as well, you're onto a winner. The problem with audio players is that firstly, none of the good ones are cross-platform so I can use the same one on all my systems, and secondly, there are no good Mac players. It used to be difficult to make things cross-platform, but there are several libraries you can use to make your life easier. And no, this does not include Java.


It'll be crossplatform between Windows & linux, certainly. Maybe we can get around to making it work for mac, but no guarantees.

3. Add functionality wherever you can. If a feature might be useful, add it. There is such a thing as feature bloat, but avoid stuff just for the sake of eye candy (like visualisations... who seriously wants to watch their music?) and concentrate on delivering the features in an easy-to-use manner (see a) and you'll get no complaints.

You have any ideas for neat features? Beyond the usual playing, synching, etc, our player will have the ability to install new rockbox themes & plugins, generate HTML playlists. We're designing an easy API to access its internals, as well, so writing plugins (in python) will be nice and easy.

4. Make it pretty. Duh.

We're probably going to use wxPython, so version 1 will probably be hideous, but at least look native to the OS. At this stage we could still change our minds and go with GTK.

5. Release an MP3 player that will beat the iPod, and make it only compatible with your software. And while you're at it, make your own Mac OS-beater and make the software the default audio player.

We're using the rockbox opensource firmware, which can run on iPods, Archos, iRiver, and a few other players. We're hoping to make it so our software works well with all of them. At first, we'll be testing specifically for iPods, but hope to get beta-testers with other players so we can make sure it works with all of them.

Good luck. Let me know if you need a beta-tester.
I will, when we get the darn thing done to beta. (By the end of the semester, hopefully. We're pre-pre-pre-pre-alpha, at the moment. :p )

uman:
Sorry for borrowing your thread, just wanted to comment since we seem to have similar projects

DaWei

ZenMasterJG and Uman are the same person? Remarkable, considering the differences between Deer Valley and Boston.

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