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Mozilla-based Songbird music player is available

Dec. 3, 2008 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

I’m not sure when this happened exactly, but the open source Songbird music player, which is based on Mozilla technology, is now available in 1.0 form.

Songbird is an open-source customizable music player that's under active development.

We're working on creating a non-proprietary, cross platform, extensible tool that will help enable new ways to playback, manage, and discover music. There are lots of ways to contribute your time to the project. We'd love your help!

There are several features we're proud of, but we'll be the first to admit that others need ironing out, are experimental, or are just plain missing. There's still a lot to do.

Here’s some info about the features of this free player:

Media Importing

Add media to Songbird by importing from your file system or iTunes.

Media Playback

Songbird supports MP3, FLAC, and Vorbis on all platforms; WMA and WMA DRM on Windows; and AAC and Fairplay on Windows and Mac.

GStreamer

Songbird now uses GStreamer as our main media playback system, across all platforms.

Smart Playlists

Create dynamic playlists that automatically update based on criteria you set.

Web Browser

Songbird includes an integrated web browser with features like bookmarking, tabbed browsing, and more.

Cross Platform

Songbird runs on Windows, Linux and Mac.

Multi-language Support

Over 25 completed, community-contributed localizations and growing!

Automatic Updates

Always stay up to date using Songbird's built-in automatic updates.

Setup Assistant

Quickly setup Songbird for the first time.

Custom UI

Make Songbird your own by choosing from dozens of different skins feathers.

Library Management

Browse, organize, sort and search your media.

Developer Support

Songbird is getting better everyday thanks to its open platform and growing developer community.

There are some useful features in beta as well, including album art, subscriptions, expanded device support (Zune and iPod), and more. Looks interesting, but I’m wondering whether the world was really clamoring for the next WinAMP.

Discuss this Article 37

gorath
on Dec 3, 2008
I'm sure I'll look back one day, and deem myself an idiot for saying this, but right now I can't see why you'd need a browser in a music player.
Ocean
on Dec 3, 2008
It *is* a browser with a media player attached.
mikeybthepilot
on Dec 3, 2008
I've been using it for a couple years now and I think it's great! The web browser functionality isn't the primary feature that I use although it makes discovering music on websites easy. What I use it for is its great music library and web-radio functionality; it is also very expandible with add-ons which allow it to communicate with a bunch of different MP3 players. It's a great iTunes replacement program for the PC and Linux (it's stable and non-virus-like) and allows you to purchase music from everywhere but iTunes and put it on your iPod thus breaking the iTunes monopoly on content. (I actually use an iRiver but my friend uses it on her iPod and loves it) I switched from Winamp to Songbird and haven't looked back!
weedmonk
on Dec 3, 2008
SB is what I usually install for the folks. Lightweight and doesn't come with all the crapware bloat that iTunes has.
da-chief
on Dec 3, 2008
I would say it replaces WINAMP when WINAMP started to SUCK about 3 years ago.. (HELLOOO AOL).. This is why we need it.. Hopefully no "BLOATWARE" will be added as well.. D/C
shark47
on Dec 3, 2008
Very OT (Sorry!): http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/12/02/cardio-with-obama/ Some blog published an article about Obama's workout and it became very popular because it mentioned that Obama uses a Zune. Read the comments on this blog. Some people are shocked. I saw this on Gizmodo. An update was published later: http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/12/03/zunegate/ It's probably not his player and may not even be a Zune, but it sure is funny. :)
Waethorn
on Dec 3, 2008
Already seen something like this. It's called Media Monkey. http://www.mediamonkey.com The best feature is the extensive tag editing capabilities. One of the better options is converting image tags from folder.jpg-style links to embedded images.
Ocean
on Dec 3, 2008
Shark is a troll.
shark47
on Dec 4, 2008
"Shark is a troll." Coming from you, yeah, that carries a lot of weight. :-)
Ocean
on Dec 4, 2008
If it's trolling when one person does it, then it's trolling whenever anyone does it. >>I want to correct what I said yesterday about Obama using a Zune. I claimed that it was his Zune. I don't know for sure that it was his. It could belong to one of the many Secret Service dudes that were at the gym, Michelle, or even one of his daughters. His headphones were not the standard iPod headphones, rather ones that wrap around your ear like the image to the right. The headphones were gray colored, either because they were gray or because they were really worn from use. I vividly remember Obama pulling out an MP3 player with his left hand while exercising on the machine. It had a dark case protecting it and from what I saw, he was using a Zune. I've seen a Zune in action. I know what it looks like. But no matter how sure I am, there will always be the possibility that he uses some other device. << http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2008/12/03/zunegate/
gorath
on Dec 4, 2008
Does it really matter what media player Obama uses, REALLY?
mikegalos@msn.com
on Dec 4, 2008
gorath Does it really matter any less than the other conversations on here, REALLY?
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"Does it really matter any less than the other conversations on here, REALLY?" In more intelligent news, the Canadian PM is meeting with the GG today to stall the confidence vote and prevent a separatist-backed motion towards a new government. ....and all you Americans can talk about is what MP3 player your new leader uses??! LOL! "Now watch this drive!", indeed!
gorath
on Dec 4, 2008
good point, Mike.
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
Not sure if this works outside of Canada, but here it is: http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/news/features/harper-address-081203.wmv http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/news/features/opposition-reacts-081203.wmv http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/news/features/duceppe-reacts-081203.wmv http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/news/features/layton-reacts-081203.wmv If anybody likes GM production in North America, they might want to follow this - the Oshawa plant is the exclusive manufacturing plant of a large number of GM vehicles. Without funding from the Canadian government, they could end up broke by the end of the year.
shark47
on Dec 4, 2008
"If it's trolling when one person does it, then it's trolling whenever anyone does it." You don't know the meaning of "trolling" then. What you don't understand is not every OT link is trolling. That's the reason no one calls out doc for his OT links. Because he isn't trolling. Trolling is when you post incendiary OT material and attempt to bait posters. You do that frequently. BTW, I did post both the links. Troll!
shark47
on Dec 4, 2008
"Does it really matter what media player Obama uses, REALLY?" Not really. I just thought it was interesting that this article became so popular because of that. The author even referred to the controversy generated as "Zunegate". :-) I would like to point out that it wasn't an attempt at trolling like Ocean and robertsjoe generally do. The links I provided were OT, no doubt, but no way were they attacking a particular company, product, or even an individual.
lotsamystuff
on Dec 4, 2008
"....and all you Americans can talk about is what MP3 player your new leader uses??! LOL!" That's because Canada--our 51st state--is irrelevant. We give it about as much concern as the machinations of our local sewer board.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Dec 4, 2008
"Does it really matter what media player Obama uses, REALLY?" Well, it does offer some entertainment in watching a significant percentage of the US population deal with dualing identity issues. Personally, I'm pro-Zune and pro-Obama so for me it's just fine.
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"That's because Canada--our 51st state--is irrelevant." Well, when the conversation comes up as to what MP3 player your leader uses, that must use up all of your attention span.
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"We give it about as much concern as the machinations of our local sewer board." ....and that's where your economy is.
lotsamystuff
on Dec 4, 2008
BTW, if you ARE interested in sewer board politics, you might want to check this out: http://tinyurl.com/5haere " 'But mommy, he started it!' That's about the best explanation Canadians are likely to get from feuding Parliamentarians over why they are all acting like children instead of getting on with the business of governing the country in the face of looming economic recession." Yep. Buncha fscking babies. Wae, you have lost your credibility to ever comment negatively on U.S. politics again.
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"We give it about as much concern as the machinations of our local sewer board." So tell me losta: do you like flushing money down the toilet? Cuz your economy is in the sewer, and your government is throwing money at it.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Dec 4, 2008
"Well, when the conversation comes up as to what MP3 player your leader uses, that must use up all of your attention span." Nonsense. We don't care what MP3 player our leader uses. For all I know Cheney doesn't even own one. Now, as for our leader-elect, ...
Ocean
on Dec 4, 2008
>>Trolling is when you post incendiary OT material and attempt to bait posters.<< Oh. I'm not a troll then. Must be why Paul has resisted all efforts to have me removed.
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"Wae, you have lost your credibility to ever comment negatively on U.S. politics again." By using a quote from an editorial from a Montreal newspaper? You should do a little more research homework next time losta. You never had any credibility to begin with. I bet I could do the same by searching for some quotes from Al Jazeera against the US, but the results would be overwhelming.
Dipsh t Admin
on Dec 4, 2008
Youz guys up in Canada, as much as you might hate it, but the success of your economy goes lockstep with our economy, so you shouldn't hold any ill will for us and hope for the best. When the US gets sick, we tend to spread it around like syphilis on a submarine.
Ocean
on Dec 4, 2008
Interesting since this thread has turned into a free discussion: >>Steve Ballmer on the iPhone’s prospects, back in April 2007: There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance.<< Today- > >>....umbers from a Gartner report on worldwide smart phone market share. The OS numbers are interesting: Symbian at 63%, RIM at 16%, iPhone OS at 13%, and Windows Mobile at 11%. But it’s the year-over-year growth where you can see who has actual momentum: Symbian is down 12% and Windows Mobile is down 3%; RIM is up 82% and iPhone OS is up a staggering 328%.<< http://daringfireball.net/linked/2008/12/04/gartner
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"For all I know Cheney doesn't even own one." Cheney prefers listening to babies cry when he eats them anyway. ;)
Ocean
on Dec 4, 2008
>>Nonsense. We don't care what MP3 player our leader uses. For all I know Cheney doesn't even own one.<< touché Well-played, well-played!
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"so you shouldn't hold any ill will for us and hope for the best" I do. What I regret is the amount of business we do with the US. It would be better if our dollar wasn't compared to yours. Other countries already moved away from using the greenback as their comparison, instead by trading openly on the worldwide market, and they're now not feeling this problem. If nobody actually SAID that the US was in recession, it probably wouldn't be, since it wouldn't affect global sales. I can almost imagine that this was just a sort of revenge from the Bush administration so that the Dems move into the White House with a huge crisis on their hands. "When the US gets sick, we tend to spread it around like syphilis" ....and the truth of that is from using an STD as an analogy. :P
lotsamystuff
on Dec 4, 2008
"I bet I could do the same by searching for some quotes from Al Jazeera against the US, but the results would be overwhelming." Wow. You just compared your countrymen to terrorists. Nice, Wae. Nice.
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
Just FYI: You can't see it on the online video, but on TV you can see the title on two books on the bookshelf behind Stephane Dion. The book titles are "Hot Air" and beside that, "365 Jours" (365 Days). Fitting.
mikegalos@msn.com
on Dec 4, 2008
Dipsh "but the success of [the Canadian] economy goes lockstep with [the US] economy" Hardly. The exchange rate for the Canadian Dollar in just the last 4 years has ranged from US$ 0.77 to US$ 1.10. A variation of 44% is not only not in lockstep, it's a pretty serious difference.
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"You just compared your countrymen to terrorists." LOL! Typical. You totally jumped the shark on that one losta, and I caught you on that. :) Since you clearly just compared Al Jazeera - the largest media voice of the Muslim world - to terrorists, you are thereby calling all Muslims terrorists. Al Jazeera is no more terrorist than your own Fox News. Take that as you will. ;)
Waethorn
on Dec 4, 2008
"A variation of 44% is not only not in lockstep, it's a pretty serious difference." It has to do with oil prices mostly. You can see the exchange rate fluctuate more in lock-step with the gas prices at the pump (due to oil prices). The US buys most of their oil from Canada, and most of our oil is sold to you. ....I kind of think that Bush was looking for Canada on the map, but he pointed to Iraq instead. ;)
mikegalos@msn.com
on Dec 4, 2008
Waethorn Really, comparing Al Jazeera to Fox News isn't that good an analogy. Comparing al-Hurra to Fox News, on the other hand, is actually pretty solid since they're both tightly tied to the Bush administration.

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