The Download Blog

Browser and jukebox freeware mashup Songbird brings onstage four new features to help manage songs, communicate better with iTunes, customize volume, and expose more information from Last.fm.

Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Songbird 1.2's biggest new feature is the ability to automatically organize files across multiple folders according to each track's metadata. This can be especially useful both if your music is scattered across disparate folders, as well as forcing naming conventions on inconsistent files.

Songbird 1.2 debuts an equalizer and more Last.fm support, including fan photos and YouTube videos at the bottom of the program window.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

There's also the ability to introduce iTunes library tracks and playlists into Songbird, and export tracks from Songbird to iTunes. This is an imperfect but effective solution to getting new files synced to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Songbird has supported scrobbling into Last.fm for a while, but users can now access more artist, track, and tag information than before, including photos and music videos. This requires installing the Last.fm add-on, which will load by default but you can opt out of when you install the program.

Audiophiles will appreciate the 10-band equalizer that's now included with Songbird. CTRL+E will launch it, or going to Controls on the menu bar, but to activate it you must check off the On box and close the window before it will affect your sound output.

The full list of changes and known bugs can be read here.

Editors' note: Last.fm is owned by CNET's parent company, CBS.

Dear friends and fans of CNET Download Music,

We have some important news to share. On Wednesday, March 11, 2009, the CNET Download Music site will begin redirecting all artist pages and category doors to corresponding pages on our sister music site Last.fm.

We're extremely proud of our close association with Last.fm because, like CNET Download Music, the site shares the same spirit of independence and discovery--not to mention ease of use and a large song catalog--that we find so vital to a satisfying online music experience.

Fring's Last.fm add-on will play out first on Symbian S60 phones.

(Credit: Fring)

Although Fring has long let you chat with friends over Skype, IM, Facebook, and Twitter, the recent introduction of a Last.fm add-on is the start-up's first foray into streaming content.

Starting this week, Symbian Series 60 users with the latest version of Fring (for Symbian 9.1 | 9.2) can sign on to their Last.fm accounts from the Fring add-on's screen.

From there, you can play custom- and public-streaming stations, with the familiar controls to stop, skip, save, and ban a song. There's album art on the mini player interface, and basic details about the song title, album name, and artist name.

There's a social aspect, too. Pressing the "friends" button takes you a screen that shows you what your friends on Last.fm are listening to, and lets you chat with them using you other IM and social networking add-ons, without leaving the Last.fm module.

Although support for Twitter was not available for the initial release, Fring promises on its Web site that the implementation is coming soon.

Sorry, Windows Mobile and iPhone users. Fring almost always test-runs on Symbian first before the fun stuff (first file transferring, now music streaming) trickles down to other platforms. But it could be worse--Fring doesn't develop for BlackBerrys at all.

Editors' note: Last.fm is owned by CNET's parent company, CBS.

(Credit: Sonos)

Add iPhone control, Last.fm, and an expanded Internet radio roster to Sonos' bag of tricks.

Starting Tuesday, a free application available at the iTunes App Store will allow iPhone and iPod Touch owners to control their Sonos digital audio system via their home's Wi-Fi network. The Sonos Controller for iPhone provides the Apple handheld with most of the same functions as the Sonos CR100 Controller, but provides direct touch-screen access not available on the latter device.

The Sonos system can already be controlled via its companion Windows and Mac software, but the iPhone Controller provides a much more convenient and accessible interface to the multiroom music system.

In addition to providing a secondary control option for existing Sonos owners, the Controller App also lowers the effective entry-level price for the Sonos. The company's two-room bundle, the $1,000 BU150, includes a ZP120 base station (with built-in amplifier), ZP90 base station (no amp), and CR100 remote. Previously, those looking for a single-room option were left with purchasing a separate ZP90 ($350) and CR100 ($400), netting out to a very pricey $750.

But the availability of the iPhone application means consumers can grab a ZP90 and an iPod Touch for $580. Still a lot of money, to be sure, but now you're getting top-notch home and portable digital music players. And existing iPhone or iPod Touch owners, of course, need only get the ZP90 or ZP120.

Photos: Sonos Controller iPhone App

Sonos is also updating the product's firmware to version 2.7. The free upgrade (it's a one-touch automatic free download for all Sonos systems, available now) adds the following:

Last.fm is a top-notch music player plug-in for music discovery, sharing, and tracking. Compatible with iTunes, MediaMonkey, Winamp, and many other players, and available for Windows, Mac, and the iPhone, it "scrobbles" your music when you play it, keeping track of what you're listening to. Once you've created an account, you can set your musical likes, favorite bands, and tag tracks as it plays them back to you. The tagging option is customizable, so you can create your own tags on the fly or use the same ones that other users have chosen. When you stream music from Last.fm, it chooses what songs to play for you based on your scrobbling history and your favorite genres.

There's also an iPhone app that's loaded with features, tabs, and buttons--one of the most in-depth and dynamic iPhone streaming-music apps. Streaming-audio performance in this version has noticeably improved since the application's original release. During testing in both Wi-Fi and 3G modes, buffer delays between songs took no more than 1 or 2 seconds, which is comparable to similar applications.

The app's menus and Now Playing screen have also been overhauled for a much more attractive and easier-to-use experience. Few applications can match Last.fm's combination of crisp-looking album art, local concert information, iTunes links, and artist biographies, which also come through on the desktop version. Whether you're new to Last.fm or a habitual user, Last.fm is a recommended download for anyone seriously interested in discovering new music.

Editors' note: Last.fm is owned by CNET's parent company, CBS Interactive.

Version 2.0 of Last.fm's free music streaming and discovery application for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available through the iTunes App Store, offering significant performance and design improvements over the original version we reviewed in August.

Last.fm hasn't added any notable new features to their application, however, a few features have been enhanced, and an overhauled design makes the user experience more intuitive and attractive. For instance, the main menu is now divided into two tabs that separate Last.fm's streaming radio features from its social networking capabilities, making the experience less confusing for first time users. The radio menu tab is the default menu screen, offering a listing of your preferred personal music channels, along with Last.fm recommendations and a prominent red button for creating a new music channels. By clicking over from the Radio tab into the Profile view, Last.fm regulars can still dig deeper into their top artists, albums, and tracks, keep tabs on local music events, and peek into the listening habits of their friends.

Last.fm's original main menu (left) was dull and a little confusing for anyone unfamiliar with Last.fm's lingo and social features. Version 2.0's main menu splits the application's radio and social features into two tabs across the bottom and emphasizes the immediate gratification of creating new personalized music stations.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The Last.fm Now Playing screen has also undergone an extreme makeover. Album artwork is now displayed clearly and not superimposed with song information. A volume bar is a permanent fixture on the bottom of the Now Playing screen, and many controls have been consolidated for the sake of simplicity. A collapsible menu lets you add your own personal song tags directly from the playback screen, along with options to save the song to a playlist or share it among your personal contacts or Last.fm friends.

A distinction between Last.fm and other personal Internet radio applications such as Pandora, is the ability to view and save an artist's current touring information. An On Tour button appears next to the name of currently touring artists on the Last.fm playback screen, allowing you to browse tour dates on an internal calendar and flag any shows you're considering.

The Now Playing screen on the original Last.fm application (left) offered a confusing mush of buttons, hidden volume control, and obstructed album art. Last.fm 2.0 (right) offers a much cleaner interface with consolidated controls, pristine artwork, and dedicated volume slider.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Last.fm's streaming audio performance has also improved on their application. The dropouts and buffering delays experienced in the first version of the Last.fm application have all but disappeared in version 2.0. While connected over a moderately strong Wi-Fi signal, we encountered no drop outs and noticed that the buffer gaps between songs are down to around 1-2 seconds in length (about what you'd experience using Pandora). Audio quality is also quite good, with no noticeable streaming compression artifacts and a stereo sound quality comparable to 128Kbps MP3.

Overall, the updates to the Last.fm application have brought nothing but improvements. If you're looking for a personalized streaming music application for your iPhone or iPod Touch that offers more features than Pandora, Last.fm does not disappoint.

Editors' note: Last.fm is owned by CNET's parent company, CBS Interactive.

There are several excellent freeware video playback programs out there, and VLC media player is one of the best. Made by "those VLC folks," or VideoLAN as they prefer to be called, the wildly popular open-source player now offers a slightly better experience than before for both Windows and Mac.

VLC's new interface is cleaner, but watch out for a short delay on the pause button.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

VLC will now cooperate with Last.fm, there's direct playback of video URLs, and, unexpectedly, a lot of attention has been given to how VLC interacts with the Internet. Users will find VLC to be more secure, with options for strictly regulating Internet usage through the player including album art lookup.

The interface overall has undergone an overhaul. It's similar enough in layout so that nothing major should be hard to find, but the UI basically looks like Mom came in and swept it clean. There's much less clutter than before. However, I also noticed a bit of sluggishness in response time when pressing the pause button.

The full list of changes is available on the VLC "What is cool in 0.9" page.

Note: Last.fm is owned by CNET's parent company, CBS Interactive.

Last.fm's music-centered social network is one of our favorite ways to discover, share, and stream music online. Currently in version 1.01, the Last.fm application for the iPhone and iPod Touch allows many of the best features of Last.fm to break away from your computer and go on the road with you. The Last.fm app isn't perfect, however, and people looking for a straightforward Internet radio application would do better with offerings from Pandora and AOL.

The Last.fm app's main menu offers many ways to hear streaming music...maybe too many.

When launching the Last.fm iPhone app for the first time, you'll be prompted to enter your existing Last.fm account username and password, or you'll be offered the option to create a new account. If you're new to Last.fm, we recommend you get started with the service using your home computer, since many features depend on an ongoing analysis of your computer's music collection (also known as scrobbling).

Once you're logged in, the Last.fm app offers eight ways to stream music over EDGE, 3G, or Wi-Fi. You can listen to songs Last.fm has already scrobbled from your computer's music collection, treat yourself to recommended songs, do a cold search for new music, or hear what your friends have been listening to. The music playback screen is similar to Apple's own iPod screen, displaying large cover art, volume, pause, and skip controls, as well as an iTunes purchase link and Last.fm's own song rating buttons, which help to steer the quality of song recommendations. On the very bottom edge of the screen you'll find tabs for the currently playing track, artist biography, similar artists, events (such as related concerts), and a More tab that includes the track's tag information and Top Listeners.

With all its features, tabs, and buttons, the Last.fm app is one of the most in-depth and dynamic streaming music applications available for the iPhone. Unfortunately, despite its ambitious list of features, the program is bogged down with performance issues that make it frustrating to use at times. During testing in both Wi-Fi and 3G modes, we often experienced 5 to 10 second buffer delays each time we initiated a music stream or skipped between songs. The buffer issues subsided under ideal circumstances where Wi-Fi or 3G reception was strong; however, similar streaming audio applications from Pandora and AOL offered better streaming performance under more realistic conditions.

With any luck, future updates to the Last.fm app will improve streaming music reliability and refine the somewhat confusing assortment of menu options and playback screen features. In its current state, the Last.fm app presents a bite-size version of the Last.fm Web site experience in a way that may satisfy existing users, but is unlikely to win new converts.

Editors' note: Last.fm is owned by CNET's parent company, CBS Interactive.

We swear, there's no reading required to expand your musical horizons these days. Well...aside from this article, at least.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET Networks)

When you're young, new music is everywhere: radio, Facebook profiles, borrowed iPods, or even burned CDs. It's not hard to find tunes you love. The music appetites of 13- to 21-year-olds are voracious and the consequences of being musically unhip can be punishing.

Then something happens: you get older; work a full-time job; get married; have a mortgage; have children; adopt a particularly demanding parrot; and so on. You wake up one day and realize your taste in music hasn't budged since your early '20s and the prospect of discovering good, new music now seems like an overwhelming chore, fraught with disappointment. I know, I'm living proof.

We're all familiar with the long, depressing list of activities that seemed easy in youth that now take effort. Fortunately, finding good music isn't as tough as working off that middle-age gut. Since its inception, the Internet has helped us--mostly illegally--discover new music. Finally, tools for legal and efficient online music discovery are hitting their stride.

To help you help yourself, we've collected our favorite techniques to help the lazy, hurried, or unhip (or, face it, aging) connect with good, new music.