There's a temptation to mock people who still talk about Winamp, and its true that AOL gave up its industry-leading position to Apple without a fight. However, the past few years have seen Winamp reinvent itself as a jukebox for those who haven't been bitten by the iTunes bug, and the latest version introduces the proprietary song-scrobbler Orgler.
Orgler scrobbles music to give AOL Music some Web 2.0 flair, finally.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Much like Last.fm's scrobbling, Orgler sends your music data up to the cloud. Also like Last.fm, it allows members of the AOL/Winamp community to contribute their played songs to a list of what's been on their stereos. Tracks get added to your AOL Music page, and since the service is a Winamp-designed plug-in, it integrates seamlessly and users should find none of the sluggish behavior that occasionally afflicts third-party Last.fm plug-ins. Orgler was originally available in beta as an external Winamp plug-in.
To set up the service, go to Online Services under the Media Library tab. Go to the second page of the site that opens in the built-in browser, and activate Winamp Charts. Log in with your Winamp or AOL log-in--your AOL IM log-in will work, too--and you'll be all set to Orgle.
Seeing as how there's been Last.fm support for Winamp for ages Orgler is more about not sending listeners elsewhere for their music community needs than dragging Winamp users into the present. Still, Orgler's not a bad service.
Last.fm is a part of CBS Interactive, which also publishes Download.com.
For better or worse, buying an iPod also means committing to Apple's iTunes software. Apple's seamless combination of hardware, software, and online store has made it many fans, but for some folks, the iTunes way of doing things feels unbearably confining.
If you love your iPod, but can't stand being tied to iTunes, there are some compelling and capable Mac and PC iTunes alternatives that can sync with your iPod. Depending on your iPod model, you'll probably still need to keep iTunes around for firmware updates, video purchases, games, and some advanced features (calendar syncing, for instance), but there's no reason you can't sync your music and podcasts using a different program.
Each of the following media jukeboxes has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. This list isn't meant to be comprehensive (by all means, add your own suggestions in the comments section), I'm just taking an opportunity to highlight my personal favorites. Also, every application listed here is free, so there's no reason not to try them all and see what sticks.
Media Monkey is a control freak's dream come true.
Media Monkey
http://www.mediamonkey.com/
(Download Media Monkey from Download.com)
Ideal user: File hoarders, control freaks, meticulous taggers, boutique format users (FLAC, Ogg), people with messy collections.
- Ideal for large, scattered collections
- Advanced tagging features and auto tagging
- Supports iPhone 3G and iPod Touch 2G
- Copy songs from iPod to computer
- Album art lookup
- Skinnable
- Podcast catcher... Read more
The Filter is a multijukebox plug-in for Windows and Mac that uses artificial intelligence and the All Music Guide database to create custom iTunes, Winamp, and Windows Media Player playlists based on a variety of user inputs, such as a few songs of your choice, specific artists, or music genres. It also works for video, including movies, TV shows, and Web-only videos.
Upon start-up, The Filter scans your entire music library, which takes considerable time if you have more than 10,000 tracks. It compares the metadata for those files against the All Media Guide database, as well as your own playing history to compose new playlists based around various parameters. A lot of its success will depend on your library, of course, and how well your tracks are tagged. You'll need a username and password to access The Filter service, and, in fact, you can't finish the registration process without rating at least three musicians and three movies.
The interface has been improved so it's no longer buggy, although there is a bit of a delay--one or two seconds--while it coughs up a new playlist. Its icon lives on the Quick Launch bar. Right-clicking accesses a context menu, and from there users can jump to Preferences, thefilter.com, or change the default playlist generation from being based on the song to the genre. Double-click on the icon and it automatically generates a playlist, as long as a track is currently playing. Playlists are generated from Bayesian mathematics algorithms and evidence models, and you can configure how much your playlists are influenced by album sales.
The Filter offers a strong alternative to iTunes' Genius playlist, as well as giving recommended playlists to jukeboxes that otherwise would have none.
We last took a look at the iTunes plug-in The Filter way back in 2006, so it's high time to see what this alternative to the Genius playlist is up to. Of course, when it first came out there was no Genius playlist, nor a Mac version--now that there's both, does it hold up?
Certainly the most obvious benefit is that although you do need to register to use the playlist, you don't need to hand over your credit card number to this Peter Gabriel-supported plug-in. These days many people probably don't care, but to me this is a strong vote in The Filter's favor.
Paranoia aside, The Filter seems to have made some serious, quality improvements. It still uses Bayesian mathematics algorithms and evidence models to make its suggestions, and it still takes what feels like forever and a day to scan large collections. That's not an improvement, of course, but it no longer lives on top of all other windows, either.
Instead, its icon lives on the Quick Launch bar. Right-clicking accesses a context menu, and from there users can jump to Preferences, thefilter.com, or change the default playlist generation from being based on the song to the genre. Double-click on the icon and it automatically generates a playlist, as long as a track is currently playing. Aside from scanning your collection I found The Filter to be reasonably responsive, if not zippy.
The Taste Profiler is a mandatory aspect of using The Filter. Before it can recommend playlists, and before you even finish installing it, The Filter requires that you rate at least three musicians and movies. In addition to music and movies, you can also rate TV shows and Web-only video.
The overall experience is slower than using Apple's Genius playlist, probably in no small part because it's a plug-in. However, The Filter now works with Windows Media Player and Winamp, although not MediaMonkey, on the PC, so non-iTunes lovers will probably be willing to suffer through the one- or two-second delay in getting their playlist kicked back to them. Rolling in all kinds of videos make this even more useful to today's mediascape.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
We've talked about Simplify Media here before as a great way to listen to music from your friends' iTunes music libraries (Windows and Mac). In fact, Simplify Media was one of our 10 best downloads of 2007. The minute you fire it up, you'll see why--as long as you and your friend both have a free account with Simplify Media, you can stream and listen to each others entire music collections on both Windows and Mac. But, the latest release of Simplify Media for iPhone and iPod Touch lets you take all of that music with you.
Sign in to your account to bring up available music libraries.
(Credit: CNET Networks)To get started, download the app for your personal computer from the links above, register for free with Simplify Media, then grab the iPhone App from the iTunes App Store. Once you're signed in, you're music library should show up in the list as an available stream. It can take a few minutes for the app to scan your directory so don't be surprised if it doesn't work right away. If you already have friends on your account who use Simplify Media their libraries will show up as well. You can add up to 30 friends' libraries to your list, so spread the word to get more music.
You can automatically retrieve album art for music.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Once you're all set up, the iPhone version of Simplify Media will display available libraries on your touch screen, and you'll be able to browse through song lists by genre, artist, and song--just like iTunes. The program also brings up album art for the artist you're listening to, along with artist bios and a lyric sheet for the current song. In our tests, the artist bio and lyrics pages sometimes were only displayed as far as the bottom of the screen, with no option for scrolling down. The program worked almost flawlessly using Wi-Fi, but on 3G it wasn't as reliable and would pause to buffer the stream.
Overall, we really like the concept, but it seems it still needs a little work. For those with reliable Wi-Fi or a strong 3G connection, Simplify Media for iPhone should work great. If you can get your friends on board to register and make their libraries available, this app is a great addition to any music lover who owns an iPhone or iPod Touch.
Good, then bad, and now good again, Winamp has had a bit of a roller coaster life. The last few updates, starting about version 5.3, took some long-needed steps to improve the old-school media player, with support for AAC encoding, CD burning, and a robust file-management system. The latest, 5.51, ups the ante with strong support for portable devices, including iPods, the capability to sync non-DRMed files to your PC from your device, an optional new interface layout, and a built-in browser for media discovery.
Clicking on an artist's name will get you related headlines and Web sites in a separate pane. There's podcast-catching support, device synchronization that lets you tweak the sync list while in progress, and continued support for AOL's excellent Shoutcast. The new Bento layout is worth mentioning, too, because it gets the venerable llama away from the old modular format. The joined panes for the browser, media player, artist list, album list, and more make Winamp instantly more visually appealing. There's also an Auto-Tag feature, which will download metatags from the Gracenote database.
If you want MP3 encoding and full-speed CD burning, you have to shell out $19.95 for the Pro version. However, there are other problems. Automatic album art download support is spotty at best. More importantly, there are some stability issues when playing videos, and occasional program crashes were far more common than they should be. Winamp 5.51 is no iTunes killer--not yet. It has become, however, a strong alternative and should be of interest to those looking for something with more meat on its bones.
Llama meat, that is.
The new chat function lets users talk to their friends about the music they're borrowing from them.
(Credit: Simplify Media)As the self-imposed deadline of June approaches, Simplify Media remains in beta for Windows, Mac, and mobile users. The iTunes and Winamp plug-in that lets you share your music with friends has, however, added three new features: chat, a "now playing" message that displays what your friends are listening to from your collection, and a built-in password reset for the forgetful among us.
The chat feature is the strongest, allowing you to directly communicate with friends, family, and even enemies with whom you've shared your music. It's a great way to give and get some direct feedback on what you're currently listening to, almost like a personalized mixtape with live commentary.
The "now playing" message pops up in your Media List, and is a reasonable (if somewhat navel-gazing) way to see what your friends like from your list. It'd be better if it kept statistics, but it still dovetails nicely with the chat feature. Nothing like interrupting a friend getting their groove on by asking them what they think about the music.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
When it comes to software media players, computer users understandably follow what I'll call the "path of least resistance" rule of life: they use what's available on their computer out of the box. If you're a Windows user, that means Windows Media Player. Mac users have iTunes. Once Windows users take the step of adding their iPod (if that's their chosen player) into the fray, they will likely download iTunes to make it easy. But what if you don't like iTunes or Windows Media Player?
Before companies tied their portable players to their software, there was a lot more MP3 software on the market. Though many have disappeared over the years with the big names taking up the spotlight, there are still a few great choices available if you're looking for a change. These alternative media players have upped the ante by making their software compatible with popular portable players and adding cool features to entice people away from the big name apps.
There are both paid and free software options here at Download.com, but in the interest of not spending your (or my) money, I decided to pick some great free alternatives.
If you're looking to buy music online, you can quickly switch to the Amazon MP3 store.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Media Jukebox has a somewhat generic name, but its feature list is anything but generic. iTunes users will immediately notice the layout of Media Jukebox is extremely similar to Apple's player, but it's the extra features that make Media Jukebox shine. You'll be able to burn and rip CDs, watch DVDs, sync with just about any portable (including iPod), tag your tracks, and convert your files to several popular formats. It has browser support letting you buy music from Amazon and plug-ins for several services including Last.fm so you can find new music based on your taste. You also have your choice of skins you can download to give your player a new look.
The Bento layout makes finding everything easy with all the modules in one place.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Winamp was once the king of Windows music players and continues to be an excellent all-in-one jukebox. It has support for multiple popular players including the iPod. Old-school Winamp users will like the Bento layout that joins the old modular interface together, and there are thousands of skins to choose from should you want a new look. Playlist creation with Winamp remains as one of the best in this category of software and when you're sick of your own music, you can always sample streaming audio and video content for something new. Though there have been a few bugs reported with video playback, Winamp still stands as one of the best in this category. You'll need to go pro ($19.95) to get high-speed CD burning, but overall Winamp is worthy of a look.
JetAudio's smaller tabbed interface lets you switch between the programs many functions quickly.
(Credit: CNET Networks)JetAudio Basic is a long-time favorite for many here at Download.com. This free all-in-one player is completely skinnable, plays and coverts audio and video to most major file formats, lets you burn and rip CDs, watch video, and much more. Like the others, you'll be able to listen to streaming music to find new stuff you like, and JetAudio Basic's tagging features help you whip your music library into shape. You can also enhance your music using included effects like reverb and wide sound, and make your transitions smooth as silk with the included cross-fader. You can even sing along using JetAudio's synchronized lyric tools or import lyrics using the supported MIDI-Karaoke (.kar format). One big missing feature: JetAudio won't sync with your iPod, but as a desktop or laptop player, this app is tough to beat.
If you're looking for a new way to organize and listen to your music, or if you're just tired of certain features in iTunes or Windows Media Player, check out one of these programs. As always, if you have a better alternative than the ones listed here, let us know in the comments!
The newly free NewsGator suite has a remarkably powerful set of tools for managing RSS feeds, and without a doubt one of the program's best features is its FeedStation podcast catcher. Fully synchronizable with the Webware version of NewsGator, the Windows version, FeedDemon, comes bundled with FeedStation and preset integration settings for iTunes and Windows Media Player, but not WinAmp.
Laugh all you want at the llama, but the latest WinAmp has an impressive feature set, and is far more flexible than the industry favorite iTunes. However, its podcast manager is clunky and only marginally better than iTunes' native podcatcher, and that's frustrating. Using WinAmp's smart view function, I'll show you how to set its Podcast folder to automatically check for podcasts managed by third-party software.
... Read more
Although it hasn't exactly exploded into the mainstream music-listening population at large, the music-sharing application Simplify Media (download it for Windows or Mac) is a fan favorite of several CNET editors and staffers.
Simplify Media has always allowed you to listen to your iTunes playlists on the road or share them with friends. Yesterday, it announced support for the popular digital-music jukebox app Winamp for Windows.
When you install Simplify Media, you must choose whether it will work with Winamp or iTunes playlists. Those of us who occasionally use both apps and thought we might be able to consolidate playlists are out of luck. You can, however, change your preferred playlist program after installation. ... Read more
