Jukebox

Proprietary scrobbling comes to Winamp

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.

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 … Read more

Meuzer finds free music online

The jukebox in the sky is a reality. When I started this blog two years ago, it was all but impossible to open a Web browser, type a song name, and have that song start playing immediately. Now, it's commonplace.

I still like the simple approach of Grooveshark--the other night, my brother and I set up a running DJ battle on it to reminisce and introduce each other to new tunes--but Meuzer is an interesting alternative. Search on a song or artist name, and Meuzer pulls results from YouTube--very similar to the Muziic app I looked at earlier … Read more

Songbird adds art, watch folders, MTP devices

Music and Web surfing mashup Songbird is out with an impressive number of features that were missing from the last major update. For Windows, Mac, and Linux, version 1.1.1 introduces album art downloading, MTP device support, watch folders, improved sorting, and numerous other performance enhancements and bug fixes.

This version continues to push the more iTunes-esque feel of the jukebox/browser, but that's a change users will just have to get used to. Grabbing context-menu album art worked quickly, although users should remember to highlight an entire album to get the art to apply to all tracks. … Read more

Jukebox + iPhone equals a pickup at a bar

Skout is a location aware dating service that lets you use an iPhone or other GPS enabled mobile device to find potential matches. Now the company is moving into bars with a large jukebox that can "skout out" potential mates in and near the bar. You can dedicate a song to your would-be sweetheart or send an SMS or virtual flowers.

Skout's chief marketing officer, Patrick McGovern, explains the system to Larry Magid who wants his wife Patti to know that his interest in the subject is purely professional.

A portable iTunes replacement

There are a lot of music jukeboxes out there that aren't iTunes that work with iPods. Cross-platform Floola is one of the few, if only, portable music players that not only works with your iPod, it will work from your iPod, too. The program's fully compatible with your desktop iTunes installation, but can be run from the iPod itself.

The features it offers are comprehensive and robust, including music, video, note taking, and photo support. The latest version includes Google Calendar synchronization. The interface is simple, bordering on simplistic, and is rife with minor imperfections. Don't let … Read more

A portable iTunes replacement

Floola, the portable iTunes replacement

There are a lot of music jukeboxes out there that aren't iTunes but still work with iPods. Freeware Floola for Windows, Mac, and Linux is one of the few, if only, portable music players that not only works with your iPod, it will work from your iPod, too. The program's fully compatible with your desktop iTunes installation, but can be run from the iPod itself.

The features it offers are comprehensive and robust, including music, video, note-taking, and photo support. The latest version, released today, includes bidirectional Google Calendar synchronization. Don't let the simple interface fool you, … Read more

Windows Starter Kit: Must-have PC apps

You must have treated somebody well this year, because you've got a new computer to start 2009 off right. In this edition of the Download.com Windows Starter Kit, we've expanded our collection to include both the recommended free programs you've come to expect from us, and suitable alternatives if our choice doesn't make your grade.

This year's categories include Web browsers, e-mail clients, office and productivity tools, parenting, image editors, music jukeboxes, video jukeboxes and players, file compressors, chatware, torrent clients, and seven five-star, must-have utilities.

Notice the lack of security programs? Check out … Read more

MusicBox maps future for managing large music collections

One of the most common complaints I hear from people with large music collections is that browsing through songs as if scrolling through a spreadsheet is tedious. For these file-hoarding music fanatics, aimlessly browsing through their music library holds the same appeal as flipping through the card catalog of the Library of Congress.

The problem is: there comes a point when the iTunes paradigm of presenting your music collection as a column-sorted list of files is just absurd. Thankfully, Anita Lillie from MIT's Media Lab has based her thesis around a new way to visualize song data and she'… Read more

Music and browsing take flight in Songbird

Music and browsing mashup Songbird has kicked the remnants of its shell to the curb. With the release of version 1.0.0 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, the program's main emphasis as a music browser couldn't be more clear.

If you looked at some of the earlier beta versions, Songbird's interface borrowed heavily from Firefox. More recent versions took their cue from iTunes, with Web browsing occurring in a second tab. Although toggling between your music library and the browser is as easy as switching tabs, since Songbird opens your library by default it's apparent … Read more