Filed under: Audio, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Open Source
Songbird 1.2 released, now with iPod sync (sort of)
by Jay Hathaway Jun 22nd 2009 at 8:00AM
Songbird, the open-source, Mozilla-based music player, has a bunch of new features in version 1.2 that make it worth taking a look at. The most important addition is 2-way iTunes syncing, so you can import and export songs and playlists back and forth between Songbird and iTunes. If you thought the whole point of Songbird was to keep you from having to use iTunes, this feature won't make you happy, but if you have an iPod or iPhone that you want to put music on, this is the closest Songbird gets to letting you do that. The other new features include an integrated Last.fm radio add-on. Songbird already supported Last.fm scrobbling, but now it supports Last.fm listening, too, so you may be able ditch your existing Last.fm client and just go with this. There's also automatic library organization, which is something you might be familiar with in iTunes. It can move all your music files to one location and sort them based on artist and album metadata. Last, but not least if you're an audiophile, is a 10-band equalizer.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
sybgtwy said 8:28AM on 6-22-2009
It doesn't pick up playcounts, or lastplayed from iPods. It won't sync ratings. But, it does play the music and parse the ID3s.
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hdraogmir said 9:32AM on 6-22-2009
What I've noticed was an improvement in memory usage and responsiveness.
Other than that, the plugin updates, specifically last.fm, were what made my day.
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Wengkius said 10:06AM on 6-22-2009
I've been using Songbird for quite some time now and it's been getting better with each release. Kudos to the developers!
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fikhl said 10:25AM on 6-22-2009
I actually use Songbird as a Last.fm client! now this update makes it even more useful. puts WMP to shame really...
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ozzzy said 12:14PM on 6-22-2009
The day Songbird 1.1 deleted music on my iPod due to a bug was the day I stopped using it. Once you get out of beta there is an expectation that at the very least software should not be losing your music.
http://blog.songbirdnest.com/2009/03/19/ipod-add-on-updated-bug-bites-the-dust/
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Christian Velasquez said 3:22PM on 6-22-2009
Too bad there isn't a portable version
Well, every other portable version is outdated, at least from what I found
iTunes portable would be great too
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