SONGBIRD: A BOOT IN ITUNES’ ASS

Before I say a word about Songbird,here is a screenshot to feast your eyes on: Are you done feasting your eyes on it? If you are done then read on.As I said earlier,Songbird was released this morning as a proof of concept.The first word I muttered when I saw it was WOW!!! The shiny black alone won many people over to download it.So,..Songbird is a media player just like Apple’s iTunes (Songbird likes almost exactly like iTunes) but with a twist. Unlike Apple’s iTunes which connects you to one store and makes you buy all your music needs from that store, Songbird gives you many choices in search of a music shop.Songbird allows you to connect to and buy music from a very wide range of shops.Songbird allows you to connect to 9(nine) music stores by default but more are going to be added,I am sure.Also,since Songbird is built on the same platform (XULRunner) as Firefox,Songbird functions as a special web browser that detects available media on websites that you visit.Songbird plays any kind of music file that you can throw at it.Also,Songbird is extensible.Modules called extensions can be added to it to be enhanced.Some people are claiming it is a memory hog and it crashes when you start it and open its window immediately,but that hasn’t yet happened to me.When I start Songbird and I maximise the window immediately,nothing happens.Also,its memory footprint is really small on my pc even though I have lots of processes running.The only time Songbird crashed on my pc was when I tried to change the defualt theme whilst I was playing a music file. Also,another bug i noticed in Songbird is that,sometimes the playback time exceeds the specified time.For example,if I am playing Rammstein’s-Du Hast,the file is shown to be 3 minutes long but sometimes playback goes on for about 30 seconds more.Also,a preferences or another tab should be made available to allow configuration of Songbird because not all users know that you can also edit Songbird by going to about:config Songbird is a proof-of-concept so users shouldn’t expect really high standards from it.Also Songbird is for only Windows right now but versions of it for other OSes are in the making and will be released real soon. Though,i hope it moves beyond a proof of concept really soon. The Songbird website was fatally ravished by the traffic so the website is offline but you can download it on different mirrors.Here is a mirror.Boing Boing had an interview with the leader of the dev team here. PS: You got to love the Songbird logo.It shows a birds with headphones on listening to music and farting.I can only guess why the bird is not smiling and is farting.Here is a picture of the logo.

Technorati Tags: songbird, free, itunes, music, XULRunner, DRM

THE SONGBIRD HAS ARRIVED

Finally,the long awaited release of the Songbird media player has arrived.For you who don’t know what it is(duh),it is a media player built on firefox’s browser engine.It is open source and will run on all platforms but currently runs on only Windows.It is highly customizable with moudules created by users called extensions.I am testing it out and will blog more about it later in the day.It looks and acts like iTunes on steroids. Here is a screenshot of it : Technorati Tags: songbird, open source, media player, itunes, gecko, free,

NEW FEATURES IN CHATSUM

Chatsum,the awesome firefox extension that I wrote about here and here has implemented some new features that it previously lacked.The Chatsum community has been crying for these features and more in chatsum since chatsum was released. So the Chatsum developers have introduced :

1. Scrolling in chat window
2. User preferences(eg. For openong likns in same window or new tab)
3. Live “Users in this room” list
4. Dynamic transcript timestamps

The absence of scrolling in the chat window was a major pain in the rear ends of most chatsum users and its implementation is a huge relief.
As George,one of the devs say,let the stalking begin!!!

Technorati Tags: chat, firefox, firefox extensions, chatsum

Chatsum

Finally,the long awaited(from last Sunday)release of Chatsum 0.3.If you do not know what Chatsum is,check my earlier post. So I just downloaded the Chatsum extension and started using it.Wow.It looks and feels awesome.Chatsum has a really nice color scheme that would complement every firefox theme.Chatsum is extremely fast.Typed entries appear almost immediately.This may be due to the fact that only a small number of testers are testing it right now.You can also check and see the most active sites(sites with the most chatsummers) and the most commented on sites.There is an option that allows to stick to the chat on one website but continue browsing.If not,chatsum tracks the url in the address bar(the site that you are biewing) and allows you to chat on the website that you are viewing.There is a site tab for chatting about the site and a page tab for page specific chatting.Also,chatsum has an easy way to report bugs. There is a button just under its logo that sends you to where to submit its bugs.Also,Chatsum has been made compatible with Flock.Therefor,flock users can also experience Chatsum in their sidebars. Since chatsum was released not long ago,it doesnt have a lot of features apart from basic chat and bug reporting. The developers of Chatsum, Lee and George, have posted a list of features that are going to be released really soon.The list includes:

• Scrolling in chat window
• Member log-in and “change details” page
• Member profile pages and links to them from the chat transcript
• Live “Users in the room” list
• User blocking
• Skins
• More complex spam reporting/moderating/blocking

The full list can be found here.And to all you privacy advocates,chatsum only sends the chat transcripts and the url that you are chatting on to the Chatsum server.
Lee,one of the developers says Chatsum will remain in closed beta testing for sometime before it is publicly available. Right,only 1000 beta invites have been sent out but Lee says ,later,some more invites will be sent. Go sign up for the next round of beta testing here.
Technorati Tags: chatsum, chat, free, beta, firefox, firefoxextensions

UPDATED ON JAN 24,06 at 5.43 am.

CHATSUM

I discovered this firefox extension just before christmas and because it was in its development/alpha stage,there were no screenshots or testimonials of it that I found so I decided not to blog about it.It is called Chatsum.It is a free extension for firefox that allows you to chat with other chatsum users that are looking at the same website as you. Emails were sent to those who had signed up to beta test it saying that Chatsum is going to be released on Wednesday. I am counting the number of hours till Wednesday. Though,I have not tested it,testimonials from people who accidentally got to try it out are glowing. Screenshots and the overall concept shows that this addon will be very welcome.

Here is what the authors said the fuction of Chatsum will be:

Chatsum lets you:

• Chat live with other people who are looking at the same website as you!
• Find out what other people think about the websites you’re looking at!
• Leave messages on any website you visit!
• Read messages left on websites by other Chatsum users!
• Browse the Chatsum community’s favourite websites!
• Hunt for treasure in our unique online treasure hunts!
• Find people that like the same sites as you and then CHAT TO THEM!

Here is a screenshot of Chatsum:

I will blog more about it when I try it out on Wednesday.Oh, and i just found out that,there will also be a Dashboard Widget which will work with MAC OS X Tiger.Also,there will be a version of Chatsum for Internet Explorer(lost half of my readers right now )
Technorati Tags: chatsum, firefox, firefoxextensions, widget, beta

FAVORITE WEBSITES

Last time,I wrote about my favorite firefox extensions but this time around,I am going to write about my favorite websites. They include some sites that I always visit when I come online and other websites. Here they are:

1. Goowy -
   

   My start page.It has a flash based interface and includes traditional webservices such as   email,contacts,widgets,calender,games,etc.It has a widget that allows you to access feeds from your favorite websites.Go check here for more on it.

2. Meebo -
   

   A web based instant messenger application.I use it for all the other networks except MSN.Check here for reviews.

3. TechCrunch -
   

   A weblog dedicated to profiling web 2.0 products and companies.It is usuallyy updated a coupla times a day.

4. Gmail -
   

   I cant live without my email.

5. Digg -
   

   A technology news site that allows users to suggest content.Some of you may prefer Slashdot.I visit both of them but I prefer Digg.

6. Writely -
   

   It is a web based word processor. I use it for all those word documents that I have to edit in school with patners. Check here for reviews.

7. WordPress -
   

   My blog is based here. So I always check it first thing in the morning and read/moderate all comments.

8. Livewire Forums -
   

   One of the best teen forums around.A personal quirk,I visit it every morning.

9. SolutionWatch -
   

   Another weblog devoted to profiling web 2.0 products. It isnt updated as much as TechCrunch.

Please leave comments and tell me more about any similar or better sites.And I hope can send me an invite to Newsvine.I desperately need one.Whoever does it gets a WLM invite,a Kahuna(New Hotmail) invite and a Wallop invite.Thanks.

Technorati Tags: favorite, goowy, startpages, ajax, IM, web2.0

NEXT-GEN KEYBOARD

That is a picture of the OPTIMUS keyboard.It is a next-gen keyboard which has every key being a stand-alone display showing exactly what it is controlling at the very moment.It is like having a fully customizable keyboard without shelling extra bucks to buy kits and extra keys.Since each key has its own individual screen it can display any image almost instantly.
Here is a shot of the keyboard being used to play quake:

Here’s to hoping that it wouldn’t be that expensive when it comes out.

Damn,I still cant stop drolling.More can be found out about it here or here.

Technorati Tags: next-gen, keyboard,