A Personal Miscellany

Music and culture, mostly.

1. houndworld 30.09.04 / 10am

   As I’ve said before, I don’t really share your concern about iTunes not having a rich enough interface – I just want something to play mp3s (besides I only really use it to transfer stuff to the iPod – I tend to use Winamp otherwise). But I’m intrigued by your commitment to specifically improving iTunes. You should be a paid consultant for Apple!

   Is this a mac user thing? If I don’t like a piece of (pc) software, my inclination is to abandon it and use something else. (OK, I’m waiting for it – “abandon the pc then”…)
2. 11V 30.09.04 / 11am

   iTunes is what I use – there are a number of alternative mp3 players for the Mac, but apart from anything else they tend to end up not being maintained by the developer. I’d expect that Winamp also lacks most of the functionality I’d like to see. I use my computer a lot and yes I’d like to see it become more than a file system. A key part of my music experience is in the selection of appropriate sounds – at home much of that selection process is guided by the tiny, but surprisingly rich design of the spine. Also, if I really want to listen to the music I’ve chosen rather than just using it as background sound then it’s part of the pleasure to peruse the cover, refresh my memory of the little details like players, enjoy the graphics, etc. This is only an occasional pastime, but even when only selecting a cd and putting the cover down immediately, the momentary absorption of colour and design does play a part in the experience. It would be good to have something similar in the iTunes interface – when you select an album you can have the choice to display graphics as described in my original post… or not. I’m sure this would please saddo fan people like me no end, even if not you Dan!

   The thing about this issue is that I’m not aware of an alternative piece of software that does this sort of thing – if there was I honestly wouldn’t keep harping on about it.
3. houndworld 30.09.04 / 1pm

   I agree with you where CDs are concerned – I’m very keen on interesting covers, and they can strongly influence the way I respond to music. But mp3s to me are a second best that these days I mostly use with the iPod and sometimes at work, and I don’t expect to have the same experience as at home, in the armchair, remote in one hand, CD case in the other, in the “triangle”..

   I’m not meaning to argue with you, because it’s a personal thing really, but there is another point from a software perspective – I generally prefer applications that are light, specific and configurable.

   Anyway, I hope I didn’t imply that you were harping on – you’ll want to incorporate all of this into the world-beating MMMP (Massively-Multi-Media-Player) that you’re working on..
4. 11V 01.10.04 / 11am

   Different strokes, agreed – you’re not a laptop user so you probably have a less flexible home setup, you don’t move around working in different spaces. I agree about apps that are light and specific, but that doesn’t necessarily mitigate against them interacting with other apps and as to configurable – that’s what I’m arguing for, though in a different way from the one you probabaly intend. Heh I like your naming suggestion MMMP – though I should say I’m not exactly working on it, just posting up miscellaneous thoughts.

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