Songbird – Mozilla’s Open Source Music Player November 16, 2008
Posted by atharkhan in : Tech , add a commentI was a big fan of Winamp. At the time, nothing played digital media that well with such a small memory footprint. But slowly, I have moved to iTunes. It started out with my first iPod. I used iTunes to sync music with it. iTunes was one of the few free MP3 encoders which used the original Fraunhofer Institute codec so I started encoding my CDs with it as well. I love how advanced iTunes can get with daisy-chained smart playlists and other settings. Not to mention, it downloads podcasts, my contacts, calendar, and email to my iPhone. The only thing I wished iTunes would do is to have a smaller memory footprint. Even though iTunes sometimes felt a little bloated, I moved from Winamp to iTunes completely.
Now there is a new application made by Mozilla called Songbird. The application looks remarkably like iTunes (hey, if it worked with FireFox and IE, then why not repeat that same formula, right?) and has features that pretty much mirror what iTunes offers. What I had to do with the Mac Automator, Songbird can do natively with “Watched Folders.”
Given how Mozilla has fared with FireFox and Thunderbird, my guess is that Songbird will also do well. Not only is the app open-source, it is also being backed by Sequoia Capital — the company that funded Google.
I just downloaded it and will try it out for a few days. You can get it at www.getsongbird.com.
Update from Chicago November 15, 2008
Posted by atharkhan in : Personal , add a commentIt’s been a few days since I posted an entry. Between adjusting to the new marital status, a new career, a new city, and a smaller living space, I just haven’t had the time to write any posts.
So here’s an update: Things have generally been good. Although it is much colder in Chicago (than in California) I haven’t had too many issues adjusting to it just yet. My commute is a whopping 3 minute walk across the street. Really! I live across the intersection from work and so the weather hasn’t really affected me much. It is a little different to be confined indoors but I do see people walking around outside. So, my guess is that once I get used to Chicago again, I will fit right in.
These days both Denise and I are working hard at donating and selling whatever we can to get rid of all the “stuff” we have accumulated over the years. Most of my “junk” consists of antiquated electronics and gadgets (including solar powered car ventilation fans, various generations of iPods, laptops, external hard drives, and cables). The downside to selling this stuff is that it depreciates very quickly — so, it may turn out to be more efficient to donate this stuff than to sell it. The Segway has not been “targeted” yet but I can’t see having much use for it downtown. Besides the “people-pointing-and-laughing” factor, sidewalks in Chicago are simply too crowded for it. Maybe if we were living in a suburb?
So… that’s about it. Adjusting to the new life and de-junking.
LinkedIn is Down for the Next Hour November 13, 2008
Posted by atharkhan in : Personal, Tech , add a commentIn case you are struggling with LinkedIn right now, it will be down for the next hour or so.
