Because geek is cool and clever

Singin’ to the songbird yesterday December 8, 2008

It’s been some considerable time in the making but last week finally saw the official 1.0 release of Songbird (getsongbird.com), a media playing application clearly designed to snap at the ankles of the likes of iTunes, Windows Media Player and Winamp.
In a world awash with MP3 playing software, Songbird offers anticipation because of its open source foundation and the fact that it is built using Mozilla XULRunner, the same programming language that brings us Firefox.
In fact, the first thing you notice when you install and launch Songbird is that it does appear to be the offspring of an iTunes and Firefox liaison – something which brings both good and bad points to the table.
Early pre-release versions of Songbird looked so similar to iTunes that I was convinced Apple would be slapping down a lawsuit before too long The developers appear to have gone some way to giving it its own style but the inspiration is still there for all to see.
Indeed, with a couple of rejigs of the layout and the application of a new skin (as per Firefox, Songbird lets you apply different designs called ‘feathers’), it’s possible to reintroduce the striking similarity. Personally, I would like to see a little more innovation in a new product.
The Firefox family line comes into play with tabbed browsing within the player, the aforementioned ‘feathers’ and extensions – small add-ons to Songbird which perform specific tasks like adding iPod integration or video playback.
It’s these add-ons which excite me most because they offer limitless potential.
As the software stands at the moment, it’s hard to imagine embracing it over iTunes or, indeed, Winamp (just about anything is better than Windows Media Player so there’s no real challenge there).
Yes, it’s open source; yes, it includes concert and ticket information (did you know The Damned are playing in Oxford on the 19th?) and yes, it’s available on all platforms, but it can’t rip or burn CDs, there’s no support for Podcast subscriptions and the deal-breaker for me – it doesn’t recognise the iPhone.
Songbird’s similarity to iTunes causes inevitable comparisons at every step of the way and this is the product’s biggest hurdle.
Do I want it to succeed? Yes, I’d love it to.
Does it have a long way to go? Oh yes, miles. But it’s off to a good start and I’ll be waiting.