Mozilla-based Songbird music player is available

I’m not sure when this happened exactly, but the open source Songbird music player, which is based on Mozilla technology, is now available in 1.0 form. Songbird is an open-source customizable music player that's under active development. We're working on creating a non-proprietary, cross platform, extensible tool that will help enable new ways to playback, manage, and discover music. There are lots of ways to contribute your time to the project. We'd love your help! There are several features we're proud of, but we'll be the first to admit that others need ironing out, are experimental, or are just plain missing. There's still a lot to do. Here’s some info about the features of this free player: Media Importing Add media to Songbird by importing from your file system or iTunes. Media Playback Songbird supports MP3, FLAC, and Vorbis on all platforms; WMA and WMA DRM on Windows; and AAC and Fairplay on Windows and Mac. GStreamer Songbird now uses GStreamer as our main media playback system, across all platforms. Smart Playlists Create dynamic playlists that automatically update based on criteria you set. Web Browser Songbird includes an integrated web browser with features like bookmarking, tabbed browsing, and more. Cross Platform Songbird runs on Windows, Linux and Mac. Multi-language Support Over 25 completed, community-contributed localizations and growing! Automatic Updates Always stay up to date using Songbird's built-in automatic updates. Setup Assistant Quickly setup Songbird for the first time. Custom UI Make Songbird your own by choosing from dozens of different skins feathers. Library Management Browse, organize, sort and search your media. Developer Support Songbird is getting better everyday thanks to its open platform and growing developer community. There are some useful features in beta as well, including album art, subscriptions, expanded device support (Zune and

Paul Thurrott

December 3, 2008

2 Min Read
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I’m not sure when this happened exactly, but the open source Songbird music player, which is based on Mozilla technology, is now available in 1.0 form.

Songbird is an open-source customizable music player that's under active development.

We're working on creating a non-proprietary, cross platform, extensible tool that will help enable new ways to playback, manage, and discover music. There are lots of ways to contribute your time to the project. We'd love your help!

There are several features we're proud of, but we'll be the first to admit that others need ironing out, are experimental, or are just plain missing. There's still a lot to do.

Here’s some info about the features of this free player:

Media Importing

Add media to Songbird by importing from your file system or iTunes.

Media Playback

Songbird supports MP3, FLAC, and Vorbis on all platforms; WMA and WMA DRM on Windows; and AAC and Fairplay on Windows and Mac.

GStreamer

Songbird now uses GStreamer as our main media playback system, across all platforms.

Smart Playlists

Create dynamic playlists that automatically update based on criteria you set.

Web Browser

Songbird includes an integrated web browser with features like bookmarking, tabbed browsing, and more.

Cross Platform

Songbird runs on Windows, Linux and Mac.

Multi-language Support

Over 25 completed, community-contributed localizations and growing!

Automatic Updates

Always stay up to date using Songbird's built-in automatic updates.

Setup Assistant

Quickly setup Songbird for the first time.

Custom UI

Make Songbird your own by choosing from dozens of different skins feathers.

Library Management

Browse, organize, sort and search your media.

Developer Support

Songbird is getting better everyday thanks to its open platform and growing developer community.

There are some useful features in beta as well, including album art, subscriptions, expanded device support (Zune and iPod), and more. Looks interesting, but I’m wondering whether the world was really clamoring for the next WinAMP.

About the Author

Paul Thurrott

Paul Thurrott is senior technical analyst for Windows IT Pro. He writes the SuperSite for Windows, a weekly editorial for Windows IT Pro UPDATE, and a daily Windows news and information newsletter called WinInfo Daily UPDATE.

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