Andrew Luecke's dashboard

Andrew Luecke replied on December 05, 2009 03:13 to the question "How to stop Songbird from checking for changes in my library?" in Songbird:

G'day,

Double check the watch folders dialog where Michael suggested.

Otherwise, you may have enabled Media management (where Songbird manages your directories of music). Double check under Manage Files, if file management is enabled.

Otherwise, not really sure it could be personally..

Andrew Luecke replied on December 05, 2009 03:08 to the question "Songbird "Mounts" my iPod over a period of several years..." in Songbird:

G'day,

It seems a lot of people encounter the same problem with their iPod Classics. Unfortunately, the only realistic solution available for now is:
1) Try the latest nightlies/betas of Songbird. It may or may not be fixed (I don't believe it is though).
2) Use iTunes two way sync and sync using iTunes
3) Or use Winamp for syncing.
4) Find someone who owns an iPod Classic and is willing to dig through the code for the iPod plugin and fix the problem.

It comes down to development resources, and the problem is that resources are being spent on technologies like video's/photos/podcasting and partner companies media players. Unfortunately, there's only a limited number of hours in the day available and priorities need to be set on a demand basis. It sucks, but not much else that can be done :(

However, its worth noting that POTI did open source the iPod plugin, so any of us can look at the code and patch it. It is interesting to note that after open sourcing the code though, that nobody has really seemed to have touched it much (even those who were demanding the code be open sourced at the time). Its also somewhat interesting to note that the rockbox guys seem to be shunning the iPod Classic (which would be the other way this could be fixed, if rockbox existed for iPod classic).

An official bug report has been posted which you may wish to add yourself as a CC of, to monitor the situation.

The options do suck, but until resources free up significantly, or someone with an iPod classic is willing to dig through the code, it would be unlikely this problem will be fixed :(

Andrew

Andrew Luecke replied on December 05, 2009 02:24 to the question "Will Google Chrome Be Supported by Songbird?" in Songbird:

G'day

You might be right schme16 ;)

If its ChromeOS, it probably wont, because ChromeOS isn't designed to be used in that fashion (from my understanding, you don't install additional software within it). Its mainly designed to run as a second OS on a mainstream computer, or as a primary OS which can do mostly everything by browser on a crappy one. One reason I believe Chrome doesn't allow applications to be installed, is security. The operating system is READ-only, so if the computer is infected with a virus, one simply needs to reboot their computer to remove it completely (I might be wrong)

However, either way, ChromeOS is a work in progress still. To complete their big picture, I believe/hope Google will work towards an online gaming toolkit to develop high quality 3D games (they already have many components of one), and open an online gaming store. Doesn't affect songbird though.

I also hope in the future that Songbird can act as a webserver too, and offer streaming music over a webpage, however, I suspect that this may not be for a while..

Andrew Luecke replied on December 05, 2009 02:16 to the question "Where are stored image cover" in Songbird:

G'day,

For compatible files, image covers are stored within the ID3 tag (its one reason probably why Songbird uses ID3 2.4, despite some old apps not being compatible with it). Otherwise, it is apparently stored within Songbird's SQLite Database.

Eventually, they probably want to embed all cover-art within music files because that way, one can simply drag and drop any ogg/mp3/flac onto another computer, with its album art. Also, if it were stored as separate .jpg files, if you merged the music directories, all files would use the incorrect album art.

Hope that helps.

Andrew Luecke replied on December 03, 2009 15:58 to the question "Over bloated Itunes" in Songbird:

You could also use services such as Amie Street (which I actually prefer, because it works in every country, and the design is better)

Andrew Luecke marked one of alfred's replies in Songbird as useful. alfred replied to the problem "songbird dont truely writes vorbis tags in flac files".

Andrew Luecke replied to a topic that has since been removed from Songbird. see the change log

Andrew Luecke replied on December 03, 2009 01:27 to the problem "Songbird fails to start on some Linux systems due to gstreamer-python" in Songbird:

G'day,

Whilst I have never seen it suggested before, or seen it tested, you could also try to set Songbird to only use the System Gstreamer plugins. This is done by typing:
export SB_GST_SYSTEM=1; ./Songbird

No idea if it works, just thought of it then. Songbird wiki has a list of other Environment Variables available.

Let me know if it helps

Andrew Luecke replied on December 03, 2009 01:19 to the question "music not playing" in Songbird:

G'day,

If you are in Windows 7 or Vista, its likely the Windows mixer simply has muted Songbird. Left click the sound icon in the task bar, select 'Mixer' to see if Vista muted Songbird.

Hope that helps

Andrew Luecke replied on December 02, 2009 17:36 to the idea "OS integration: Windows 7 Taskbar 'Task Menu'" in Songbird:

Last I heard, Palant was waiting for Firefox 3.6 to go final before adding it (because Firefox is releasing beta's every week apparently). So I think the 3.6 codebase will be added to the next official release after 1.4/Korn/Kanye :D

Andrew Luecke replied on December 02, 2009 16:27 to the praise "Thanks Alfred and Mari!!" in Songbird:

And Mike M too..

Andrew Luecke replied on December 02, 2009 16:26 to the praise "Thanks Alfred and Mari!!" in Songbird:

Ditto :D

Andrew Luecke replied on November 30, 2009 04:28 to the idea "How to convert HD videos: TS, MTS, M2TS, etc to iPod, PSP, Sansa..." in Songbird:

Warning, the website is apparently engaging in phishing, and is listed under hphosts.

Even if this post isn't spam, its a cut and paste from their guide anyway, so at the very least, its copyrighted, and not allowed to be reposted.

Furthermore, people who want to do this should know there are better tools available, which are totally free anyway (there is no good reason to spend money on a conversion program).

Andrew Luecke replied on November 29, 2009 09:39 to the problem "XPI file extension" in Songbird:

@shuvo

Anyway, from what I see, SwitchProxy is an extension for Mozilla Firefox, not Songbird. Whilst both programs use XPI for addons, unless the XPI has been designed to accommodate both, it will only work on one or the other.

Whilst Songbird uses the Firefox base, it isn't actually one of Mozilla's projects (its a totally different company known as pioneers of the inevitable). So for that reason, it is probably best to ask the firefox development team for help with firefox (as it isn't really the best place to ask here).
;)

@Pete. Actually, I'd STRONGLY recommend against Adobe Acrobat reader. In the computer security world, its reputation is that its an easy, yet underexploited target to deliver viruses onto your computer. Furthermore, we all know its slow and overweight. Instead, use Foxit Reader. Follow the installation carefully though, as I remember it being an app that installs the ask toolbar otherwise. Uninstall Acrobat first. Its free to use though, just don't install the other rubbish like editor or phantom when being offered upgrades, as they aren't, and keep it up to date!

@Everyone, kazemi is correct. Another way in firefox/Songbird to "File, Open File, choose the .xpi".

@Laura, if you ever try to feed me broccoli, we shall be sworn enemies forever :P

Andrew Luecke replied on November 29, 2009 01:33 to the question "Can I sync my Droid?" in Songbird:

G'day,

The motorola droid uses USB mass storage emulation. So in Songbird 1.2, you can use the addon known as FolderSync (its a bit hackish), or in Songbird 1.4, POTI will officially support MSC based phones, with their MSC addon.

The final version of Songbird 1.4 is due early december, however, there is a late development/beta version available.

Hope that helps (I don't have an Android phone yet to test with, but this seems to be the way to do it).

Andrew Luecke replied on November 29, 2009 01:31 to the question "Multimedia Keyboard with Songbird" in Songbird:

G'day,

In linux you may need the MMKeys addon.

In vista, if you are having problems, you are possibly using a keyboard that does stuff in a weird way (my Saitek keyboard works perfectly in Vista 32,64 and Windows7 32,64). Just wondering which keyboard you are using aiodownloaders? You may need additional software for your keyboard to be installed...

Andrew Luecke replied on November 28, 2009 04:59 to the question "Y not updating When I putt New music in my Music Folder!!???" in Songbird:

Yep,

Its known as Watch folders (you can set it up the first time you use Songbird, or from options).

Keep in mind, watch folders might not work everywhere. CD-Rom drives and SMB/network drives may not support it (because the protocols don't have a way to tell songbird something has changed, so it would be inefficient).

Also, keep in mind when going through options, MEDIA MANAGEMENT AND WATCH FOLDERS ARE NOT THE SAME THING!!!You probably don't want media management, so ensure you enable only watch folders.

Andrew Luecke replied on November 27, 2009 09:31 to the idea "Introduce Video tutorials to First Aid section of Wiki" in Songbird:

Yeah.. Sound good.. Easiest way would just be to dump it onto a HTML5 video service though such as: http://openvideo.dailymotion.com/en

Andrew Luecke shared an idea in Songbird on November 27, 2009 06:59:

Introduce Video tutorials to First Aid section of Wiki

Songbird currently has a First Aid Page in Songbird Wiki to assist users with their problem. It has been invaluable in assisting users and helping them find solutions to their problems, as well as provide a knowledgebase for people supporting Songbird users.

Some things however are better explained with both video and text, such as the procedure to create a new profile to test with, or diagnosing iPod problems when iPod's are used in conjunction with Songbird (where tricky key combinations on the iPod's are required, which requires knowledge of how to time them to work).

So I propose that we add videos and more photos to the First Aid guide to help users further and allow them to diagnose problems easier

Andrew Luecke replied on November 27, 2009 06:34 to the idea "Allow easy purchasing of music (donate to artist) AFTER download" in Songbird:

This idea has also been posted to Ubuntu Brainstorm and Amie Street