An up-to-date overview of free software and its makers
Projects on the Move

© Ilja Ma¨ík, Fotolia
The final release of the Songbird web player hits the tightly packed music player scene. With the same extensibility common to the Mozilla family, Songbird gets ready to find its niche and ruffle some feathers.
Web browsers and music players are some of the most commonly used desktop applications. Viewed superficially, the two software types did not appear to be directly linked, until Mozilla's Songbird entered the scene.
Wanderer Between the Worlds
Version 1.0 of Songbird [1], which took one and a half years to complete, is referred to by its developers as a "web player." At first glance, the software looks like any other music player, although it is unusual in that it relies on XULRunner [2] (Figure 1). This Mozilla runtime environment, which all applications from this vendor rely on, resides above other Internet tools, like browsers or mail clients. However, the underpinnings offer one major benefit: like Firefox and Thunderbird, Songbird also runs natively on almost any operating system, including Windows, Mac OS, Solaris, and, of course, Linux.

Songbird's basic functionality is similar to that of other music players. When launched, it prompts the user for the directory containing the digital music collection and adds any tracks it finds there to its own media store. To play, users can then select songs individually, by genre, artist, or album.
Songbird also supports playlists. Just like other players, the program distinguishes between static and intelligent, dynamic lists. Users manually add tracks to the former and save the results for future use. In contrast, intelligent playlists automatically play tracks that fulfill criteria defined by the user. This can be a specific artist or album, but just as easily the last played date, the origin of the file, or the date on which a track was added to the collection.
Badly Managed
Songbird works around the package management system by default: The developers simply provide a tarball that includes all required libraries. The libraries include XULRunner and the GStreamer [3] multimedia framework, including codec plugins for MP3, AAC, OGG Vorbis, FLAC, and WMA music formats.
The package leaves no dependencies to be resolved, but it does weigh in at a bulky 30MB. Because XULRunner and GStreamer are preinstalled on many desktop systems, this duplicate installation is inefficient and very much opposed to the Linux package management system philosophy. Distribution-specific Songbird packages for Fedora, Ubuntu, Gentoo Linux, and Open Solaris [4] resolve the problem. Compared with the official tarball, the two programs use only half the disk space. Songbird is licensed under the GPL, and the source code for the program is accordingly available for download if you need it.
Plugin Structure
Songbird's interface shows its kinship with Firefox. The Tools menu resembles the other members of the Mozilla family to a T. This leads to another similarity: The Add-ons item takes the user to a plugin structure that can be used to extend Songbird's functionality almost infinitely. The Get Extensions link opens the subpage on the Songbird site directly. This does not mean launching the browser; instead, a new tab displays the website directly in the player program (Figure 2). This is where the XULRunner foundations come into their own: They easily display websites with very little programming.
The variety of plugins available for Songbird extends its functionality, making it an all-around app, like the Firefox browser. For example, installing Meshtape gives you information, pictures, and videos of the artist while a track plays; the add-on draws on services such as Flickr, YouTube, and Last.fm for these resources.
A separate plugin for the Last.fm Web 2.0 music application will transfer tracks you play to your online profile and receive recommendations for your own playlist via the same route, if you so desire.
Songbird can use SHOUTcast to access online radio stations; other plugins support portable MP3 players, including Apple's iPod, which is not renowned for its compatibility.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 39 Beta is Now Available for Testing
For fans and users of Fedora Linux, the first beta of release 39 is now available, which is a minor upgrade but does include GNOME 45.
-
Fedora Linux 40 to Drop X11 for KDE Plasma
When Fedora 40 arrives in 2024, there will be a few big changes coming, especially for the KDE Plasma option.
-
Real-Time Ubuntu Available in AWS Marketplace
Anyone looking for a Linux distribution for real-time processing could do a whole lot worse than Real-Time Ubuntu.
-
KSMBD Finally Reaches a Stable State
For those who've been looking forward to the first release of KSMBD, after two years it's no longer considered experimental.
-
Nitrux 3.0.0 Has Been Released
The latest version of Nitrux brings plenty of innovation and fresh apps to the table.
-
Linux From Scratch 12.0 Now Available
If you're looking to roll your own Linux distribution, the latest version of Linux From Scratch is now available with plenty of updates.
-
Linux Kernel 6.5 Has Been Released
The newest Linux kernel, version 6.5, now includes initial support for two very exciting features.
-
UbuntuDDE 23.04 Now Available
A new version of the UbuntuDDE remix has finally arrived with all the updates from the Deepin desktop and everything that comes with the Ubuntu 23.04 base.
-
Star Labs Reveals a New Surface-Like Linux Tablet
If you've ever wanted a tablet that rivals the MS Surface, you're in luck as Star Labs has created such a device.
-
SUSE Going Private (Again)
The company behind SUSE Linux Enterprise, Rancher, and NeuVector recently announced that Marcel LUX III SARL (Marcel), its majority shareholder, intends to delist it from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by way of a merger.