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Topic: Ubuntu support! (Read 4201 times) previous topic - next topic
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Ubuntu support!

I just made the switch to Linux Mint with my coworkers and am extremely disappointed that foobar2000 isn't cross platform! Literally the first thing I tried to install was foobar and now I am wondering if I should virtualize my old windows install to keep the curated playlists I made over the last 4 years!

The writing is on the wall - Windows 10 looks like the end on the Windows OS monopoly. You would have this market wrapped up - I have used foobar alongside VLC player (the primary media player on Ubuntu-like distros) and foobar FAR outshines VLC player! Plus your open extensible philosophy fits perfectly with the general 'theme' of *nix!

I hope you think about it! I miss this program already and I just switched last night T.T


Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #1
Jumping ship because of windows 10 is bonkers. Windows 7 and 8.1 are still getting updates and I think I'll be sticking with 8.1 for many more years to come.

foobar still runs on XP and Vista but I wouldn't go back that far.  :P

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #2
you are not alone, wishing there existed a native linux port of foobar2000 as well.

this questions came up quite often in the past and i wonder if i will ever see it become reality :)

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #3
Jumping ship because of windows 10 is bonkers. Windows 7 and 8.1 are still getting updates and I think I'll be sticking with 8.1 for many more years to come.
Good for you. I won't. While I would agree that jumping ship only because of a version number is "bonkers", there are plentiful reasons to jump ship that cumulatively date back to Vista. Most of us had our feet out of the door back when vista was first released (read: forced down our throats when just about nobody wanted it), but the Linux scene hadn't really got their stuff together back then, and so when we were given 7 to tide the storm, I stayed around for near 7 years. Third party driver support for Win7 is starting to dry up (regardless of MS support), but now it seems the various *nix flavors have their business sorted. Now that MS can no longer claim exclusivity to gaming, there just isn't any real reason for normies to stay. As I said, the writing is on the wall.

And I really hope the dev(s) get eyes on this. Foobar is really mature software with good extension support and would mop the floor if they supported to Debian/Ubuntu/Mint.

this questions came up quite often in the past and i wonder if i will ever see it become reality :)
I fully hope so. It seems there are enough devs to support a port to mobile, which IMO is already extremely competitive. I think the cost/benefit works out far greater with native *nix support as there is no need for a UI paradigm shift (I think the mobile platform by nature seriously limits the gloriousness of Fb2k).

Currently I run a quad monitor setup, and I previously had one monitor just about dedicated to Fb2k :(

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #4
Although it is perfectly usable in ubuntu through WINE it would be incredible to be able to have a native version.


Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #5
Linux is a choice. Nobody has to use Windows any longer unless they constrained by office policy or need/choose to use some piece of software that requires a MS operating system.

Maybe for some that software might even be FB2000. I spent quite a few years saying it was the only thing I missed!

I get the lack of graphics overload (on the eyes; systems have long-since been able to handle it) that comes with many players by using DeadBeef. It sets out to have an FB2K-like look and feel. But there are not lots of people writing extras and add-ons for it, so it remains a light-weight package that may not offer what the OP wants.

I'd still add my yes-please vote to any  FooBar2k for Linux poll, but I understood, quite some time back, that this was simply never going to happen, so no point asking.

I'm in no position to criticise that, because I have no idea what would be involved even the developers did want to do it. Sometimes a port can be a port, sometimes it has to be a complete re-write.

edit, because of pressing submit before finishing thinking.
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #6
There was a macOS version that preceded development for the iOS version, and there is also an Android version that works on that POSIX-like runtime. A Linux version isn't that far off, as far as effort to support the platform. The problem is picking a UI library to bind to, be it wxWidgets, GTK+, or Qt. And another problem: This new 2.0 source tree doesn't yet have any plugin loading, because all the mobile platforms it was designed to target don't really allow for sourcing external libraries that aren't already packaged with the application from their respective stores, so all plugins are currently statically linked into the main binary.

Work past these issues, and a Linux (and macOS) version aren't too far off. Unfortunately, there is a lot of busy work involved with getting the Mobile versions closer to real readiness, and there is also the paid work Peter is doing for Spoon, currently doing his macOS and Linux ports of dbPoweramp and Asset UPnP. Not sure if that's supposed to be a secret, seems like good, honest work worth speaking about.

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #7
There was a macOS version that preceded development for the iOS version, and there is also an Android version that works on that POSIX-like runtime. A Linux version isn't that far off, as far as effort to support the platform. The problem is picking a UI library to bind to, be it wxWidgets, GTK+, or Qt. And another problem: This new 2.0 source tree doesn't yet have any plugin loading, because all the mobile platforms it was designed to target don't really allow for sourcing external libraries that aren't already packaged with the application from their respective stores, so all plugins are currently statically linked into the main binary.

Work past these issues, and a Linux (and macOS) version aren't too far off. Unfortunately, there is a lot of busy work involved with getting the Mobile versions closer to real readiness, and there is also the paid work Peter is doing for Spoon, currently doing his macOS and Linux ports of dbPoweramp and Asset UPnP. Not sure if that's supposed to be a secret, seems like good, honest work worth speaking about.

Great news  8)

About UI, GTK+ and QT are more beautiful than wxWidgets  ;)


Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #9
Thanks kode54. It's good to know that it is not impossible, even if it is unlikely to be soon.
The most important audio cables are the ones in the brain

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #10
[...] A Linux version isn't that far off, as far as effort to support the platform. The problem is picking a UI library to bind to, be it wxWidgets, GTK+, or Qt. And another problem: This new 2.0 source tree doesn't yet have any plugin loading, because all the mobile platforms it was designed to target don't really allow for sourcing external libraries that aren't already packaged with the application from their respective stores, so all plugins are currently statically linked into the main binary.

Work past these issues, and a Linux (and macOS) version aren't too far off. [...]
This is the most exciting news I have read all week! Fantastic! There are enough of us now to be a critical mass, for sure ;)

There was a macOS version that preceded development for the iOS version, and there is also an Android version that works on that POSIX-like runtime. A Linux version isn't that far off, as far as effort to support the platform. The problem is picking a UI library to bind to, be it wxWidgets, GTK+, or Qt. And another problem: This new 2.0 source tree doesn't yet have any plugin loading, because all the mobile platforms it was designed to target don't really allow for sourcing external libraries that aren't already packaged with the application from their respective stores, so all plugins are currently statically linked into the main binary.

Work past these issues, and a Linux (and macOS) version aren't too far off. Unfortunately, there is a lot of busy work involved with getting the Mobile versions closer to real readiness, and there is also the paid work Peter is doing for Spoon, currently doing his macOS and Linux ports of dbPoweramp and Asset UPnP. Not sure if that's supposed to be a secret, seems like good, honest work worth speaking about.

About UI, GTK+ and QT are more beautiful than wxWidgets  ;)
It's been over 4 years since I have done any work requiring playing with GUI libraries, but IIRC even 4 years ago wxWidgets had no disadvantage in 'prettiness', it looked native on every system. The major downside to the wxWidgets library was actually having to deal with the library itself. Conversely, I remember Qt being really easy to integrate, but not quite hitting that native look.

I bet everything has changed since then though.

Is Foobar open source? I always assumed that it was, but now that I am looking, I can't find it.



Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #13
I managed to get everything working, but the main point is nativity. There is a very good chance Foobar2k would end up packaged with the more FLOSS-lenient distros (like Mint) as a default program. FB2k is much better than rhythmbox/alternatives IMO.

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #14
i dont know why. but a app that great needs to be available on linux. foobar2000 is way to good for windows. i really wish i could use fb2k on my latest ubuntu release as well. i am using ubunutu budgie.. but whatever ubuntu flavor whatsoever i am really missing fb2k on it.

maybe there will be some linux dev that thinks the same way and offers help to port it with clean code to linux

 

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #15
i really wish i could use fb2k on my latest ubuntu release as well.

What is stopping you? Again, you just need to install Wine 2 and foobar2000 will run just fine.

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #16
There is no doubt, that foobar2000 is a great and useful app just as bare program, coming straight from an installer. However it is obvious, that one of its main powers is plugin based, open architecture. We can suppose, that it would be carried over to Linux version. But I suppose that all 3rd party plugins would require to be rewritten, due to changes in SDK and OS environment. I don't doubt in amount of skilled programmers targeting Linux, but it may be problematic to have all biggest plugins to be ported to Linux. It all depends on private interests of programmer. This may be factor that on Linux platform could limit usability of foobar known from Windows.

This leads me to serious question to all Linux based foobar users and Linux prospective users:
What do you think about 3rd party plugins development if foobar would go native on Linux? Should we expect limited coverage of what is now possible on Windows or should we expect that Linux community would blow away what we have now on Windows?
If anybody would like to answer, please take into account not just input plugins, equalizers, convolvers, waveform seekbars, etc. but also heavy GUI customizations, like WSH panel mod, JScript panels, Columns UI and its various dedicated extensions and all other highly graphic modifications that are available under Windows.

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #17
with a native linux port of foobar2000 only, the biggest step is definitely taken. no one can tell if your favourite 3rd party plugin will be ported over too, or if there even will be alternatives for it. you will never find out without doing so.

maybe it is a bit like what happens to firefox users at the moment, waiting for their favourite addon to be reincarnated as a webextension ;)

the most important part is, that a starting point is being made. but is this a good enough reason for the programmers?

speaking for myself, i could live with a non fancy core version of fb very well and simply wait for what features brings the future.

Re: Ubuntu support!

Reply #18
epicforever i would expect that foobar2000 would NOT blow away as you have described as it could

i know of amarok and clemetine (clementine is probably the closest to fb2k as of today on linux) they both have their own dedicated developers / lovers and programmers. but for sure. none of those 2 applications can meet the funcionality of f2bk on windows today (in my oppinion).

so i dont know. i guess there would be rather an harsh competition as anything.. two different strong audio applications, they wouldnt meet tohether. they would rather compete....... so i dont see any real future of a well finished product of an windows application today that is trying to make its future on linux. dunno. could be wrong. i am only an consumer afterall // and to be honest, native vst support would be a necessity for me to see foobar2000 competing on linux platform.

but all  things considered, foobar2000 remains as a to good application for just windows...

i will support fb2k no matter what.

and i've seen foobar has an application written for android. please, please carry over the ease that we expirience on windows with fb2k all day long. the android version seems a way to complex. for real guys !