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Topic: It just made me smile (Read 16153 times) previous topic - next topic
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It just made me smile

Quote from Winamp official forums:

'After several problems with bugs in Winamp (Pro v5.092), I looked around for another media player that supports OGG. Foobar seems to get good feedback so I downloaded & installed it. I was shocked on running it, amazingly difficult to use, no proper view of your music, difficult or impossible to understand preferences, requires major tweaking just to see your music!

Can anyone suggest something else to try?'




Excellent work with Foobar guys 
Riccardo

It just made me smile

Reply #1 –
I had the same first impression 3 years ago
I needs some time until you really get into foobar. The next step is total addiction...

It just made me smile

Reply #2 –
Quote
After several problems with bugs in Winamp (Pro v5.092), I looked around for another media player that supports OGG. Foobar seems to get good feedback so I downloaded & installed it. I was shocked on running it, amazingly difficult to use, no proper view of your music, difficult or impossible to understand preferences, requires major tweaking just to see your music!

No proper view of your music? Album list is included with the default install!
Difficult or impossible to understand preferences? In my opinion foobar's preferences are among the most carefully worded and logical. And there is screeds of documentation material on the web.

My 2 cents.

It just made me smile

Reply #3 –
I am not sure what the original post is supposed to achieve. Is it trolling against foobar2000? Is it looking down on some Winamp user that does not understand an audio player that is drastically different from his favourite? Let it be known that we do not appreciate either here. There is no need to mock someone because the audio player of their choice is different from yours.  Say no to playerism!

It just made me smile

Reply #4 –
I had the same 1st impression, only in the 3rd that I installed foobar2k that I've learned how to use it properly 
Now I'm addicted to it
-foobar2000 + Burrrn + EAC
-HD 80Gb using High QualityVBR MP3s

It just made me smile

Reply #5 –
I agree with foosion, I think almost everyone here has seen some kind of similar situation and there is no point in starting a thread about it.

On the other hand, it is mccarver's first post.
we was young an' full of beans

It just made me smile

Reply #6 –
Quote from: foosion on
Is it looking down on some Winamp user that does not understand an audio player that is drastically different from his favourite?


Yeah, that was it.

I smiled at least

It just made me smile

Reply #7 –
Like many users, I was stuck on winamp for years.  I tried one alternative player after another but kept returning to winamp because of it's abundant feature list and ease of use while at the same time winamp became more bloated and unstable. I tried foobar several times and while it was definitely a tempting player I was always turned off by the default interface.  It wasnt untill I finally became so enraged at the poor performance of winamp that I finally forced myself to thoroughly read these forums and make fooobar meet my needs.

I am now hooked on foobar, reccomend it to all my friends, and enjoy tinkering around with the interface in my spare time. However, I must say there is a definite learning curve when it comes to this program.  The default configuration is far from user friendly and I do not find the configuration to be very intuitive which can be very intimidating for a first time user. I have discovered many of my friends who I have reccomended foobar to also share this opinion. It is not until you overhaul the interface with columns ui and a handful of plugins that the power of foobar really starts to shine. Not until the user can grasp how to use TAGZ to script the interface into whatever shape they desire.

I have also found the foobar community to be rather elitist in nature and not very friendly to the random noob who asks basic questions like how to add a panel to their interface or convert id3 tags.  This program is still in beta and this sort of attitude is to be expected, in fact somewhat necessary in order establish a backbone for a solid program.

However, I do feel that as foobar starts to approach the big v1.0 mark it's development and community should become more open to "the average idiot" and consider a distribution where the average user does not have to spend a day probing configuration options and writing script code just to use basic features found in most other programs.

While v1.0 is still far away, we are also far away from being a community where the average windows user can use foobar "out of the box" in a way that will tempt them away from players like winamp, quicktime, realplayer, etc.  I'd like to see a consolidated one-stop-shop for extensions, a meaningful user manual instead of a poorly maintained wiki, and perhaps a little contest to find a nice easy to use UI with a dash of eye candy.

Anyway that's my two cents on this topic, I very much enjoy using foobar and dont mean to sound too critical. These are just the ramblings of an old man in the middle of the night on a forum.

It just made me smile

Reply #8 –
I think this this thread is laughing at the naivitivy of the winamp user... Not knowing how great it can be, just giving up after a minute.
And if you believe theres not a chance to die...

It just made me smile

Reply #9 –
Coke vs. Pepsi to me. I use foobar and love it but I don't really care if others do.

I personally think everyone should use the software that works best for their needs. Most apps are simply tools. Software fanboyism is like finding out that a hammer is good at driving nails so you go around saying "OMG screwdrivers suck!"

Now excuse me while I go check out the browser forums at Neowin...

It just made me smile

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Yotsuya on
...........

However, I do feel that as foobar starts to approach the big v1.0 mark it's development and community should become more open to "the average idiot" and consider a distribution where the average user does not have to spend a day probing configuration options and writing script code just to use basic features found in most other programs.

While v1.0 is still far away, we are also far away from being a community where the average windows user can use foobar "out of the box" in a way that will tempt them away from players like winamp, quicktime, realplayer, etc.  I'd like to see a consolidated one-stop-shop for extensions, a meaningful user manual instead of a poorly maintained wiki, and perhaps a little contest to find a nice easy to use UI with a dash of eye candy.

............


1. You have to know that Winamp backed by a company called Nullsoft, and fb2k backed by just one man - Peter, and of course a few donating members and some generous plugin developers. so I think fb2k absolutely need not to be as popular as Winamp, since it only dedicated to those who really need it.

2. fb2k and Winamp simply are two different players for two different groups of people, foobar is an advanced player, so you need to be advanced in order to use it. Furthermore, It's free, stable, highly customizable and resource economical, and also you have to know that you can find none of these qualities existing in Winamp so we really shouldn't ask for more.



IMHO, the choice is all yours. Choose fb2k, you choose to be an advanced user; choose winamp, you choose to be an average idiot. (Sorry for saying this.)

It just made me smile

Reply #11 –
Foobar 0.8.3 was my very first version way back when (well, not that far back lol). I grew fond of it right away. I downloaded it because I liked this icon I found of it. I had it unmodified for months. It is the simplist player I have found. I then discovered you could change the look! So I made the background black, and the font grey. I loved it. My own player . Then I discovered plugins. Downloaded some, and here I am. My own SIMPLE customized player. I grew fond of foobars simplicity as soon as I started using it.

As for the topic... ummm... 'kay? 
Song List: keikoniumboards.ke.funpic.org/files/songlist.html

It just made me smile

Reply #12 –
Quote from: Yotsuya on
a meaningful user manual instead of a poorly maintained wiki, and perhaps a little contest to find a nice easy to use UI with a dash of eye candy.
The wiki is problematic but crucial to gather some informationb (Titleformat help, or 0.9 components list), several  stand alone manuals (like mine, dedicated to 0.9.X ) or UI columns scripting tutorial exist and users really wanting to use foobar2000 can start to use this software with only a few hours to spend. (foobar2000 deserves it)

Like everybody, I had problems to understand how this player works, then I discovered an excellent guide in french (which no longer exists) and I decided to create my own English manual to provide some help to new users. And it seems that people appreciated it: 29000 pages read on my 0.8.3 manual in less than a year, coming from everywhere: Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, United states, Poland, France, Germany etc..

And my 0.9.X manual seems to be read by many users or newbies.

(But I'm totally addicted, and converted my friends and parents(both 5X years old) to foobar2000, for example, I installed foobar2000 for my mother (she's far from being a geek!! ) and she really loves it (the explorer panel is enough for her), my father is starting to tweak it a bit, a friend is totally addicted too, and another "winamp-addicted" friend is considering using foobar2000).

Good tools, numerous users..

It just made me smile

Reply #13 –
Quote from: xequence on
I think this this thread is laughing at the naivitivy of the winamp user... Not knowing how great it can be, just giving up after a minute.


I think this could well represent what I (unnecessarily after all) tried to point out, again after many similar thread... 

Btw, I do not immediately configure foobar just after I install it. I don't find configuration to be vital in order to play your music. Or is it?

It just made me smile

Reply #14 –
Quote from: Zimdgre on
Choose fb2k, you choose to be an advanced user; choose winamp, you choose to be an average idiot. (Sorry for saying this.)


Now those were exactly the comments we were trying to avoid in this thread.

Please reread foosion's post above and thank you so much for your contibution to the better of mankind.

It just made me smile

Reply #15 –
The main point which has been made multiple times in the thread is correct however.

Foobar has an easy but totally barebone default UI...... and a complicated but powerful 3rd party UI....... there's nothing in-between - although thats exactly the area which is most interesting to the mainstream. That's why the first reaction of the majority of people is "being turned off".

- Lyx
I am arrogant and I can afford it because I deliver.

It just made me smile

Reply #16 –
Quote from: picmixer on
Now those were exactly the comments we were trying to avoid in this thread.

Please reread foosion's post above and thank you so much for your contibution to the better of mankind.


Sorry I wasn't aware of that, and I never meant to be disrespectful. I know what I said is somewhat offensive for some people, I really regret it, however, if you just look at the quotation from Winamp official forums, I bet you could feel what I felt.

They like Winamp, I was too, but I like foobar now. Well, you know, to each his own, so what are we arguing about? Just leave this threat and continue our jobs to build the very foobar of our very selves.
 

It just made me smile

Reply #17 –
When I first downloaded Linux (a year ago?) it was absolutely straightforward to use. All you do is click: file > ...

To me it was far more intuitive than Winamp's-squint-to-read-functions skins.

Hmm. Wonder what the original poster was confounded over..

It just made me smile

Reply #18 –
Quote
Foobar has an easy but totally barebone default UI...... and a complicated but powerful 3rd party UI....... there's nothing in-between - although thats exactly the area which is most interesting to the mainstream. That's why the first reaction of the majority of people is "being turned off".


Yea. I started liking foobar when I just saw it ran fast on my old computer, and it had a really basic and easy to use interface. Then I started getting past beginner and I started using its advanced features.
And if you believe theres not a chance to die...

It just made me smile

Reply #19 –
Don't diss winamp.  I used it for a while.  Winamp's small, it does what it's supposed to, and it does it well.  All it requires is point-and-clicks to get it to look good.  (Seriously, just download presets made by other ppl).

Until you get a taste of media management.  iTunes introduced me to that.  iTunes is a good media manager.  It also looks good.  The problem is that it uses too much sys resources.

foobar2000 is the next and final step for me.

It just made me smile

Reply #20 –
It's nice to know that we have some ex-Winamp users here, including me, but has anyone seen any ex-foobar user around???? I mean a real ex-foobar user. I wonder if it ever existed.

It just made me smile

Reply #21 –
Quote
It's nice to know that we have some ex-Winamp users here, including me, but has anyone seen any ex-foobar user around???? I mean a real ex-foobar user. I wonder if it ever existed


Im sure there have been some, but I doubt there have been many ex foobar users who accually got the UI customized and stuff. Anyone who leaves foobar I can assume is someone who just gives up on learning to customize it.
And if you believe theres not a chance to die...

It just made me smile

Reply #22 –
Quote from: xequence on
Quote
It's nice to know that we have some ex-Winamp users here, including me, but has anyone seen any ex-foobar user around???? I mean a real ex-foobar user. I wonder if it ever existed


Im sure there have been some, but I doubt there have been many ex foobar users who accually got the UI customized and stuff. Anyone who leaves foobar I can assume is someone who just gives up on learning to customize it.



So that's exactly why I said "a real ex-foobar user" is highly unlikely to be found.

It just made me smile

Reply #23 –
Hi my name is chris and I am addicted to Foobar.
Everybody has come from somewhere. I used to like winamp cause it was the only viable choice at the time, but after discovering foobar and learning how to use it I am very fond of it.

I guess the main point is that foobar has a very steep learning curve in order to fully customise it and get the most out of it.

It just made me smile

Reply #24 –
I think we all go through the evolutionary steps.

Windows Media > Winamp > iTunes > Foobar2k

Possibly with other media players thrown in the mix.

However, I never really used iTunes much.

I'm considering making a fooTunes editiion of foobar which simplifies the transition from itunes to foobar.

Maybe when I don't have exams ;D
hi