Ever since my switch to Ubuntu Linux from my Macbook, I’ve been looking for a great music player. I didn’t like Banshee or Amarok or Rhythmbox. I came across a little “program” called mpd awhile ago that is a music server, in a sense. You need a client of some sort to control it, but it runs in the background of your computer playing music.
It’s perfect. Kind of.
Most of the graphical clients I have found for it feel cheap. Unfinished. Incomplete in one way or another. I have been using a command line tool called ncmpc to control the music, and it’s all well and geeky. But I still wanted a graphical interface.
I stumbled across Sonata a couple of days ago, and it is exactly what I have been missing. It’s fact (as are most mpd clients), but very user-friendly (as most aren’t). Check out the screenshot to see how simple it is.
It is everything that iTunes isn’t. Lightweight, stable, and simple! iTunes has all of that radio/podcast/tv/movie/app crap built-in now, and 90% of it is useless.
Sonata does one thing and one thing well, controls my music.
Music management heaven: Check. Next up, media server in Linux to stream music and videos to Xbox 360 and PS3!
I have been looking at buying a PS3 for awhile now. I found a deal on Toys-R-Us a few weeks back for a 120GB PS3 Slim that was only $230. I ordered it, only to have it cancelled the next day (invalid coupon, it turns out). I decided that I didn't want a Slim version anyways (reviews don't look great on them and they won't allow you to install Linux anymore).
Lo and behold, I stumble across a sale from SonyStyle.com for a PS3 80GB model (the "fat" version). Two Dualshock 3 controllers (the new ones) and the console for $250 with free shipping. It arrived on Monday. First impressions...
The console itself is WAY quieter than my Xbox 360 Elite. I can't judge the gameplay, because I don't have any games for it! (I did buy and download PAIN for it, which is oddly enjoyable). The controller is much smaller than its Xbox counterpart, and that isn't a good thing. The Xbox controller fits my hands very nice, the PS3 makes my hands hurt after an hour or so.
I should receive my first Blu-Ray disc from Netflix tomorrow (Fast and Furious), so I'm excited to give that a try. The other bad thing about the PS3 is no Netflix Instant support. I really take that for granted on my Xbox.
If this ends up being a crappy video game console, then I still have a pretty expensive Blu-Ray player. :-)
Next up is to put some YellowDog Linux on it and see how that fairs!
