[dot] amaroK: Next Generation Audio Player Hits 1.1

[Dot Stories]

URL: http://dot.kde.org/1096390465/

From: Mark Kretschmann <markey at web.de>
Dept: special-agent-cartman
Date: Tuesday 28/Sep/2004, @18:54

amaroK: Next Generation Audio Player Hits 1.1
=============================================

   Before amaroK [http://amarok.kde.org/] was born, most KDE users were
stuck with XMMS; others would even run console-based audio players. Now
those days are over. amaroK, written for the KDE desktop environment
with its slick GUI and plugable, engine-independent audio capabilities
is coming to a computer near you!

     amaroK is the first KDE application to use the GStreamer
[http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/] Multimedia Framework without any
dependency on external bindings. amaroK can also integrate with xine
[http://xinehq.de/] so you have the freedom of choosing your own flavor.
 With version 1.1 there are many exciting changes that make using amaroK
even more fun. Here are some of the features that you will simply love :

    *  Fully Integrated with KDE: Play from your Samba share with smb:/,
      or use the fish KIO slave to play from a remote host.
    *  Simple and Elegant: Collection-based system where you can choose
      songs from a variety of criteria, including artist, most played,
      never played, etc.
    *  Stream Support: Listening to online radio has never been easier.
      Just load the playlist file and it starts playing.
    *  Engine Independence: Ability to use GStreamer or xine. (There is
      also aRts engine but it is not ported to the new engine
      architecture yet).
    *  Improved Crossfade: Crossfading with customizable
      fade-in/fade-out durations now works for GStreamer engine too
    *  Inline tag editing: Tag your music while you play it.
    *  MusicBrainz support for tag editing: No voodoo needed for tagging
      your music, just click the MusicBrainz button and it will get the
      song information from the online database.
    *  Album cover support: If you have album covers in your music
      directory amaroK will automatically load them - better yet, amaroK
      can automatically download album covers from the Internet!
    *  Multimedia Keyboard Friendly: If you happen to have extra
      multimedia buttons on your keyboard, using amaroK is even more
      fun. Just use KHotkeys to map those special buttons to amaroK's
      dcop functions (like play/pause/volume up/volume down and many
      more)!
    *  On-screen Display: amaroK can optionally announce the currently
      playing song using its smart and stylish on-screen display.

     So give amaroK a spin today! You won't be disappointed and that is
guaranteed. Fire up amaroK, start playing your favorite songs, and visit
the amaroK development squad @ irc.kde.org #amarok. Tell us why you just
love amaroK, or your killer new idea for it. We are waiting for you!