Thread: Best browseing method, post your ideas! (long)

Originally Posted by zPilott

..............The random play implemented usually has two draw backs. 1. it is not a shuffle (though it is usually called that) I want to hear (or skip) every song on the playlist at least once before I hear any song for the second time............Another small issue with some media players is that in random play you cannot go back to the last song that was player.

For FP 1.09 you can go back or forward an unlimted amount of times and it will
remember it's order. It will also not play the same song twice unless the entire
playlist has been played or you refresh the playlist.

Originally Posted by frodobaggins

For FP 1.09 you can go back or forward an unlimted amount of times and it will
remember it's order. It will also not play the same song twice unless the entire
playlist has been played or you refresh the playlist.

Thats why FP kicks ***!

Now I just want the list to show me what is coming up in shuffle mode, so I can veto the playing before they start.

I also agree that there needs to be an easier way to navigate through artist->albums.

Right now the different carputer GIUs have the directories too SMALL to navigate through while driving. For example, it is too difficult because of the small texts and menus to select, "smashing pumpkins" and then select "siamese dream" for an album.

The photoshop that NIC made on page 1 of this thread looks like a pretty good idea - having icons for band names and then icons again for albums by that band. That would be very user friendly for driving. Anyone else agree?

Originally Posted by Jackboot

I also agree that there needs to be an easier way to navigate through artist->albums.

Right now the different carputer GIUs have the directories too SMALL to navigate through while driving. For example, it is too difficult because of the small texts and menus to select, "smashing pumpkins" and then select "siamese dream" for an album.

The photoshop that NIC made on page 1 of this thread looks like a pretty good idea - having icons for band names and then icons again for albums by that band. That would be very user friendly for driving. Anyone else agree?

I like that idea too, it would be fine with me if the browser displayed a album cover and a list of tracks on the album. Then you click the cover it loads all the tracks, but I know most of you like to pick a track here and there.

I dont mean to be a smart ***, but when you guys watch tv do you keep the remote clicking, or do you just tune in and watch the program straight through?

more mods: I wish more people listened to music like us?!

But I suppose most people just download various tracks to listen to rather than complete albums. Personally, I don't download *any* music (I'm against music piracy). So, my 400+ albums on my carputer are ripped from my personal CDs that I've bought. In other words, I am used to listening to an entire album since I don't make mix CDs or just download & burn CDs. So I wish that the carputer software available would organise music as if you were using a giant CD changer...

I'm working on a TiVo-style interface, where your first step is to choose a method of search from a menu (Title, Artist, Album, etc.). Then, you start entering the name with a small alphabet pad (think video games), and a list of possible matches are on the side. As you enter more of the title, it scrolls to the closest match. If you just want to scroll the list, you don't have to enter anything, as all the songs are still listed.

A small on-screen keyboard that you have to type into? It'll be too small, you're just asking to rear-end someone

However...my cellphone has a neat little option it calls "onetouch", basically multiple letters are mapped to each key and then the user presses the key that they want for each letter once. The system then uses a dictionary to determine what the user is most likely trying to type. I think this would work very well with songs, having a limited list of possible things the user could be trying to type in and all. I'm thinking have a search system based on that concept, only it's more of a wildcard search...

You'd have 5 or 6 big letter buttons on the screen that are easy to hit with just a quick look, like "ABCD", "EFGH", "IJKL", "MNOP", "QRST", "UVWXYZ". If you wanted to search for something, all you'd need to do is type it out on those buttons, and the software would match all possibilites for what you were typing in against the list of available songs, albums and playlists. I wouldn't require the search to start at the beginning of the file name either; it'd be searching for anything that contained the typed phrase. After a few keyins it should narrow down the search plenty so that picking from a list is plausible. I'd have playlists appear at the top of the list, followed by albums and then individual songs, with filters along the side.

What do you think? I'll probably end up doing it this way for my system, at least. Gotta write some custom software

Originally Posted by Jackboot

. So I wish that the carputer software available would organise music as if you were using a giant CD changer...

This entire thread summed up in one sentence
Most of my music is just like yours jackboot, ripped from my own CDs, and i never make mix tapes either.

Personally im against any typeing input method to find the music i need. It takes too long and just too dangerous. If your sitting still or parked i guess its ok, but then again if your parked you have enough time to scroll to it too. Plus on top of that, it never finds what im actually looking for anyway, just too much of a process while driveing.

more later, gotta sleep.

I'm also really interested in finding voice recognition with an API...we'll see about that.

I think an icon system would work best. A large folder icon for the band names, then icons of the albums within that artist's directory. The folder icons could be changed to pictures (of the band or album cover) if a JPG is saved in that folder. This would be quick, efficient, and the least dangerous/distracting way to load "discs" while driving. I'm actually very surprised that no software does this already!? The current methods are very very cumbersome when dealing with 400+ albums! I should have crashed and died by now...

A text input method is a horrid idea IMHO...this is far too dangerous and distracting for use while driving! Just give me my icon system!