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I've been developing a Front end for my own use. (what's that make, 4 or 5 mac FE's in progress now?) So far I've shied away from animations and flashy colors - focusing on readability in bad lighting conditions (for non transflective screen use) and the music engine.
For me, it is essential to keep some controls always available (volume, mute, pause, the ability to switch to another function (nav / music / gadgets / web) with a single button press) regardless of what function the system is in. Too many of the FEs I've seen have hidden away these controls when you're doing something else, just to reclaim a little screen real-estate.
Audio is the key function for this system, so I've been heading towards using CoreAudio as the music playback system (as opposed to Quicktime or controlling iTunes in the background). This will allow me (I hope) to do front/back fading, subwoofer level control, graphic EQ and time displacement - just like conventional car stereos.
It may hold all my music, it may be easy to use, it could even dance a jig - but if it doesn't SOUND better than a regular stereo, what's the point?
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